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NYTimes Article



I'm having sort of an "icky" (for lack of a more descriptive term) reaction to the Times article Peter sent about the Curator at BU.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the collecting activities described, and I don't question Dr. Gotlieb's motives (please don't take this personally if you're on the list - or even if you're not :) ), but the article makes the whole process sound sort of vulture-ish.  It's as if Gotlieb is scouring the world for famous or near-famous people simply to have their materials as part of his collection.

I have to admit I don't really see a collecting focus here, other than "Personalities", which I suppose is as good as any other.  Part of my sqeamishness may be because I have always worked in institutions (by & large) that had more of an institutional focus - "we collect about us" rather than this kind of mishmash.

My other objection is about the clubbiness of the whole thing, at least as described.  Obviously donors always have to be courted, and celebrities probably need extremely careful handling, but I'm a little concerned that the impression the Times' readers will get is that this is the sort of thing that's for jetsetters only.  Reality is that we want collections from the local plumbing supply business or Joe Smith, resident of the county for 95 years as well as the glitterrati (sp?).

Few archivists I know of could or would have parties in Palm Beach; again, Dr. Gotlieb has apparently managed all this with a limited budget (where have I heard that before?), but I'm still kind of concerned about public reaction to this sort of thing.  Though I suppose most people, at least in New York, will skip the arts to go right to the business section anyway.

Thoughts?

DS

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____________________________________________

Daniel Sokolow
Archives Coordinator
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
dsokolow@nshs.edu
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