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Re: A Description Dilemma



I refer you to the Code of Ethics endorsed by the International
Council on Archives. In my view, it is inappropriate for an archivist
to act as a censor.



Date sent:              Thu, 21 Sep 2000 20:32:51 EDT
Send reply to:          Archives & Archivists <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
From:                   Elayne Goyette <YEGoyette@AOL.COM>
Subject:                A Description Dilemma
To:                     ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I've been processing a large and, at times, quite personal family
> collection at The National Civil War Museum, made up of 26 binders
> containing between 75-99 documents each.  The date range is 1826-1891
> and covers the letters and documents written by three generations.
> Family members have been, for lack of a better term, housewives,
> elected officials, lawyers and merchants.
>
> Until now the documents contained in the first 18 binders have given
> me, and will give our researchers, a fairly complete picture of life
> in rural Virginia before, during and after the Civil War.  Describing
> them has been pretty straight forward...until now.
>
> Binder 19 contains three documents that I would describe as filthy,
> and none of them are signed.  I'm not just talking about the kind of
> filth that can be removed by dry cleaning.  Portions of the letters
> are sexually explicit and not too kindly phrased.  I don't know why
> the family has kept them for well over 100 years!
>
> I've never come across stuff like this before and wonder whether any
> of you have, and if you have, I'd really like to know how you've
> described them, for describe them I must.
>
> All replies and advice would be gratefully accepted.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Elayne Goyette
> YEGoyette@aol.com
>
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Karen Friedl
Consultant
Queensland Collections
John Oxley Library
State Library of Queensland
PO Box 3488
South Brisbane, Qld, 4101
Australia
(7) 3840-7892 phone
(7) 3846-2421 fax
k.friedl@slq.qld.gov.au

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>