Offices raided in Cologne

This isn't surprising: earlier today, state prosecutors in Cologne raided the offices of the building and engineering firms that were building a new subway line adjacent to the Historical Archives of the City of Cologne, which collapsed on 3 March. The raids encompassed approximately 40 different offices, including that of the city's public transit organization, and the records and other evidence seized will be used to determine responsibility for the collapse.

The construction of the new subway line is widely believed to be the cause of the collapse, and officials in Cologne learned a few days ago that contractor logbooks documented the existence of persistent groundwater problems in the segment of the subway tunnel adjacent to the archives.

Anthony Clark and NARA

Over the past few weeks, the Archives & Archivists listserv has been home to a lengthy series of postings chronicling the shabby manner in which the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has treated Anthony Clark, who has sought access to records concerning NARA's Presidential libraries. I've followed the discussion on the listserv and on Mr. Clark's blog, and I have to conclude that, to say the least, some folks at NARA have some explaining to do -- and some corrective actions to undertake.

Owing to the manner in which the discussion was initiated and the tone that it has taken, to date I've refrained from commenting; I simply assumed that the listserv was experiencing yet another heat wave and that cooler, more rational discussion would eventually prevail. Unfortunately, to date, there is nary a cold front in sight. The discussion, which now involves the blogosphere as well, remains as heated as ever. The latest hotspot: ArchivesNext. Kate T. did a little independent digging and dispassionately presented her conclusions, and received harsh and, in my view, unwarranted criticism from Clark and his archival champion, Richard Cox.

FWIW, Kate and I spoke for a few minutes at a conference several years ago, and our subsequent interactions have consisted of posting sporadic comments on a Facebook group and on each other's blogs. I'm defending Kate not because she's a friend but because I think her well-reasoned, deliberative post was met with unwarranted hostility -- and because this sort of hostility has, in my view, consistently inhibited honest discussion of Clark's case.

The discussion on the listserv was initiated with the desire to spur the Society of American Archivists to respond to the situation, and to do so in a very specific way. It was also animated by the belief -- sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit -- that anyone who did not immediately take to the streets and demand that SAA do exactly as Clark and Cox desired was guilty of bad faith, bad judgment, or both.

As Terry at Beaver Archivist aptly pointed out this morning:

It is clear that the constant public pressure from a vocal and respected archivist, Richard Cox, helped move NARA to finally act in a responsible way towards Anthony Clark. The importance of this kind of public advocacy cannot be understated and there is merit to the argument that a group like SAA should have gotten into the game earlier and should not feel constrained by its ethics code from taking public positions issues like this.

But there have been other efforts working from other angles to make this happen as well. It is disingenuous to claim that these other efforts are meaningless.

Unfortunately, Cox and now, judging from his most recent statements, Clark himself seem to be of the opinion that anyone proposes a different means of achieving the desired end -- NARA's prompt disclosure of the records that Mr. Clark has requested -- is simply sucking up to NARA or seeking to sweep an inconvenient problem under the rug. They are thus alienating many people who would otherwise be outspokenly supportive of efforts to hold NARA accountable for its conduct.

It really does seem that there are a few staffers at NARA who fully deserve whatever acid criticism comes their way. However, when it comes to SAA and the archival profession as a whole, you can, as the old saying goes, catch a lot more flies with honey . . . .

Postscript, 2009-03-31: I was mulling over the NARA-FOIA-Clark-Cox-SAA situation during a few minutes of downtime this morning, and it struck me that the above post might leave the impression that I view Clark's problem as isolated and that prompt review and disclosure of the records that are the subject of his FOIA request will solve everything. From the start, I've suspected some broader changes at NARA will likely be needed. I meant to make this point in my original post, which was written at the end of an intense day (more about that tomorrow), but didn't.

The Night Watch: a post-retirement project

After decades of research, retired Amsterdam municipal archivist Bas Dudok van Heel has conclusively identified the 18 men depicted in Rembrandt van Rijn's 1642 masterpiece, The Night Watch. The painting depicts members of a unit of the city's civic guard, which was responsible for helping to preserve order in times of unrest but also served as a social outlet for the city's prosperous male residents.

Dudok van Heel closely examined the painting, which includes a shield (added by another artist) listing the names of the men and contains a host of clues about the age and financial status of each subject. He then dove into the records of Amsterdam's municipal archives and looked for information that enabled him to sort out the men's identities. Owing to the detailed nature of the city's records, he was able not only to identify the men but also to determine their street addresses and, in some instances, occupations and artistic interests.

This research project took decades to complete, and a grievous mistake caused it to grind to a halt for a number of years:

Mr. Dudok van Heel . . . began the research in 1979 to aid the publication of a book, also called “The Night Watch.” The book’s author, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, told him to hang onto the research and suggested he publish it himself.

Mr. Dudok van Heel mistakenly threw out a manuscript based on the volumes of research in 1984 and, he said, he didn’t have the “energy and courage” to pick up the subject again for many years.

Dudok van Heel's research has been the subject of much media attention in the Netherlands, which is rightly proud of Rembrant and The Night Watch. Earlier this month, his findings were published in the newest edition of the Rijksmuseum Bulletin (subscription information). The Rijksmuseum has also posted to the Web an image of The Night Watch that identifies all of the men.

One of the things that drew me to archivy is that the profession encourages -- and is indeed dependent upon -- the accumulation of knowledge about records and about the context in which they were created. In our society, experience and the perspective that it lends are all too often devalued. Older workers are all too often dismissed as "past it" -- in some cases because of ageism and in others because doing so makes it easier to replace them with younger, less experienced, and thus cheaper employees. However, this attitude seems to be less prevalent within the world of archives: although the field is by no means immune to the cultural influences and economic pressures that can derail the careers of older archivists, it is also home to many, many people who start or complete ambitious projects in their 60's, 70's, and beyond.

Bas Dudok van Heel's post-retirement project may be unusual in that it has attracted global attention, but its scope and the depth of knowledge that it required certainly aren't. There are lots and lots of other retired archivists who are drawing upon -- and expanding -- their stores of knowledge by conducting research, teaching workshops and graduate-level courses, consulting, writing professional manuals, and doing all sorts of other interesting and significant things. I'm looking forward to following in their footsteps.

2009 Best Practices Exchange

FYI, the fourth Best Practices Exchange (BPE) will be held at the University at Albany, SUNY, on September 2-4, 2009. The Best Practices Exchange brings together state government librarians, archivists, records managers, and other information professionals and enables them to discuss issues, challenges, and solutions to managing digital state government information. More information about the 2009 Best Practices Exchange will be posted to the BPE Web site as it becomes available.

"Do we need archivists in Ghana?"

American archivists have long struggled to explain why it's important to preserve historical records of enduring value. We're not the only archivists who struggle to do to so. Sammy Dzandu, an archivist in Ghana, recently undertook an (admittedly unscientific) poll concerning the importance of archivists in Ghanaian society. He found an all-too-familiar mixture of ignorance and indifference:

According to one of the interviewees, once something had become useless, the best thing to do was to discard it. It was therefore not necessary to employ archivists, whose duties were to take care of unwanted things.

Another person said archivists should not complain of unemployment because there were many waste-management companies and since archivists were expected to manage old and unwanted things, those companies could readily employ them.

After outlining what archivists do -- identify, acquire, preserve, and provide access to records of lasting value -- he succinctly tackles the popular misconception that archivists work with useless old things:

. . . Medical researchers use archives to study the patterns of diseases. Historians and genealogists rely on archival sources to analyze past events to reconstruct family histories. Authors also use archives to acquire a feel for the people and times about which they write. Businesses use archival records to improve their public relations and to promote their new products. Engineers do not joke with their archival drawings and manuals especially when it comes to maintaining their equipment. Legally, archives are used to establish claims to lands and other privileges. Unfortunately, some people do not attach any importance to records and for that matter, those who manage them.

There have been land and chieftaincy disputes in many parts of the country resulting in loss of lives and property. Such disputes could be prevented or minimized if proper records were kept. How could we tell whether one is really qualified to be an heir to a throne or a skin if the necessary legal and historical records . . . are non-existent? It is not surprising that many people take advantage of our inability to keep proper records to forcefully but cunningly snatch our properties from us.

Mr. Dzandu's explanation of Ghana's need for archivists might be a bit startling to many American archivists: when the subject of land disputes arises, we tend to think of protracted legal battles, not bloodshed. However, the situation that he describes would doubtless be familiar to people living in many, many places throughout the world. Good recordkeeping is an integral component of the rule of law, and those of us who live in societies that have long drawn upon the documentary record when resolving disputes sometimes take for granted the relative peace and stability that we enjoy. We shouldn't.

Kudos to Mr. Dzandu for making the case for the importance of archives in such visceral terms -- and kudos to all of the Ghanaian commenters who have voiced their support for his position.

More thoughts on Cologne

I somehow missed this Der Spiegel article, which was published last week and which highlights the monumental challenges that confront the archivists and conservators leading the recovery effort at the site of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne. The good news is that as much as 25 percent of the repository's holdings had already been recovered. The bad news is that the weather has not cooperated and that many of the recovered records will require intensive conservation treatment:

. . . The archivists are engaged in a race against time. Soon after the building collapsed, rain began falling on the ruins. Rubble is being brought to a dry warehouse so that workers can carefully sift through it in the search for documents. Once paper gets wet, though, damaging mold quickly sets in. Archive material is being sent to restoration facilities around the country where they will be flash frozen and then stored for two years before they can be cleaned.

It is an immense project, and one which will take years, if not decades, to complete. A restoration workshop in the city of Münster, for example, can restore up to 150 meters worth of documents per year. The material in the Cologne archive, however, took up fully 30 kilometers of shelf space. In addition, Markus Stumpf, who heads up the archival office in Münster, told Handelsblatt that "the personnel necessary for such a catastrophe simply doesn't exist."

Adding to the difficulties is the fact that many of the documents housed in the Cologne archive were parchment, instead of paper. "The parchment used for deeds in the Middle Ages is extremely sensitive to water," Jan op de Hipt, head restorer for the Hamburg state library, told the Hamburger Abendblatt. "Parchment is dried animal skin. When it comes into contact with water, it becomes very soft and begins to shrink."

The recovery effort is in its earliest stages, and the need for facilities, supplies, and expert personnel will not abate in a few weeks or months. If you are interested in helping, Archivalia and Salon Jewish Studies have compiled and translated lots of information for prospective volunteers and donors. Also, Frank Sobiech posted some additional information in a 10 March comment on this blog and Mark added another contact in an 11 March comment. Thanks to both of them for this information.

"Archivists Job Description" video

Wondering what we archivists do on the job? Need to explain your job to friends and relatives? This clip may help.



This video was put together by GadBall, a service that automatically distributes job-seekers' resumes to online job sites. In an effort to raise its online profile, GadBall has created almost 600 short "job description" videos and placed them on YouTube; I didn't know GadBall existed until I started searching YouTube a few minutes ago, so its strategy may be paying off.

Tired of working with records? If you've always thought about becoming a ship's captain, a motorcycle mechanic, or a dental lab technician, you might want to check out some of GadBall's other videos . . . .