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Presented by ANNA BELLE ROSEN
for SJSU SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
Archives provide an opportunity to connect with our shared past. However, archives are spaces of inherent power and privilege - they are "about the power of the present to control what is, and will be, known about the past" (Schwartz & Cook, 2002, p. 3).
Cultural heritage and societal memory belongs to us all. By becoming more aware of the power that archives hold (and therefore the power that we as archivists wield) we can create spaces that are for everyone.
Important archival principles such as context of records are becoming more muddled in an increasingly digital landscape. By considering how technology is changing our traditional archival principles, we can take the chance to reconsider whether they work for everyone.
For instance, the principle of provenance has deep roots in the archival field, but question "how does a reflection on the contextual origins of provenance as an idea explain who is present, absent, loud, and silent in the archives, and how does the digital deluge accentuate that absence?" (Drake, 2016).
Creating archival spaces for minority groups can include finding and supporting existing organizations, such as:
-GLBT Historical Society
-A People's Archive of Police Violence in Cleveland
These spaces may be outside of traditional archival institutions (often academic or nationally recognized organizations). Providing users with awareness of these spaces or creating opportunities for collaboration can do much to help support the existence of these oganizations. Archives are spaces of social and cultural understanding, which means "we need to reach out and invite diverse communities to engage with us" (Taylor, 2017, p. 24)
The rise of social media applications has created a unique opportunity for archives. By increasing the use of these applications to connect archives with users, we can create a more full and complete view of what archivists do to the outside world. If we can embrace the idea of the archivist as "facilitator not gatekeeper" we can help to evolve this extremely important relationship between archives and the public (Theimer, 2011, p. 61).
Drake, J. (2016, April 6). RadTech meets RadArch: Towards a new principle for archives and archival description. Retrieved from https://medium.com/on-archivy/radtech-meets-radarch-towards-a-new-principle-for-archives-and-archival-description-568f133e4325
Schwartz, J. & Cook, T. (2002). Archives, records and power: The making of modern memory. Archival Science, 2, 1-19. Retrieved from https://link-springer-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/article/10.1007%2FBF02435628
Taylor, C. (2017). Getting our house in order: Moving from diversity to inclusion. The American Archivist, 80(1), 19-29. Retrieved from http://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/0360-9081.80.1.19?code=same-site
Theimer, K. (2011). What is The Meaning of Archives 2.0? The American Archivist, 74(1),
58-68. Retrieved from http://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.74.1.h7tn4m4027407666