What is an Archivist?

            My favorite thing about blogging is this that I can trace how my ideas evolve over time. It’s a document of where I started and charts the time frame that led me to where I am now in my thinking. Continuing my public history blog for my Archives and Manuscripts class is a way for me to think about how I define the archivist’s profession after one class and see how I articulate its purpose a few months down the line in December.

            Margery, my professor, asked us at the end of this week’s class to think about how we would define in an “elevator” speech the purpose and value of an archivist and the archives profession. It got me thinking. How would I define it right now?

            Well, I would say, “An archivist processes, manages, and makes available a variety of media that serve audiences in their pursuit of knowledge.” This definition, though, comes from the perspective of a researcher who has used archives extensively in the past. I’ve looked at archives as a way to acquire the information that I need and seen archivists as the medium through which I could obtain this knowledge.

            However, I had been unaware of how archivists viewed themselves and their profession until I read Mark A. Greene’s “The Power of Archives: Archivists’ Values and Value in the Postmodern Age.” Explained Greene, many, including myself, view archivists as people who simply “do.” This is in large part due to a lack awareness of archivists’ own power. But that leaves out the larger mission that archivists work towards. It also leaves out from the larger conversation their power in shaping the historical record.

            Having read Greene’s piece has made me wrestle with my own definition that I came up with above. This is a challenge that I hope to further refine in my blog as the semester continues.  My biggest revision in my definition and in my general view of the archivists' profession is that archivists are active shapers of the historical process.

Share Your Story

            My story with the National Park Service (NPS) officially began with my participation in the George Wright Fellowship at Independence National Historical Park (INDE) in Philadelphia. At least, that was the official beginning. Even so, I suppose you could trace my trail to the Park Service much further.

            I’ve always loved history. Despite my quick stint with wanting to become a doctor in my high school years, my passion for understanding worlds so different than my own was a paramount interest in my life. I was an anomaly among my classmates; while others were lost in the ticking hands of the clock until history class was over, I thought forty minutes weren’t nearly enough.

            My house was a history classroom all on its own. My parents, Portuguese immigrants, introduced me to new narratives outside the ones I was being presented in school. Teenagers during the Revolution of 1974 in Portugal, they told stories of a socialist regime, censorship, and the democratic reforms that came in its aftermath. I had a personal connection to these stories. But while most of my classmates’ histories were mirrored in our assigned textbooks and displayed in local heritage sites, I struggled to see and identify myself in courses that truncated Portuguese history after Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco Da Gama. If I couldn’t see myself in it, I was determined to contribute and make myself a part of it.

            My decision to major in history in college was my attempt to become an active participant in the historical process. I didn’t just want to write about history, but I wanted to encourage others to be as excited about history as I was. I volunteered at different museums wherever I could to work with audiences. My journey to personally connect with history has directly influenced my desire to help others develop relationships with their past and the cultural sites around them. In many ways, I see myself in the NPS mission.

            When I began graduate school to study Public History, I became immersed in the National Park Service. During my first semester, I read the 2014 “Imperiled Promise” report, which introduced me to a world I had previously left unexplored. After reading the Report, I wanted to come involved with the NPS. That opportunity came around when I applied and was accepted to the George Wright Fellowship at Independence. Myself, along with seven other graduate students, designed an exhibit for New Hall Military Museum, site of the first United States War Department. It was an incredible opportunity to witness how history “is done” within the NPS. I later combined my interest in international and NPS history when I wrote a paper that examined the NPS’s Division of International Affairs in the 1950s and 1960s and its various projects abroad.

            A few months following the George Wright Fellowship, I was invited back to Independence for a summer internship. In January 2015, a fire erupted in the historic Second Bank of the United States. While no damage occurred in the building, I was asked to participate in the conservation project cleaning and restoring over 10,000 objects in the Second Bank’s collection storage area.

            The opportunity to assist in such a vital project has been a learning experience for me. Without these resources, we are endangering the public’s access to important artifacts that tell multiple and intersecting stories. Working with the NPS in the conservation effort has made me a contributor and participant in the park’s past. I’m so grateful to be a part of it, and I want to invite others to do the same in my future career as a public historian. The NPS makes strides to make the past learning grounds for audiences, and I’m excited to collaborate with an institution that takes learning about the past very seriously.

            This is my story. 

Week Nine at Independence: Data Entry and Art Conservators

            It’s the last week of July, which means I’ve been at INDE for almost two months! The coming month seems to be quite a few “lasts” – I’ll be starting my last first day of school in a few weeks, and my last day at INDE is fast approaching. Before I dive into a wave of nostalgia, let me take you into the final week of July here at INDE.

           

            I started off the week continuing with the data entry, which I presume will take me several weeks to complete seeing how there are a few hundred records that I need to modify. I’ve finished the records for the cabinets in one of the rooms, and I’ve moved on to the records pertaining to the flat-file cases.

           

            Perhaps the most interesting part of this week has been touring the Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank. Following the fire, tests were conducted by conservators to assess the damage of the various paintings in the Gallery. While none were charred or suffered water damage, heavy layers of soot rest on the canvases of individual paintings. This week, Karie toured around several conservators and bidders interested in working on the project to clean the individual paintings in most need of attention. Karie showed them the various work spaces where they would be conducting their work, as well as the actual artworks. A conservator will be chosen later this year, but it will be interesting to see how the process turns out.

            I always enjoy observing when outside conservators come to the Second Bank because it gives me a chance to not only learn about the conservation process, but it’s also also an opportunity for me to learn how contracts are drafted by the NPS and independent contractors, budgets, etc. The work that occurs in a cultural institution has value, and this process ensures that individuals are being compensated for the important work that they do.

            Next week, I’m set to meet with another conservator to take another look at the Sharples in the Portrait Gallery. When I helped to clean them during my first few weeks here, I noticed that three of them were not covered in conservator’s tape, so the conservator is coming to examine them. These mini field trips are wonderful!