I found Sally Gibson's posting more than a little
condscending. I hardly think archivists are, generally speaking,
"hopelessly defensive," although you could understand a measure of
defensiveness, given how often both our commitment and professional expertise
are easily dismissed. Further, I've never met an archivist yet who has
"cavalierly" thrown anything out.
My institution holds 143 years of community newspapers from
Ontario's largest county. I needn't reiterate here what is commonly
accepted about the longevity of newsprint. As a rule, we will preserve
original newspapers as long as possible. When they deteriorate beyond
handling or salvation, I'll get rid of them. When my facility is full, I
will make decisions about what needs to be de-accessioned, and if newspapers
must go, I'll get rid of them, after first offering them to another interested
party. I have every confidence in our in-house microfilming program.
That's the real world.
I share all of the comments about the importance of preserving
original documents wherever possible, as I think most archivists do. But
the general feeling that Mr. Baker is both unjustly dismissive of archivists'
motives, and largely ignorant of important issues they have to deal with in a
real world, seems wholly valid.
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Bruce Beacock County Archivist The Corporation of the County of Simcoe Archives RR2 MINESING ON L0L 1Y0 CANADA Tel: (705) 726-9331 Fax: (705) 725-5341 archives@bar.imag.net or archives@county.simcoe.on.ca http://www.county.simcoe.on.ca/archives/archives.html |