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Re: Archival Political Neutrality re: Guiliani Papers



                    phirsch
                                         To:     contact-us@writtenbyhand.com
                    01/25/2002           cc:
                    11:11 AM             Subject:     Re: Archival Political Neutrality
                                         re: Guiliani Papers(Document link: phirsch)




Dear Mr. Pehrson,

Thank you for your response. I am essentially in agreement with you insofar
as my beliefs about an individual having no relevance to my mission as an
archivist; my job would only be to make the material available to the best
of my ability. My posting was intended primarily in the spirit of a layman
inquiring of the archival community if it is normal and within legal limits
to take public records out of the reach of the municipal archives and say
"let us handle how it is preserved and made accessible. Trust us" and then
have a situation where there is no oversight to prevent destruction and/or
manipulation of material. What I find disturbing is the article and the
information that it conveys. I point to Giuliani's well documented record
only as a possible red flag as to how much interference individuals may
encounter when looking for anything that is less than totally
complimentary. As I said, I am not an active archivist, but I would
certainly like to know the variety of opinion the community has on this
issue.

That politicians routinely manipulate and otherwise deceive the public is
no surprise to me (I am on the far side of the half-century mark), but I
gather that when an ex-office holder sets up a "library" papers that are
part of the public record ordinarily remain in their original repository,
if not the original, then as copies. Please correct me if this is wishful
thinking or simply off-base. Once again, I do agree that, in the long run,
my opinion of the man is of no importance. I just worry about what future
researchers and other interested individuals will be able to find when they
visit the "fortress" where the papers now reside.

Peter Hirsch



                    contact-us@written
                    byhand.com               To:     Peter Hirsch <phirsch@NYPL.ORG>
                                             cc:
                    01/25/2002 10:40         Subject:     Archival Political Neutrality re:
                    AM                        Guiliani Papers
                    Please respond to
                    contact-us







Mr. Hirsch:

Further to your question,

<<"Does anyone else feel that a public
figure who was widely perceived as controlling every aspect of his public
image and severely restricted access of any sort while in office, can only
be expected to follow the same path in private life?">>

I feel it's important for archivists in public service to be politically
netutral and, following the physician's Hippocratic oath, "First do no
harm." To that, from an archival point of view I would add, "Preserve
today's history for tomorrow's analysis."

Whether we think Guiliani heinous or angelic is really only of momentary
import.  Since archivists are particularly adept at understanding temporal
matters, and how events can be interpreted, construed, or mis-understood
over time, the first duty must be to preserve everything, opinions aside.

Did Guiliani control his public image?  Of course he did; it's in his job
description as a politician.

There will be plenty of opportunities later to praise or condemn, but
unless we have the full record (opposing and favorable from Guiliani or
not), we will never have a complete basis.  History, as we all know, is a
collection of grey shades, and rarely black or white.

And, if we're fortunate, it's all been written down!

Thanks for raising an important point.

Peter Pehrson
Written by Hand
Stratford, Connecticut
--------------------------------------------------------
Peter Hirsch <phirsch@NYPL.ORG> wrote:
>Maybe it's too soon for the list to be getting activated, but I hope to
see
>the response to this form the archival community. My background as an
>archivist is not imposing (1 1/2 years processing the papers of a composer
>in the American music section of NYPL) but I do have a healthy distrust of
>public figures in general who manipulate access to primary material and of
>the ex-mayor in particular. Having survived as a citizen of NYC during his
>reign, his entire record, in my opinion, does not qualify him as deserving
>a good deal of trust in this area. Does anyone else feel that a public
>figure who was widely perceived as controlling every aspect of his public
>image and severely restricted access of any sort while in office, can only
>be expected to follow the same path in private life? Please read the
>article from RAIN (there was also one in the Jan 25 NY TIMES) and let me
>know if this is some sort of normal arrangement that I am unaware of in my
>archival ignorance.
>
>Peter "my biases are no secret" Hirsch
>Cataloger
>phirsch@nypl.org
>New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
>40 Lincoln Center Plaza
>New York, New York  10023
>(212) 870-1728
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>