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Re: Baker



        While I hesitate to jump in after reading only half of Baker's *Double
Fold*, it might be appropriate to note that part of his argument goes to the
origins of microfilming and the role of certain individuals in and with the
Library of Congress and the then Council on Library Resources in setting up
initial assumptions and then having the rest of the library and archives
professions, in most cases unthinkingly, accept these assumptions and just
jump on the bandwagon. Baker does appear to be oblivious to the pressures of
economics and finance and to the difficulty in making public or at least
widespread policies do a 180-degree about-face (to begin saving all or
massive numbers of originals) after thirty to sixty years. That would be
extraordinarily difficult, including for him and his repository. But in the
"what if" category, there might have been some measures available thirty
years ago which the professions jointly could have undertaken.

        I would just make or reiterate the following points:

        1) Baker should make all archivists and librarians rethink their
assumptions, at the least.

        2) Baker has done a lot of research, enough to make his book something
besides a rant (though it may have some of those qualities) or an obsession
or "nostalgia".

        3) He makes us (or at least he has made me) newly aware of the limitations
of the film medium. We should always be glad when someone makes us aware of
the limitations of media, since they all have them.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edwin Southern, Ph.D  (esouthern@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us)
Head, State and University Records Unit
Department of Cultural Resources
Division of Archives and History
Archives and Records Section
Government Records Branch
4615 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4615

Phone 919/733-3540
Fax 919/715-3627

Opinions expressed in this message may
not represent the policy of my agency.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Daniel Sokolow
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2001 9:28 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Baker


Daniel,

While I agree with your concern about ad hominem attacks, I have to respond
to your third point about him being an archivist.  Bless him for his
efforts, he is still holding archivists up to a standard that is, frankly,
impossible to reach.  What I think most of us would like is for him to admit
that it's not as simple as all that.  Several of us have brought up the
issue of staffing for his grand newspaper repository.  If he wants us
archivists to preserve it all, he's going to have to start thinking like us.
That includes providing access to his collection, cataloging the collection
(on card files, if it makes him happy :) )

Our concerns as a profession are not that he's not an archivist - I applaud
him for taking on the role without the training.  The problems are 1) his
attacks on our profession do not take into account what we're really facing
(see my earlier emails on this subject); 2) his focus on the preservation
aspect to the exclusion of the other issues affecting archivists; 3) his
refusal to admit that current funding levels are not sufficient for what he
wants us to do.

[snip]

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