My journey to become an archivist began with a photograph that I took while visiting with the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program in Cherokee, NC during the 2015 Cherokee Language Conference held by Western Carolina University. This photo was of a board of names, the names of every person fluent in the Cherokee language. Some of those names had red lines through them and a date written to the side. Those lines represented the death of that native speaker, the date representing the day they passed, and the last of 150 native speakers of the Cherokee language lessened. I am here, currently, to become an archivist for language preservation and cultural preservation, technically one in the same.
The above stated, language preservation, is only one function of an archive in society. Archives hold the truths of history, all sides regardless of what those may look like. Archives also tell the stories of communities, every aspect of the community. They hold the blueprints, photos, original accounts of when locations were built or made over, the cost, tales from builders, founders, and other community members. Archives also catalog culture. While some cultures are lost and mostly forgotten, archives hold on pieces of that culture. Those pieces can include written works from that culture, artworks, accounts from those that visited that culture as it thrived, ethnographic or archaeological notes from that culture, etc.
As an archivist my primary responsibilities are to accurately represent the archive within the institution, present the truth of the archive as accurately as possible, and to represent unheard voices. No matter where I end up job wise, it will be part of my personal and professional values to take the time to understand what my institution is choosing to present with the archive they have. If the institution has brought me on to help create one, then it will be my duty to understand, to a pinpoint accuracy, what the archive is going to convey. After that decision, it will be my duty to update or create the archive with as much information as possible to accurately display the history, audience presented too, and the institution behind the archive. My ethical responsibility will be to do all of this without putting the political spin of the institution before the historical accuracy of the archive. Truth and accuracy before political and financial gain; if I cannot make that balance, this is not the institution I need to be a part of in the first place. I should also strive to make sure the voices that were unable to be heard in the past are those that are heard now. Those voices should be the loudest now as those are the ones that were closest to what was happening then; the ones that were silenced before their accounts made it out. Found later in old journals, shoes boxes, and antique stores.
The factors that inform my own agenda depend on what job I am in. If I am working for a historical archive, then making sure that the history is represented accurately and from all sides will be my agenda. More so making sure the “nitty gritty” sides are shown as well so a well-rounded picture will be presented instead of the “white-washed” version we always see in our history books. If I am working on language preservation, then my agenda will be making sure that every part of the language is included. For example, the Cherokee language does not really cuss but there are lots of double entendres in names of things. Take the word monkey, for example. The Cherokee word for monkey is dalesgisgi (phonetic spelling) (pronounced dah-lay-shgee-shgee) and means “it plays with itself.” Meaning exactly the way it sounds, if you have even the littlest bit of a dirty mind. If my position is for a corporation that is archiving records of business, then my agenda will be to make sure that those records are stored according to what standards are needed for the certification they have or trying to achieve. Each of these agendas includes making sure that the archives are maintained and preserved in the most viable way for whatever types of data are being used in each instance.
My obligations to others in any position that I may acquire will be determined again by the type of archive I oversee. There are many unheard voices that deserve to be heard in the archival record and if given the choice/chance, those will be the first I will give my attention to. My collogues deserve to have someone they can rely on, I will honor that by communicating with them all information I have regarding the archive (provided they are working with me on it or have need of that information), when I will not be there for what whatever reason, and any issue that arise as soon as they arise. I expect the same from them as well. From my institution, I will also be obligated to provide clear communication on any needs that I may have when it comes to the archive or my position with the archive, and all the information I provide my coworkers. I have no professional or ethical obligation to break the law by destroying or modifying records for any reason for any person. I have been asked to do it before and I have been dismissed for refusing, I have no issue doing so again. To the archives themselves, I am obligated to keep them in order, in good condition, continually, update them as information is added or as new discoveries are made, and maintain their storage. To the users, keep the information as current as possible and allow access to the records as often as possible.
To maintain a representative and inclusive archival record, I will work hard to make sure I include every voice; every color, every gender, every social background, and every side to the story I am presenting. It will be my job to tell every aspect of what has occurred to make sure that when the event is looked back upon, someone can see everything that leads up to the event and not just one side of it. Every voice and piece in the timeline leading up to the event in question must be told to make sure the picture is 100% clear to the user. If not, then the user only gets one side of the story and is missing all the actual triggers leading up to the mass effect.
By taking time to continue my education, keeping myself abreast of the current archival practices and taking time to look at other archival facilities and their practices, I will be able to build reflection and self-criticism into my archival practice. With continuing education through my membership with the Society of American Archivists and other such groups I will be able to make sure that I am staying up to date on training and new archival practices. Taking the time to read current papers, articles, and reviews on new software, protocols, tools, etc., I will be able to reflect on my current practices and change what I need to allow for better archival practices. By staying connected with classmates and professional contacts, I will be able to see what other archives have to offer and compare what my institute is offering to see if we can employ anything different.
Archives are the foundations for all of history. Every type of history has an archive of some sort. My responsibilities to those archives are to accurately represent the archive within the institution, present the truth of the archive as accurately as possible, and to represent the unheard voices. The factors that inform my own agenda will depend on what job I am in but not sacrifice the integrity of the archive I maintain or the institution I work for. My obligations to others in any position that I may acquire will be determined, again, by the type of archive I oversee. However, I will place communication and reliability first to maintain that everyone involved is on the same page and that there is no confusion about when someone is there or not. Communication is equal to reliability. To maintain a representative and inclusive archival record, I will work hard to make sure I include every voice of the event I am presenting. Every voice is important to make sure that all aspects of the record are there. Finally, by taking time to continue my education, keeping myself abreast of the current archival practices and taking time to look at other archival facilities and their practices I will be able to build reflection and self-criticism into my archival practice.
The above stated, language preservation, is only one function of an archive in society. Archives hold the truths of history, all sides regardless of what those may look like. Archives also tell the stories of communities, every aspect of the community. They hold the blueprints, photos, original accounts of when locations were built or made over, the cost, tales from builders, founders, and other community members. Archives also catalog culture. While some cultures are lost and mostly forgotten, archives hold on pieces of that culture. Those pieces can include written works from that culture, artworks, accounts from those that visited that culture as it thrived, ethnographic or archaeological notes from that culture, etc.
As an archivist my primary responsibilities are to accurately represent the archive within the institution, present the truth of the archive as accurately as possible, and to represent unheard voices. No matter where I end up job wise, it will be part of my personal and professional values to take the time to understand what my institution is choosing to present with the archive they have. If the institution has brought me on to help create one, then it will be my duty to understand, to a pinpoint accuracy, what the archive is going to convey. After that decision, it will be my duty to update or create the archive with as much information as possible to accurately display the history, audience presented too, and the institution behind the archive. My ethical responsibility will be to do all of this without putting the political spin of the institution before the historical accuracy of the archive. Truth and accuracy before political and financial gain; if I cannot make that balance, this is not the institution I need to be a part of in the first place. I should also strive to make sure the voices that were unable to be heard in the past are those that are heard now. Those voices should be the loudest now as those are the ones that were closest to what was happening then; the ones that were silenced before their accounts made it out. Found later in old journals, shoes boxes, and antique stores.
The factors that inform my own agenda depend on what job I am in. If I am working for a historical archive, then making sure that the history is represented accurately and from all sides will be my agenda. More so making sure the “nitty gritty” sides are shown as well so a well-rounded picture will be presented instead of the “white-washed” version we always see in our history books. If I am working on language preservation, then my agenda will be making sure that every part of the language is included. For example, the Cherokee language does not really cuss but there are lots of double entendres in names of things. Take the word monkey, for example. The Cherokee word for monkey is dalesgisgi (phonetic spelling) (pronounced dah-lay-shgee-shgee) and means “it plays with itself.” Meaning exactly the way it sounds, if you have even the littlest bit of a dirty mind. If my position is for a corporation that is archiving records of business, then my agenda will be to make sure that those records are stored according to what standards are needed for the certification they have or trying to achieve. Each of these agendas includes making sure that the archives are maintained and preserved in the most viable way for whatever types of data are being used in each instance.
My obligations to others in any position that I may acquire will be determined again by the type of archive I oversee. There are many unheard voices that deserve to be heard in the archival record and if given the choice/chance, those will be the first I will give my attention to. My collogues deserve to have someone they can rely on, I will honor that by communicating with them all information I have regarding the archive (provided they are working with me on it or have need of that information), when I will not be there for what whatever reason, and any issue that arise as soon as they arise. I expect the same from them as well. From my institution, I will also be obligated to provide clear communication on any needs that I may have when it comes to the archive or my position with the archive, and all the information I provide my coworkers. I have no professional or ethical obligation to break the law by destroying or modifying records for any reason for any person. I have been asked to do it before and I have been dismissed for refusing, I have no issue doing so again. To the archives themselves, I am obligated to keep them in order, in good condition, continually, update them as information is added or as new discoveries are made, and maintain their storage. To the users, keep the information as current as possible and allow access to the records as often as possible.
To maintain a representative and inclusive archival record, I will work hard to make sure I include every voice; every color, every gender, every social background, and every side to the story I am presenting. It will be my job to tell every aspect of what has occurred to make sure that when the event is looked back upon, someone can see everything that leads up to the event and not just one side of it. Every voice and piece in the timeline leading up to the event in question must be told to make sure the picture is 100% clear to the user. If not, then the user only gets one side of the story and is missing all the actual triggers leading up to the mass effect.
By taking time to continue my education, keeping myself abreast of the current archival practices and taking time to look at other archival facilities and their practices, I will be able to build reflection and self-criticism into my archival practice. With continuing education through my membership with the Society of American Archivists and other such groups I will be able to make sure that I am staying up to date on training and new archival practices. Taking the time to read current papers, articles, and reviews on new software, protocols, tools, etc., I will be able to reflect on my current practices and change what I need to allow for better archival practices. By staying connected with classmates and professional contacts, I will be able to see what other archives have to offer and compare what my institute is offering to see if we can employ anything different.
Archives are the foundations for all of history. Every type of history has an archive of some sort. My responsibilities to those archives are to accurately represent the archive within the institution, present the truth of the archive as accurately as possible, and to represent the unheard voices. The factors that inform my own agenda will depend on what job I am in but not sacrifice the integrity of the archive I maintain or the institution I work for. My obligations to others in any position that I may acquire will be determined, again, by the type of archive I oversee. However, I will place communication and reliability first to maintain that everyone involved is on the same page and that there is no confusion about when someone is there or not. Communication is equal to reliability. To maintain a representative and inclusive archival record, I will work hard to make sure I include every voice of the event I am presenting. Every voice is important to make sure that all aspects of the record are there. Finally, by taking time to continue my education, keeping myself abreast of the current archival practices and taking time to look at other archival facilities and their practices I will be able to build reflection and self-criticism into my archival practice.