Beyond the Reading Room

Are we as archivists and special collections keeping or burying memories? I once heard a joke about archivists that went something like this: Archaeologist dig up pieces of history that have been buried so that people will know about it, but archivists take historical materials that are brought to them and bury them in their stacks so that no one can ever find it again. I didn't think the joke was very funny when I heard it. In fact, I still don't. I do think it points to one of our short-comings as a profession. We are not very good at promoting ourselves. Even in the midst of this grand effort to digitize our collections, in many cases, the collections are still hidden--buried deep within our web pages or behind huge databases of metadata. No one wants to click through page after page on a website to find the information they need. They aren't interested in cumbersome searching in a database either. They prefer to just "Google it."

We are still struggling to take our collections beyond the reading room. Our profession's latest effort to promote ourselves--"I Found It in the Archives"--implies that the materials were lost. These items weren't lost--they were locked behind closed doors because they are rare, unique, or have enduring value. We knew exactly where they were. I know that the campaign was highlighting the excitement of the researcher who finds that piece of information, the treasure, that had been eluding them. I have seen that excitement first-hand. I guess I just want this excitement to be looked at as the norm--a commonplace event that occurs every day in Special Collections.

There always have been a few that stand out in their efforts to promote their collections. The following video from Special Collections at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas highlighting a collection of menus is a fine example of Special Collections Librarians using new media to take materials locked in the stacks beyond the reading room.



Special Collections Librarians and Archivists are bound to tradition. I have worked in Appalachia for many years and understand the importance of tradition and of keeping it. As a native of Appalachia, I also understand that tradition is not set in stone or preserved under glass. Tradition is ever evolving. I also know that you cannot become a prisoner of it. Special Collections Librarians and Archivists have more opportunities now than ever before to share the treasures in their collections with those outside of the reading room, if we can escape our own objections--"But, we have always done it THIS way!" I do want to share one word of caution from Wendell Berry, a great thinker. He said that "if going back makes sense" then going back is going forward. Sometimes, you have to be able to admit that maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.