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Re: Question and answer about the dutch archives of the diocese of Rotterdam.



I am both a Church historian (Presbyterian, volunteer) and an
archivist (University, full-time paid).   The difficulty is that people
in the church or parish are often confused as to what constitutes
the "archives" ... I often have to produce lists of the kinds of items
that are important -- worship bulletins, church newsletters, minutes
of the Session/Governing Board, minutes of church committees,
and the like.  These are important primary materials, but there are
also others.   For example, posters of special events, visiting choirs,
photographs taken by our youth on tours, etc.   Some of these latter
are not so much archival as they are of great interest to church
members when we're doing "year in review" or anniversaries.

Given your situation, I think an archivist could help identify those
materials that should be preserved by the parishes, but at the
same time, provide some encouragement and excitement among
them in preserving their history.    Among the Presbyterian churches
here, there appears to be some good-natured competition, so that if
one church does something, the others rush to copy.   If you had a
good manual/list of the archives of one church, that would encourage
others to not be "outdone" ... similarly if you had a history website of
one parish, the others would rush to help create their own, I would
think.

Dean

Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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