Newsletter of the Museum Archives Section Museum Archivist Summer 2014 Volume 24, Issue 2 2014 Annual Meeting Preview We can't believe how quickly this year Level). And for those of you who can't Meeting Agenda has passed, but we're really pleased with attend—who we know now are many— Greeting and introduction what's been done this year and looking we will be live tweeting the meeting to Survey results forward to all the great things we'll be help keep us all connected to the doing at the SAA Annual Meeting in business of the section, so stay tuned for Ballot results and new officer August! more information on that. We'll discuss introductions the survey results, receive an update From the Chair from the Standards and Best Practices Newsletter and listserv updates Most important: the membership survey. (S&BP) Working Group, introduce new S&BP Working Group update This yielded some really interesting data steering committee members, and be 2015 Program Committee about who are the members of the sure to provide plenty of time for new presentation Museum Archives Section and what you business and networking! 2015 Program brainstorming all really need from us going forward. S&BP meeting and social time! Our successor, Lorraine Stuart from the Speaking of the S&BP Working Group: be Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, was sure to attend the half-day symposium on instrumental in helping us craft the museum archives and electronic records in Washington 1 (on the Exhibition Level) survey, so we know we leave you in good at SAA's Annual Meeting this year! The We hope everyone is enjoying their hands, prepared to carry the section symposium will feature three case summers, and we look forward to seeing forward based on all the helpful feedback studies, five lightning round speakers, some of you soon! we received. I hope that everyone is able discussion, and plenty of time for to come to the 2014 section meeting, to questions. No registration separate from Jennie Thomas be held during the SAA Annual Meeting SAA conference registration is required, Heidi Abbey on Friday, August 15 from noon to 2:00 so we hope to see you on Wednesday, MAS Cochairs p.m., in Washington 2 (on the Exhibition August 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., “Performance Archiving Performance” at the New Museum: Re-evaluating a Museum’s Responsibility to Performance- Based Artwork By Tara Hart Digital Archivist at the New Museum The mutual dependence of performance and its documentation has been the subject of heated debates for over thirty years. Performance-based artwork in the 1960s and 1970s broke with the standards of tradition, permanence, and categorization that are generally associated with modern visual art museums. In turn, the definition of a work of art—and its markets—has expanded to include art that is considered ephemeral, dematerialized, or time-based. Though it is not always an easy fit, many (Continued on page 4) Page 2 Museum Archives Section Standards & Best Practices Working Group: End of Year Report Submitted by Rachel Chatalbash Working Group to partner with Sec- next steps: what could we as a com- and Susan Hernandez, Working tion members to share policies and munity develop to help museum ar- Group Co-Chairs best practices as they continue to chivists throughout the nation with develop. We can also seek out exam- electronic records issues? The Museum Archives Section’s Stan- ples from archivists and digital preser- dards and Best Practices Working vation managers working in other Group (S&BP Working Group) has types of repositories for adaption by If you are interested in contributing spent the year investigating the topic museum archivists. To start this to the S&BP Working Group’s activi- of museum archives and electronic work, and as the second part of our ties, please join us at our Working records. There is no doubt that elec- project, the S&BP Working Group Group’s meeting at the conclusion of tronic records pose a challenge to all created an online resource guide con- the Museum Archives Section’s busi- archivists, and particularly to small sisting of links to guidelines, articles, ness meeting on Friday, August 15th, repositories with limited IT support and tools to help museum archivists or email the Working Group’s Co- such as the majority of the museum begin their electronic records work. Chairs. archives in our Section. The compiled references and links have been organized in the following We investigated the state of the field categories: acquisition or transfer of in two parts. First, we wanted to un- electronic records; migration from We are looking forward to work the derstand what our colleagues in mu- old media; storage and disaster recov- ahead! seum archives had accomplished with ery; digital preservation systems; ar- electronic records. We wanted to rangement, description, and access; survey museum archivists at all stages policies and outreach; preservation of developing an electronic records 2013-2014 Working Group Members formats; challenging formats: web- program. From archivists already im- sites, email, and social media; general plementing digital preservation sys- Barbara Austen resources; and commonly used tools. tems, we wanted to learn about their Melissa Bowling Holly Deakyne tools, procedures, and software sys- Both the interviews and the online Ryan Evans tems. From those successfully part- resource guide will be posted to the Eden Orelove nering with other museum depart- Museum Archives Section microsite Dawn Sueoka ments, we wanted to know how insti- before our Section meeting in August. Jennifer Whitlock tutional support was achieved and We hope that the interviews will how systems across the museum demonstrate trends and common Brian Wilson might interface. From archivists only strategies employed by museum ar- Co-Chairs taking their first steps towards estab- chivists, as well as potential tools and lishing a program, we wanted to hear procedures for exploration. Rachel Chatalbash about their test cases, potential ap- proaches, and goals. The S&BP Work- The S&BP Working Group has also [email protected] ing Group developed a series of sur- organized a morning symposium on Susan Hernandez vey questions, which S&BP Working electronic records and museum ar- [email protected] Group members used to conduct chives that will be held on Wednes- over a dozen interviews with museum day, August 13th at the SAA Confer- archivists. ence hotel. The symposium will fea- ture three case studies, five lightning The interviews clearly demonstrated round speakers, and plenty of time that we are only beginning to grapple for discussion of electronic records with electronic records issues. There issues. We also hope to have time to is an opportunity for our S&BP consider the S&BP Working Group’s Page 3 Electronic Records & Museum Archives Symposium August 13, 2014 The Museum Archives Section Standards and Best Practices Working Group is holding a half-day symposium on museum ar- chives and electronic records at this year’s Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting. The symposium will feature three case studies, five lightning round speakers, discussion, and plenty of time for questions. Please join us! No registration separate from SAA conference registration is required. Marriott Wardman Park (SAA Conference Hotel), Washington 1 (Exhibition Level) Wednesday, August 13, 2014 8:00am-12:00pm 8:00am - 8:15am: Introduction Rachel Chatalbash, Yale Center for British Art 8:15am-9:45am: Case Studies Susan Hernandez, Cleveland Museum of Art Nancy Enneking, Getty Research Institute Abby Adams, Hagley Museum and Library 9:45am-10:00am: Break 10:00am-11:00am: Lightning Round Shannon Morelli, The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library Francine Snyder, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Emily Perkins, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Carey Stumm, New York Transit Museum Brian Wilson, The Henry Ford Chair: Susan Anderson, Philadelphia Museum of Art 11:00am-11:45am: Discussion Led by MAS Standards & Best Practices Working Group Members Ryan Evans, CCS Bard/Hessel Museum Holly Deakyne, Getty Research Institute 11:45am-12:00pm: Next Steps Questions? Please email Working Group Co-Chairs Rachel Chatalbash ([email protected]) or Susan Hernandez ([email protected]) Page 4 Performance (Continued from page 1) archives has provided a vital place for the of archiving could themselves be production of new work and inquiry. interpreted as a mode of performance. institutions such as The Museum of “Performance Archiving Performance” Modern Art and the Solomon R. Performance Archiving Performance was composed of a series of artist Guggenheim Museum have more recently residencies, performances, public talks, In Fall 2013, as part of the New Museum developed methods of formally acquiring and open studios that took place in the R&D Season: Archives program, produced works of conceptual, installation New Museum Theater, as well as an by the Department of Education and performance art and dance. These exhibition in the Museum’s Resource Public Engagement, the curated program methods include instructions given to an Center. The exhibition component “Performance Archiving Performance” institution by an artist, authorized modes presented moving image, ephemera and brought together artist projects that drew of re-performance, partnership with dance realia alongside web-based presentations upon the concept of the archive as companies or performance institutions, of works such as Live Dancing Archive by medium to explore ways in which and remuneration in exchange for Jennifer Monson, and The People to Come performance might present a record of intellectual property rights. by a canary torsi. The range of modes for itself. Driven by theoretical and pragmatic recording and preserving performance questions about the offered by each of the projects in function and “Performance Archiving Performance,” constitution of also served as a prompt to reflect on archives relative to current Museum practices for performance, the documenting performance and the role of artists involved archives in relation to performance have disparate documentation.