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Re: Jackie Kennedy's Pink Dress



Michael Angelo refers to archivists acting as arbiters of "good taste" and to the perceived motivations of researchers who come in and ask for opened materials, such as the photos of burn vicitims.  I can't speak for the private sector, but I can say that his points do not apply to the way public sector employees carry out their functions.  Based on 27 years of experience working for the federal government, I'd like to reassure Mr. Angelo that the personal taste of archivists and the individual motivations of researchers are irrelevant to the public disclosure process.  In government archives, materials are screened because of legal obligations or, in the case of donated materials, because of provisions in deeds of gift.  Government archivists customarily screen materials because laws and regulations require them to do so, not because they want to censor what researchers can see.  Screening usually means reviewing items for personal privacy, national security, and other statut!
ory restrictions prior to releasing them to the public.  If the law says you can't release something, you don't--regardless of your individual sense of decorum or good taste.  Obviously, sometimes judgement calls must be made that require a balancing of the public interest in disclosure against reasons to restrict information, but government  archivists strive to do their work professionally, based on rigorous training and on the job experience.  So a  sense of personal decorum and individual "good taste" do not come into play.  In general, all government employees must act professionally and apply existing laws and regulations in their work (for example, IRS employees cannot disclose or misuse individuals' personal tax information, prosecutors cannot leak grand jury information, and so forth).  Once government archivists determine that materials are disclosable, they make them available to any and all researchers.  Hence there is no need to speculate why someone wants to see !
any particular materials, such as the pictures of burn victims Mr. Angelo cited.  The individual researcher's motivation for asking for opened records is irrelevant, just as the reviewing archivists sense of decorum is irrelevant.  My personal opinion only, albeit based on a long career in government service!  Maarja Krusten (maarja@aol.com)

In a message dated Thu, 27 Jul 2000  3:25:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Michael Angelo <mangelo@INDSM.ORG> writes:

<< I am sure we are all well aware of issues that involve donor restrictions,
historic value, and public pruience.  But I am also concerned that we step
back a moment and reflect on "just who do we think we are?!"  Where in the
Archivist's Oath does it require us to be guardians of (subjective) good
taste?  Why do we gravitate toward assuming "the public" need archivists to
license their interests and censor their viewing habits?  I once had a
archives visitor who needed to look at photos of burn victims.  I came to
believe that it may have helped her deal with a horrifying death in their
family.  I don't believe that visitors to the Holocaust Museum are all
motivated by grisly baseness.  Although I wouldn't want to have the Pink
Dress on display in an exhibition titled, "Murder and the Presidency!!", I
must say, it does hold a lot of poignant and tragic power for me.  One of
millions, I have never come to grips with the JFK assassination which was my
childhood introduction to grief and loss.  There IS an area between
gratutitous pandering and a lockbox for ever.  After all, we ARE here to
make information available and NOT just under those conditions that satisfy
our personal sense of decorum.

f. michael Angelo
library director
independence seaport museum
211 s. columbus blvd.
philadelphia, pa  19106


-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Eva Krusten
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2000 2:21 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Jackie Kennedy's Pink Dress


Do the people who feel that they have some kind of right to see Jackie
Kennedy's blood stained pink suit also feel that they have the right to hear
tapes dealing with the deaths of the astronauts in the Apollo (204) launch
pad fire in January 1967, or the Challenger shuttle craft?  Someone asked
why an archives would preserve something if it was not displayed.  Just
because an archives has such material and preserves it for historical
purposes, does not mean that every portion of it can and should be released
to the public.

Eva Krusten
(Stated as personal opinion rather than in a professional capacity)

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