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Re: In Search of the Humourous Archivist



It seems to me that one of the factors in the scarcity of archival humor is the scarcity of certain personality types as well as the strong representation of very serious personality types within the profession.  

One of the things that comes out strongly in More of the Best of Milton Berle's Private Joke File  edited by Milt Rosen as converting jokes form say one profession to another.  Below I will give you one that I orginally heard and told several times as a joke about softball players.  I've also told it as a square dance caller joke.  Here is another version as an archives/archivist joke.

Two archivists named Kim and Lee were best of friends and enjoyed losts of activities outside their archival jobs in the [here you can put in a city, state, institution, or any other identifier].  After they had enjoyed many years of friendship, Kim became very sick.  When it became evident that Kim would pass on to his eternal reward, Lee asked Kim to contact him after he arrived there and let him know if there were archives in heaven.  Kim, of course, promised to do as his friend asked.  A couple of weeks after Kim died, Lee was awakened on dark night by someone calling him name.  Since he had been in a very deep sleep, he was a bit puzzled and asked "Who's there" as he could not see anyone in the darkness of his bedroom.  The voice replied, "Lee, its your friend Kim."  Lee was delighted to hear from his long time friend and asked if Kim had any news for him.  Kim said that he had both good and bad news.  Lee asked for the good news first.  Kim reported that he was very happy to report that there was an archives in heaven and that it was the most wonderful place one could imagine.  Everything was perfect.  The HVAC system worked perfectly.  The records in all formats were in perfect condition.  There was no mold or mildew to be found on traditional paper records.  All of the electronic records were regularly upgraded as new systems were developed.  Audio and audiovisual records were regularly re-recorded and/or transfered to new technology.  The users were well informed about and always followed the rules.  There were no user fees.  The staff members were all well informed about the holdings.  The finding aids were perfect and were prepared with the users in mind.  
Lee responded by saying he thought all of this was wonderful and indicated he was sure that Kim really enjoyed working there.  He then asked what the bad news was.  Kim responded "You're scheduled to work the reference desk next Thursday!" 

     

Charles R. Schultz, CA
Professor and Clements Archivist
Cushing Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-5000
c-schultz@tamu.edu
979-862-1555
FAX 979-845-1441

State-of-the-art automation will never beat the wastebasket 
when it comes to speeding up efficiency in the office.
Ann Landers Gem of the Day, July 27, 1994

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