DOCSLIB.ORG

Archival Science

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Archival Science Lesson 12. Archival science Learning tasks: by completing this unit of study, the student will be able to: ¾ Define the object of study of Archival science . ¾ Identify the most important moments from the history of archives. ¾ Retain some elementary notions of the archives administration. I. The object of study of Archival science Archival Science is the Auxiliary Science of History that deal with the study and organization of archives (storing, cataloguing and retrieving of documents). First attested in English in early 17th century, the word archiveis derived from the French archives (plural). This word come from Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheion), which refers to the home or dwelling of the Archon. The term was picked up by Romans (archīum or archīvum) from where it spread to other nations. An archive is a collection of historical records or the physical place they are located. An archive keep documents relating to the history of a country, a city, an institution, a family or individuals, etc., which reflecting the relations between people and between them and the political and social organizations. A person who work in archives is called an archivist. At the base of Archival science were instructions, regulations and statutes of various medieval institutions and corporations. It has grown especially when in archives appeared the German system of registry. In 1571, for the first time, Jacob von Rammingen (1510‐1582) established the theory and practice of registry, in his work entitled Von der Registratur. Then appeared numerous books. A satisfactory book, which embraces the field of this science, was Archivistica wrote by Eugenio Casanova (2nd edition, Siena, 1928), which with all its ponderous style remains valid for complex knowledge of Archival science. To these should be added subsequently acquired knowledge: Adolf Brennecke, Archivkunde, Leipzig, 1953; Th. R. Schellenberg, Moderne archives, Principles and Techniques, Melbourne, 1956, Jean Favier, Les archives, Paris, 1959; Gerhart Enders, Archiverwaltungslehre, Berlin, 1962, etc. * II. From the history of archives Archives were well developed by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks, and ancient Romans. The Byzantine Empire has preserved rules inherited from the Romans. In the early Middle Ages there was a decline of Daniel Flaut, Introduction to the Auxiliary Sciences of History archives. Medieval cities began to assume responsibility for archives. At the same time, there were private archives and archives of churches. Notaries archives wrote documents of private law and have kept copies of them. Papal archives were made up of documents of Saints, but have begun to add legal and diplomatic documents. Ecclesiastical archives have kept documents about the history of the Church, documents relating to their field and literary works. Imperial and royal archives were ”viatoria” (traveling), much later start to have a permanent establishment (”statoria”). Archives were constituted everywhere, but the access to them was difficult due to exceptional measures taken by kings and nobles. Archives start to be closed and becomes secrets. But were admitted and research in archives. In the sixteenth century there was a massive publication of sources. Humanists studied with much interest documents, giving birth to the critical using of documents. The modern era has brought with it the centralization of work in archives and created the network of archives. On 25 June 1794, in France, the Convention has declared solemnly the opening of all deposits of archives. Were set general principles of archives. At Paris was realised the centralization of all deposits of archives from France. In 1810, Napoleon wanted to bring to Paris archives of the entire empire. After the French model were organized archives in Belgium, England, Spain, Hungary and Italy. The fate of archives would be different from now on. In the modern era the number of factors creators of archive increased significantly. * III. Elementary notions of the archives administration Archives must meet certain external and internal conditions. The building of archive must to be located on stable ground, isolated, well exposed to light and away from smoke emanations or water vapor. The archive must be built more in extension and in regions threatened by earthquakes should not have more floors. It is recommended that the roof to be constructed of galvanized sheet. The building of archive must have: special storage rooms, reading hall, conferences hall, work offices, halls of the inventories, secretariat, library, laboratories and so on, which have a thermal and moisture control. Archival deposits, especially, must be equipped with air‐conditioning and appliances for measuring kept under constant surveillance to ensure temperature, humidity and air purity at parameters considered optimal for the preserving of documents. The organize of archives also include the storage and handling of archives funds. Documents from the archive are subject to a number of dangers. Their destruction is due to several causes, intentional or accidental. From the intentional causes we mention: the authority which wants to escape his own archive, the incompetence, poor training of archivists, intentional alienation, intentional thefts. The chemical and biological destruction of documents from archive is caused by weather, earthquakes, fires, parasites of archives (the flora and the fauna of archives). The flora from the building of archives is determined by the moisture, poor ventilation, lack of light, etc. These make to appear a series of microorganisms that make up the vegetation of archives. This vegetation is dominated by fungi that feed with fiber paper, organic substances from leather and fat residues from parchment. As regards the fauna of archives, it is of a larger 2 Daniel Flaut, Introduction to the Auxiliary Sciences of History variety. There is a category of visible attackers and another category of invisible attackers. It was found that 1/3 from archives are destroyed because of the animal kingdom, which existed here: mice, insects, microorganisms, etc. Some of them eat the wood, others eat paper and glue. Against parasites of archives are uses mechanical, biological and chemical methods. For the preserve of documents, in optimal conditions, are regularly carried out activities to vent of deposits, avoiding the air which has over 60‐65% humidity. A very important activity of archives is restoring of damaged archival funds. It is done in laboratories of restoration through several methods. The adhesive method (bonding) is the oldest and best. The chemical method consists in the impregnation of the material of document with several substances. The physical method is better because it does not attack the substance with which it was written. Restoration of documents involves a series of steps: cleansing, smoothing and neutralizing. * Homework Elaborate an essay with the title: Provenance and preservation in Archival science References: ¾ Archival Science: Preservation, General Books LLC, 2010. ¾ Cloonan, Michèle V., Preserving Records of Enduring Value, in Eastwood, Terry, MacNeil, Heather (ed.), Currents of Archival Thinking, Santa Barbara, California, Libraries Unlimited, 2010, p. 69‐88. ¾ Adrian Cunningham, Archival Institutions, in McKemmish Sue et al. (ed.), Archives: Recordkeeping in Society, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Charles Sturt University, Centre for Information Studies, 2005. ¾ Cumming, Kate, Metadata Matters, in McLeod, Julie, Hare, Catherine (ed.), Managing Electronic Records, London, Facet Publishing, 2005, p. 34‐49. ¾ Jennifer Douglas, Origins: Evolving Ideas about the Principle of Provenance, in Eastwood, Terry, MacNeil, Heather (ed.), Currents of Archival Thinking, Santa Barbara, California, Libraries Unlimited, 2010, p. 23‐43. ¾ Duranti, Luciana, Heather MacNeil, The Protection of the Integrity of Electronic Records: An Overview of the UBC­MAS Research Project, in ”Archivaria”, 1 (42), January 1996, p. 46–67. ¾ Luke J. Gilliland‐Swetland, The Provenance of a Profession: The Permanence of the Public Archives and Historical Manuscripts Traditions in American Archival History, American, in ”Archivist”, 54, no. 2 , 1991, p. 160‐174. Dear students, please send me your essay at e‐mail address: [email protected] Bibliography ¾ Brennecke, Adolf, Archivkunde, Leipzig, 1953. ¾ Casanova, Eugenio, Archivistica, 2nd edition, Siena, 1928. ¾ Craven, Louise (ed.), What are Archives?: Cultural and Theoretical Perspectives: a Reader, Ashgate Publishing Limited, T.J. International Ltd. Padstow, Cornwall, 2008. 3 Daniel Flaut, Introduction to the Auxiliary Sciences of History ¾ Enders, Gerhart, Archiverwaltungslehre, Berlin, 1962. ¾ Favier, Jean Les archives, Paris, 1959. ¾ Kumar, Sushil, Archives: Principles and Practices, New‐Delhi, 2011. ¾ Schellenberg, Th. R., Moderne archives, Principles and Techniques, Melbourne, 1956. ¾ The Earliest Predecessors of Archival Science: Jacob Von Rammingen's Two Manuals of Registry and Archival Management, Printed in 1571, Wallin & Dalholm, 2010. 4 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bibliography of American Archival History
    Archival History Section of the Society of American Archivists: Bibliography of American Archival History October 2016 © This is a select edition of a bibliography first released online in March 2015, and revised in May 2015, August 2015, and August 2016. The online version was a group effort of the Society of American Archivists’ Archival History Roundtable (now Section), which included steering committee members: Alison Clemens, Lorraine Madway, Cory Nimer, Krista Oldham, Kelly Kolar, Robert Riter, and Eric Stoykovich. Dr. David B. Gracy II contributed syllabi which provided many of these bibliographic entries. Contents American Archival Developments through 1898…………….1 American Archival Developments after 1898………………..5 1 | Bibliography of American Archival History American Archival Developments through 1898 Barrow, William J. “Black Writing Ink of the Colonial Period.” American Archivist 11 (October 1948): 291‑307. Online: http://americanarchivist. org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.11.4.903256p5lp2g3354 Benavides, Adán. Loss by Division: the Commandancy General Archive of the Eastern Interior Provinces. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1988. Bradsher, James Gregory. “An Administrative History of the Disposal of Federal Records, 1789‑1949.” Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists 3, no. 2 (Fall 1985): 1‑21. Online: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/vol3/iss2/2 Bradsher, James Gregory. “A Brief History of the Growth of Federal Government Records, Archives and Information, 1789‑1985.” Government Publications Review 13, no. 4 (July/August 1986): 491‑505. Available online at cost. Chandler, Alfred D. and James W. Cortada, eds. A Nation Transformed by Information: How Information has Shaped the United States from Colonial Times to the Present.
    [Show full text]
  • The Discursive Construction of Archival Science: Conceptual Foundations of a Discipline in Construction
    Thiago Henrique Bragato Barros and João Batista Ernesto de Moraes. 2011. The discursive construction of archival science: Conceptual foundations. In Smiraglia, Richard P., ed. Proceedings from North American Symposium on Knowledge Organization, Vol. 3. Toronto, Canada, pp. 196-206. Thiago Henrique Bragato Barros ([email protected]) and João Batista Ernesto de Moraes ([email protected]) Universidade Estadual Paulista, Marília SP Brazil The Discursive Construction of Archival Science: Conceptual Foundations of a Discipline in Construction Abstract: This work outlines a theoretical background established in Archival Science based mainly on discourse analysis as a key discipline to understand which the differences are and points of concep- tual commonality in the area. Uses the French Discourse Analysis as a principle with a theoretical and methodological framework to typify the archive as a discursive practice defined by their historical aspects of its institutional junctures. The study of discourse helps to understand how certain linguistic formations construct the discourse, concerned mainly with the context in which the text was pro- duced. This analysis take place from manuals and treatises of Archival Science produced during the development of discipline and regarded as grounds for discipline. We analyzed the Manual of an Arc- hival Arrangement and Description (vor Handleiding van het ordenen in bescheijven archieven) of Muller, Feith, and Fruin (Ed.1 1898). Another work considered is the Manual of Archive Administra- tion Including the Problems of War Archives and Archive a Making (1 Ed. 1922) and some of late works of Sir Hillary Jenkinson and finally analyzed the work of Theodore R. Schellenberg some as- pects of his vast bibliography.
    [Show full text]
  • Blair 2007 Archival Science Intro Milligan.Pdf (131.1
    Introduction The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Blair, Ann, and Jennifer Milligan. 2007. “Introduction.” Archival Science 7 (4) (December): 289–296. doi:10.1007/s10502-008-9069-7. Published Version 10.1007/s10502-008-9069-7 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29674917 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA manuscript for Ann Blair and Jennifer Milligan, "Introduction," Archival Science 7:4 (2007), pp. 289-96. Introduction Archives -- collections of paper, books, and other substrates of information (some might say “memory”) and the institutions that house and manage these objects -- are subjects of a renewed and vital current critical historical interest. Archives, broadly conceived, have been used for the writing of history since historical writing began, and archival materials and institutions are an integral part of the making not just of history but of the modern historical profession as well. The historian’s relationship with the archive has been long and varied and described in a broad range of terms, as being as unproblematic as “bread and butter” (Giles 1996) or as driven by erotic, fetishistic desire (Smith 1998). It is fitting that historians should turn their scholarly attentions to these depositories that have been the object, if not the subject, of so much historical work.
    [Show full text]
  • Archival Reference and Access: Syllabi and a Snapshot of the Archival Canon Ciaran B
    This article was downloaded by: [Ciaran B. Trace] On: 25 November 2012, At: 09:30 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK The Reference Librarian Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wref20 Archival Reference and Access: Syllabi and a Snapshot of the Archival Canon Ciaran B. Trace a & Carlos J. Ovalle a a School of Information, The University of Texas, Austin, TX To cite this article: Ciaran B. Trace & Carlos J. Ovalle (2012): Archival Reference and Access: Syllabi and a Snapshot of the Archival Canon, The Reference Librarian, 53:1, 76-94 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2011.596364 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Archives & Digital Curation
    University of Maryland, College of Information Studies INST 604: Introduction to Archives & Digital Curation Fall 2018 Course Meeting Time: Tuesdays, 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM Course Meeting Location: Hornbake Library 0103 Instructor: Adam Kriesberg, Ph.D. Office: HBK 0216C Office Hours: Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00pm, or by appointment Contact Information: 301-405-0619 | [email protected] Course Description: This course introduces students to the practice of archival thinking, an important skill in caring for an increasingly complex, multimedia, and heterogeneous information. Is the information stored in a secure place (be it in servers or stacks)? Is there guaranteed long-term access to the records, manuscripts, or data? How do we ensure the authenticity and reliability of the information we keep? How do we use archival records to hold those in positions of power accountable? What are the ways that marginalized groups are represented in historical sources? What access systems should be in place to maximize the discoverability of the items in our collection? Archivists answer these questions in particular ways and those specific perspectives and ideas that inform their actions are what we will study during the term. As a class, we shall examine fundamental theories and practices as well as the essential principles and standards that archivists apply in designing and implementing strategies for the preservation and long-term access of information. We will also pay attention to the changing informational, organizational, societal, and technological landscapes and consider how those changes are affecting archival practices, the information and preservation professions, and the implementation of foundational archival ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Archives, Records, and Power: from (Postmodern) Theory to (Archival) Performance
    Archival Science 2: 171–185, 2002. 171 © 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Archives, Records, and Power: From (Postmodern) Theory to (Archival) Performance TERRY COOKa and JOAN M. SCHWARTZb aUniversity of Manitoba/Clio Consulting, 2138 Hubbard Crescent, Ottawa ON K1J 6L2 Canada (E-mail: [email protected]); bNational Archives of Canada/Queen’s University, 87 Cameron Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 0W8 Canada (E-mail: [email protected]) Abstract. This article is the continuation and conclusion of our introduction, as the guest editors, that appeared in the first of these two special issues of Archival Science, which together are devoted to the theme, “Archives, Records, and Power.” It argues that, in performing their work, archivists follow a script that has been naturalized by the routine repetition of past practice. They act in ways that they anticipate their various audiences would desire. If archival practice is to be influenced by the postmodern ideas of the authors of the essays in these two volumes, then archivists must see that the script, stage, and audiences have changed. Theory and practice are not opposites, not even polarities, but integrated aspects of the archivist’s professional role and responsibility. Transparency of process about the archivist’s performance will facilitate this integration, stimulate the building of archival knowledge, and enable present and future generations to hold the profession accountable for its choices in exercising power over the making of modern memory. Keywords: accountability, archival practice, archival theory, postmodernism, performance All the world’s a stage And all the men and women merely players. Shakespeare, As You Like It (1599) You know someone said that the world’s a stage And each must play a part.
    [Show full text]
  • Preserve Scientific Electronic Journals: a Study of Archiving Initiatives
    Preserve Scientific Electronic Journals: A Study of Archiving Initiatives by Golnessa GALYANI MOGHADDAM (M.LISc, Ph.D) Assistant Professor, Dept. of Library and Information Science, Shahed University, Tehran, IRAN, E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper seeks to review the archiving initiatives of scientific journals created and supported by various organizations or institutions. A review of nine archiving initiatives including JSTOR, Portico, E-Print Repositories, Open Access Model, LOCKSS, OCLC Digital Archive, JISC PubMed Central and KB e-Depot was carried out. The paper focuses mainly on the initiatives by an analytical approach. The paper provides a useful starting-point to anyone who wants to know about the preserving scientific electronic journal, enabling him/her quickly to achieve an overview of the existing archiving initiatives to date. Keywords: Digital Preservation, Electronic Archiving, Archiving Challenges, Scholarly Journals, Electronic Journals, Archiving Initiatives Introduction Scientific journals have played a very prominent role in the scholarly communication system for many years. With a migration from print to digital environment, scientific communication is not possible without reliable access to the accumulated scholarship of the past, therefore, preserving scientific electronic journals became one of the important concerns for digital librarians in the recent years. Many stakeholders of scientific publishing have begun to consider importance of electronic archiving and take initial steps to meet their responsibility effectively. The new concerns of electronic archiving led to a series of meetings over the past few years among 1 publishers, librarians, and technologists sponsored by a variety of organizations. In order to manage the archiving issues, different initiatives and projects were created by various organizations and institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Organization and Status of Archival Training in the United
    The Organization and Status of Archival Training in the Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/11/2/154/2742821/aarc_11_2_4178j71382770886.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 United States1 By KARL L. TREVER The National Archives EN years ago the newly-formed Society of American Archivists created a Committee on Training, instructing it "to consider the Teducation and training appropriate for those desirous of entering the archival profession . and to promote projects for making such training available."2 In November 1945 the Society joined the American Association for State and Local History in appointing representatives to a National Council on Specialized Scholarly Techniques, an organiza- f tion dedicated to the task of facilitating the training of persons inter- ested in entering archival or historical society work.3 These actions, when noted together, suggest the need for reviewing the development of training facilities during the past decade and for appraising their usefulness to the profession. At the second annual meeting of the Society, the Committee on Training presented its "Preliminary Report."4 It expressed complete agreement with the European emphasis on the need for a historical, legal, and linguistic background in archival work and recommended that training in the United States should be provided for persons pre- paring for two classes of archival positions: (1) student candidates for archivist first class, i.e., those planning careers as directors or staff officers of major archival establishments, and who would be recruited from the level of training required for the doctor of philosophy in American history or political science; and (2) student candidates for archivist second class, i.e., those who aspired to directorships of minor establishments or to employment as lesser officials in larger agencies, 1Read at the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists, October 25, 1946.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Year of the First Archival Science Course in Japan
    The First Year of the First Archival Science Course in Japan YAYOI TSUTSUI Abstract: Gakushuin University in Tokyo started a course of Archival Science at Graduate School of Humanities in April of 2008. It offers a master’s course training archivists and a doctorial course for researchers. This is brand- new in Japan. The presenter is one of eight master candidate students, who joined all classes given in the first year, including the two-week internship featured the course. She introduces the archival studies’ classrooms of five professors and eight instructors. She refers to other disciplines of Gakushuin in Humanities, Political Studies, and Library Science. She also experienced some training workshops. Along with the faculty, the students enjoyed the study tours granted by a foundation to Okinawa and Korea where they learned about advanced archival systems of actual repositories. On June 24, the bill on management of public records was enacted by the National Diet of Japan. The Government prepared this bill on the basis of the final report of the expert panel titled “Ideal Management of Official Documents as Records Passing through Time – Now we Tackle the Issue as a National Project – “. Both Houses of the Diet pass additional resolutions dealing with the archival profession. Students closely watched this movement. Reviewing a brief history of the archival science in Japan, expectation and significance of this new course under such circumstances will be discussed. About the author: Yayoi Tsutsui is a student of Master’s course of Archival Science at Gakushuin University as well as a homemaker with three children.
    [Show full text]
  • Archival Studies Pathway — Required and Recommended Courses
    Archival Studies Pathway — Required and Recommended Courses If an MLIS student takes the foundational course and 15 credits of the recommended courses, this career path will meet Society of American Archivists recommendations of at least 18 credits archives-related coursework for graduate programs in archival studies.1 REQUIRED MLIS CORE (16 CREDIT HOURS) LIS 60010 The Information Landscape 3 LIS 60020 Information Organization 3 LIS 60030 People in the Information Ecology 3 LIS 60040 Information Institutions and Professions 3 LIS 60050 Research and Assessment in Library and Information Science 3 LIS 60280 Master’s Portfolio in Library and Information Science 1 FOUNDATIONAL COURSE (3 CREDIT HOURS) LIS 60652 Foundations of Recordkeeping in Society 3 STRONGLY RECOMMENDED COURSES LIS 60510 Digital Technologies I: Data Fundamentals 1 LIS 60511 Digital Technologies II: Internet Fundamentals 1 LIS 60631 Introduction to Digital Preservation (prerequisites = LIS 60510 and 60511) 3 LIS 60635 Cultural Heritage Informatics 3 LIS 60654 Preservation and Conservation of Heritage Materials 3 LIS 60657 Theory and Methods of Archival Acquisition, Selection and Appraisal (prerequisite = LIS 3 60652) 1 The Society of American Archivists maintains guidelines, last updated in 2016, for Graduate Education Programs in Archival Studies, which may be found on the SAA website. https://www2.archivists.org/prof-education/graduate/gpas 1 LIS 60692 or Practicum—Libraries and Information Centers or Master’s Internship in Library and 2-3 60092 Information Science LIS
    [Show full text]
  • Counterpoint a Forum for Archival Debate and Discussion
    Counterpoint A Forum for Archival Debate and Discussion Archival Education In the last issue of Archivaria, Edwin Welch scathingly denounced library school op- tions in archival science, but seems to know little if anything about them.' As the "librarian" who, according to Dr. Welch has taken over "the archives op- tion" from "the archivist who established it," I should like to set the record straight.' The course referred to in Welch's footnote was already established before he even entered the archival profession! There are now two courses in the programme and, because of the high student demand, it is likely that more will be offered in the future. My courses are designed to give future librarians an introduction to a sister profes- sion which shares some of the aims, problems and practices of librarianship. They might also profitably be taken, as an appetizer, by someone considering a career in ar- chives, but this is not their primary purpose and I am certainly not presumptuous enough to consider them as adequate training for the archival profession. That these courses are given in a School of Library and Information Science does not mean that I see no difference between the training and qualifications required by archivists and librarians or that I advocate a common training programme as Working Group 111 did. There is some common ground, and there might be a case for archival education to be undertaken in the same institution as library education, especially in the present economic circumstances. The sharing of facilities by two academic disciplines, and mutual co-operation in developing and teaching those parts of their subject matters which overlap, does not imply any subordination of the one to the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Tacit Narratives: the Meanings of Archives ∗
    Archival Science 1: 131–141, 2001. 131 © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Tacit Narratives: The Meanings of Archives ∗ ERIC KETELAAR University of Leiden and University of Amsterdam; The Netherlands Visiting Professor 2000-2001, University of Michigan (School of Information); Oude Turfmarkt 141, 1012 GC Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Archivists and historians usually consider archives as repositories of historical sources and the archivist as a neutral custodian. Sociologists and anthropologists see “the archive” also as a system of collecting, categorizing, and exploiting memories. Archivists are hesitantly acknowledging their role in shaping memories. I advocate that archival fonds, archival documents, archival institutions, and archival systems contain tacit narratives which must be deconstructed in order to understand the meanings of archives. Keywords: archival science, mediation, narratives, postmodernism, social memory New Possibilities A critical approach is at the heart of archival endeavor. Its even postmodern: did not the father of postmodernism, Lyotard, equate postmodernism with incredulity in meta-narratives, in grand schemes? We could also say with Anthony Giddens: tradition no longer works and cannot be cited as the rationale for our actions. Giddens’ post-traditional social order is not one in which traditions disappear – far from it. Traditions become open to interroga- tion and discourse. Such a post-traditional society is a global society, where traditions
    [Show full text]