SI 580: Week 2 (Role of Archivists) by Patricia Garcia https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr Jenkinson en-us 2020-09-07 21:50:26 UTC 2025-11-16 12:29:39 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4c2.png Prompt: Review Jenkinson's description of the role of an archivist below. Identify a phrase that you find interesting. What do you find interesting about it? garciapg https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/725479327 The Archivist's career is one of service. He exists in order to make other people's work possible.... His Creed, the Sanctity of Evidence; his Task, the Conservation of every scrap of Evidence attaching to the Documents committed to his charge; his aim to provide, without prejudice or afterthought, for all who wish to know the Means of Knowledge.... The good Archivist is perhaps the most selfless devotee of Truth the modern world produces.

]]> 2020-09-07 21:55:36 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/725479327 Elizabeth Batiuk: Two things stand out to me at first. The idea of the "selfless devotee of Truth" and the role of the archivist as service. It seems entrenched in a conception of knowledge as objective, both in science and other fields. But it seems worthwhile to think about the role of archives in providing the means of accountability - to challenge dominant ideas that might be not true. Then the role of the archivist as service seems potentially problematic and contradictory with the pursuit of truth in some cases. One of the readings criticized Jenkinson's view as portraying the role of the archivist as passive ... https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728299000 2020-09-08 17:18:18 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728299000 "without prejudice or afterthought" https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728299970 This suggests to me that an archivist can be truly objective without any biases, which I think is an outdated idea. Something that interests me about archiving is claiming that archivists do have biases, privilege, and power, and that claiming and taking accountability for that that is an important aspect of growth in the field. - Kelsey 

]]> 2020-09-08 17:18:28 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728299970 Shelbie Vilag https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728300940 "His Creed, the Sanctity of Evidence; his Task, the Conservation of every scrap of Evidence attaching to the Documents committed to his charge; his aim to provide, without prejudice or afterthought, for all who wish to know the Means of Knowledge" 
I found it interesting to define the archivist's job in terms of a creed, task, and aim. It reminds me of something my mom and grandpa told me growing up, a system of "three D's," desire, drive, and determination.]]> 2020-09-08 17:18:39 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728300940 Anna Mayersohn https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728301403 "every scrap of evidence"—that is a tall order, but I suspect he's saying that you have to preserve everything you're appraised and deemed valuable, not that you have to deem everything you find as valuable. ]]> 2020-09-08 17:18:44 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728301403 Lydia Heaton https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728302680 "He exists in order to make other people's work possible" -this suggests that what the archivist does is not work, or that it is not as important as the work of historians (interestingly, this seems to indicate some of the dismissal of archivists as professionals as opposed to academics that Caswell discusses in her article, although without the gendered component)]]> 2020-09-08 17:18:58 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728302680 Nic Ciccone: "selfless devotee of Truth" seems to encourage a spirit of objectivity, or at least to be as objective as possible. https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728302737 2020-09-08 17:18:59 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728302737 "The Archivist's career is one of service" -Taylor Wegner https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303129 This goes back to the more pejorative classification of archivists as mere handmaidens to those from other disciplines. More on archival work not existing as a profession in its own right. The service component remains a necessary and worthwhile aspect of the field, but it is not the only or primary part.]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:03 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303129 He exists in order to make other people's work possible https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303133 An archive exists for the benefit of others, historians, politicians, teachers, etc. If archivists don't conserve and steward the archive, it doesn't exist for others to use it - Megan

]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:03 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303133 "The Archivist's career is one of service" dictates all of his or her work. We exist to provide a service to our patrons, whoever those people might be. powersat https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303346 2020-09-08 17:19:05 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303346 Taylor Faires fairest https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303553 "Selfless devotee of Truth"]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:08 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303553 Jamie Blackwell https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303732 "He exists in order to make other people's work possible"-->Suggesting that archivists are like stepping stones for other professionals. It's interesting in that this viewpoint has changed over the years, where many would argue that archivists are the center/most important role in preserving history]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:10 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728303732 "his " https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728304754 2020-09-08 17:19:19 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728304754 "Selfless devotee of the the Truth" sticks out to me because it cements the field as a "service industry." mmagewic https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305013 2020-09-08 17:19:22 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305013 "The good Archivist is perhaps the most selfless devotee of Truth..." lundys1 https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305248 What sticks out to me about this phrase is the idea that "truth" is separate from the mission, values, goals of archives or their archivist(s). and that anyone who has bias, or a personal goal (good or bad) isn't the best kind of archivist, according to Jenkinson's definition. There is a definitely an argument for neutrality/objectivity here that doesn't seem as present now, in 2020. ]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:25 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305248 Pelle Tracey https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305326 "The Archivist's career is one of service."
What stands out to me is Jenkinson's identification of the archivist as an actor. This hints at the conception of the archivist as a "handmaiden to historians" that Caswell criticizes,  but also makes me think of the implicit criticism in Hartman's piece, that if the archive is founded on violence, the archivist is also implicated.]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:26 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305326 Lauren Paljusaj https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305644 A phrase that sticks out to me is "the conservation of every scrap of evidence attaching to the documents..." This would be utterly impossible in reality. I'm curious if Jenkinson was only referring to that "evidence" which was already deemed necessary to be archived.]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:29 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305644 "The good Archivist is perhaps the most selfless devotee of truth" https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305928
This stands out because the term "selfless" is emphasized to speak to the character of the Archivist. I wondering if we should even search for the truth in the first place? 

- Jordan Ross 

]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:33 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728305928 Alex https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306013 "The good Archivist is perhaps the most selfless devotee of Truth the modern world produces" I found this interesting when thinking of our readings for this lecture in the ways that truth can be obscured, or that archives will always have flaws in that they are affected by the ethics and other factors of the archivists working with the archive at any given time, so how can one reach the "good Archivist" ideal that Jenkinson describes?]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:34 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306013 https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306150 2020-09-08 17:19:35 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306150 Jasmine Chiquito https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306365 "without prejudice or afterthought"
A good archivist must be objective.]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:37 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306365 Jaime Pettit https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306553 "His Creed, the Sanctity of Evidence" and "the most selfless devotee of Truth the modern world produces." makes Jenkinson's description sound almost like dogma]]> 2020-09-08 17:19:40 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728306553 "The archivist's career is one of service" https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728308370 2020-09-08 17:19:58 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728308370 "his aim to provide, without prejudice or afterthought, for all who wish to know the Means of Knowledge." - Is interesting because it assumes the archivists objectivity without considering their cultural context or lack thereof of certain subjects within an archive. - Tulani https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309412 2020-09-08 17:20:09 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309412 https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309486 "his aim to provide, without prejudice or afterthought".  It sticks out to me and feels like a line that fits modern context extremely well. - Curtis Hunt]]> 2020-09-08 17:20:10 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309486 Also very biased towards cis men -- constant use of pronoun "he, him, his" as opposed to something more gender-neutral. https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309499 2020-09-08 17:20:10 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309499 the sanctity of evidence https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309604 suggests archival work as divine, sacred or holy, which connects with the pursuit of Truth as a guiding value.]]> 2020-09-08 17:20:12 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728309604 "without prejudice or afterthought" https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728333324 2020-09-08 17:24:17 UTC https://padlet.com/garciapg/h1t3xz0fj56iq2lr/wish/728333324