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Re: Restrictions



At first this made me think of the old Manuscripts Librarian who
was in charge when I first started in this business (1983).  She was
very proper, wore her hair in a bun, looked over her glasses--and
down her nose--at everyone.  She insisted that the only people
allowed in the division be "serious researchers."  We never did pin
her down on how to define this; it seemed to be anyone she
personally didn't like including some guy whose grandfather had
ripped off her grandfather back in the pioneer days.  After she
retired (and I often think of her parting words--she left just after we
got our first, green-screen WANG computer--"I'm glad I'm retiring
now, so I don't have to deal with these stupid computers!") we
relaxed the rules somewhat.

However, to be specific, we actually have several collections that
have just this same situation, namely those that deal with the
extensive rock art found in Utah.  One in particular contains
photographs and detailed instructions on how to reach the sites.
Concerned, just like Ms Speer in the original post, on how to keep
"treasure hunters" away from these sites, we thought about it and
finally developed a policy wherein any time anyone asks for that
particular collection, or a couple of others that are similar, we sit
them down and interview them, citing the Antiquities Act of 1906, a
federal law which was enacted to protect such sites from vandalism
and damage.

I can't say for certain that we've deterred any potential pot hunters
or vandals, but it certainly gets the patrons attention.

It's just like yesterday when I was on the desk, a couple of women
came in to look at stuff for their geneaology.  They seemed a bit
miffed at the restrictions, put your bag in a locker, no papers on the
desk, and so on, until I brought out the first box, which contained
original letters from their ancestors from the 1860s.  She said "my
gosh, these are the real thing!  No wonder you have so many
rules!"  Amen, sister!

Roy


Roy Webb, C.A.
Multimedia Archivist
Special Collections
J. Willard Marriott Library
295 South 1500 East
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah   84112
(801) 585-3073  //  fax (801) 585-3976
rwebb@library.utah.edu

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