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Unabashed fetish practitioner



Kim,
I'm not sure how rhetorical your question was, but it's the kind of query that gets my compulsive juices flowing (one graduate course in historiography just adds fuel to the fire).

To my mind, humans - or at least a subspecies - are driven to understand as much about the human condition as possible. It seems to be related to our fear of the unknown. Since we cannot know the future (at least our subspecies doubts this possible with any certainty), and are usually doomed/fortunate to live in the present
where 'knowing' is transient at best, then that leaves only the past to inform us. And even though our view of the past is also transient (because our point of reference - the present - constantly changes), it is the best we have.

Those of us who attended the RBMS Preconference in Washington two years ago spent an interesting morning at the Library of Congress examining the question, "If we are unable to preserve all materials with historical value, then how do we identify what will be of interest to researchers in the future?" The answer to this question would presumably allow us to better serve researchers, our archives, and our civilization. This is a curious mixture of the past, present, and future. Perhaps the real reason we had that provocative and exhilarating discussion had more to do with our own desires for a (false) sense of security than any lofty, service-oriented goal.

Oops, I guess my own wind filled my sails. Thanks for the chance to divert  and delude my mind with a little episode of 'knowing' the unknown. Starts Friday off on an upbeat note.
Wayne Miller
Plattsburgh State U. of NY

Automatic digest processor wrote:

 

ARCHIVES Digest - 5 Jul 2000 to 6 Jul 2000 (#2000-187)

Table of contents:

  1. Records Management Conference in Australia
  2. Planning for SAA in Denver
  3. RAIN 07/05: John Hancock and E-sigs
  4. fetish of records and the value of records
  5. Patriot pile on
  6. History....and we all know Archivists are NOT historians
  7. [CRV] foriegn travel 1840 (fwd): query
  8. Reminder-Search reopened-Great Job Opportunity
  9. Unabashed fetish practitioner
  10. Job Posting
    •  
    • Job Posting (07/06)

    • From: Dennis Moser <dennism@LIBRARY.TMC.EDU>
  11. Job Available
    •  
    • Job Available (07/06)

    • From: Debbie Waller <dwaller@HISTORYFACTORY.COM>
  12. REVISED posting: Archivist, History Associates Incorporated
  13. Getting to Denver for the SAA Convention
  14. Web Tours
  15. Policies and Forms for Libraries with archives
  16. Job Opening
    •  
    • Job Opening (07/06)

    • From: Deidre Mc Grath <Deidre@FAMILYROSARY.ORG>
  17. Graduate Student seeking career advice
  18. Arabia
    •  
    • Re: Arabia (07/06)

    • From: Margaret Monroe <Margaret_H_Monroe@DOT.CA.GOV>
  19. Trains to the SAA Convention
  20. Reminder-early reg. deadline for SAA in Denver
  21. Vacancy notice -- Mo. State Archives position in St. Louis

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