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Re: Baker



I think our patrons, Baker included, have every right to criticize us, particularly when they are supporting many of us through their tax dollars.  That doesn't mean we must agree with them, but certainly we should take what they say seriously.  
 
This ongoing thread about Baker has revealed to me something I have suspected for a long time: some of us care far more about making life easier for ourselves as archives administrators, then we care about providing for our patrons.   We care more about what *we* think constitutes "historical importance", rather than looking to our patrons and historiography for help.  We are the experts, they the pedestrians.  (Maybe this why so few user studies have been conducted and published in archives professional journals). 
 
We can not fulfill every need/want of our patrons, but trying to meet their needs when feasible should be our ultimate goal, and that may mean finding the resources to preserve some originals. 
 
Heather Willever-Farr
Electronic Records Archivist
American College of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine
190 N. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572
hwillever-farr@mail.acponline.org
(w) 215-351-2470
(h) 215-481-0962
 
>>> "Geri E. Solomon" <Geri.E.Solomon@HOFSTRA.EDU> 04/18/01 12:05PM >>>
I am replying to this although I probably shouldn't. I'm a bit perturbed. As someone who respects the work of many different types of writers, archivists, teachers, sanitation men, telephone operators, etc. etc. please explain to me why this statement makes any sense:

Traister writes:
"And he is a
journalist for (among other places) *The New Yorker*. Walk into any
bookstore. You don't actually need to do anything quite so low as to
*read* his books if you dislike him so much; simply count what you find of
his work vs. what you find by *any* archivist or librarian. Is there a
clue here?"

Is there a ranking system that I don't know about that says, all writers before librarians, then archivists, then, well I don't know, maybe doctors??????

Because someone wrote something for *The New Yorker* that means their opinion is more valid???????

And did you read VOX????? That seems to me to be a good reason to attack Baker right there......


Then Traister writes:
"In a spirit of impatience, I might add that criticism of Baker for not
being an archivist, a librarian, or "public" in the way in which he runs
his self-created newspaper archive is, it seems to me, ill-judged,
mean-spirited, and likely to be remarkably unproductive. The guy has at
least put his own money and effort where his mouth is, and he has done so
in an area that has nothing to do with his main business in life, writing."


But the meaning that I was trying to convey, is that I would not attempt to attack Baker as a writer, (except maybe for that little aside about VOX) but perhaps I would attack him as an archivist! And, just let him walk a while in my shoes, before he attacks ME!!!!! That he might have put his money (and quite a few grants from some other folks as well) where his mouth is, but that he hasn't done the work, yet, just collected a lot of newspapers, and that he might change his tune after he had done some of the other things associated with the work of an archivist!

There, I've said my piece....

Geri Solomon
Libarges@Hofstra.edu

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