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Re: Historians/archivists--public policy debates



>Conversely, is there a List that discusses the public policy challenges faced >by government historians and archivists in more depth than does Archives >and Archivists? 

Like you, I hope(d) this would be the place for such discussion.  Why can't that happen?  Obviously, it depends on a critical mass of subscribers to engage in such discussions. Maybe give it a try again.  (And let me know if you find a list where archivists and historians tackle such issues.)

Sally Gibson



********************************************************

 Sally Gibson
     Archivist

     City of Toronto Archives
     255 Spadina Road
     Toronto, Ontario
     Canada  M5R 2V3
     
    tel.:      (416) 392-5561
    fax:      (416) 392-9685 
    email:  sgibson0@city.toronto.on.ca

>>> Maarja Krusten <Maarja@AOL.COM> 04/24/01 04:15pm >>>
I am interested in finding a discussion List that includes private and public sector subscribers and covers archival and historical research issues.  Does anyone know of such a List?  I worked for 14 years as a federal archivist and have been working for the past 11 years as a federal historian.  I've been unable to find a Listserv that satisfactorily combines both fields.

The Archives and Archivists List touches on interesting issues at times but rarely if ever delves deeply into public policy issues (the Kyl and Lott amendments on government declassification; the difficulty of ensuring the creation and preservation of records in the era of the delete key; assertions, such as those by former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler, that public officials are increasingly reluctant to take notes or create deliberative documents in Washington, and so forth).

One would think these issues would be of great interest to historians, since they are so dependent on good records management and archiving, but I'm having trouble finding a List that reflects this.  I recently posted to the H-Diplo list several times between 4/17 and 4/24/01 but found a disappointing amount of stovepiping or insularity on that List.  In fact, none of the the scholars who subscribe to H-Diplo seemed interested in learning about the challenges faced by government archivists and historians in Washington.  So I'm looking for a List that is more conducive to exploring these issues.

In answering critics of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), I posted a defense of the agency on H-Diplo and noted "To be useful, any criticism of NARA must take into account all the sources of pressure on the agency and look for ways to protect it, not tear down the agency."  Only two scholars responded and neither addressed the sources of pressure on the Archives.  One charged that NARA was too timid and should be replaced by a new declassifying agency; the other (Hayden Peake) wrote that "There is no need to gain insight into NARA's problems, it is the solution to the scholars' problems that require attention."

Does anyone know of a List where historians are interested in gaining "insight into NARA's problems" and are willing to debate public policy issues related to public access and records managment?   Conversely, is there a List that discusses the public policy challenges faced by government historians and archivists in more depth than does Archives and Archivists?  Please post to the respective lists (this is being double posted to Archives and Archivists and to H-Diplo) or off-list to me, as you prefer.
Maarja Krusten (Maarja@aol.com)

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