The Archivist's Secret Power
"the secretive and often unnoticed power of the archivist undoubtedly shapes how our generation will be viewed in the future and how we view the generations before us."
Archiving is one of the most influential means of organizing and preserving historical documents and material. Although behind the scenes and often unnoticed, the archivists have enormous power and influence over the interpretation of history. These archivists do not randomly chose documents; rather, they carefully select and organize materials that they believe best represent the issues and work of that time period or subject matter. This deliberate organization and document selection determine how history will be interpreted, and how the materials are organized will determine how accessible the information will be.
Scholars shape how the future generations will interpret history by archiving. The Cleveland Botanical Gardens does not currently have archives but are working to develop one. How they decide to organize and preserve their documents will shape the outside world’s interpretation of their establishment and history. According Gary Esmonde, the librarian at Eleanor Squire Library in the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, he has many boxes that he must explore to chose what he should archive. This is an excellent example of the importance of archiving. The documents and materials he chooses to archive represent the entire library and will influence every person who researches the institution.
When choosing documents to archive, it is important to be as objective as possible. This is the opinion of most scholars and researches. Being objective is crucial because of how history will be represented. For instance, when visiting the Western Reserve Historical Society, the archivist admitted that he and his colleagues intentionally archived liberal materials during the 1970s. Thus, a thousand years from now if a researcher examines primary documents at the Western Reserve Historical Society, he most likely will find it difficult to uncover conservative documents concerning that time period. It may even seem as though those opinions did not exist. As a result of limited resources, how the information is interpreted may be slightly skewed Thus, it is extremely important for researchers to be able to study the “big” picture. Therefore, an archivist must be as objective as possible and careful not to imply the wrong “big” picture.
The organization and presentation of archives plays a crucial role in the determination of what researchers have access too. Internet archiving is the way of the future. The online archives for World War II, for instance, incorporate specific materials. Not all documents from the war are preserved. Rather a careful organization of documents is established online. A researcher can find the materials he needs by typing in a key word, such as “Hitler”. Then links to all the documents regarding Hitler will appear on the screen (http://www.gwu.edu/~ww2/index.html). This is an efficient and effective means for researching materials, but it can also be very difficult for the researcher to find what he’s looking for.
In conclusion, the secretive and often unnoticed power of the archivist undoubtedly shapes how our generation will be viewed in the future and how we view the generations before us. The materials that are available and the way in which archivist present and organize them shapes how history is told. This is one of the best-kept secrets.
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