Dear all,
I left the office early on Friday, and so missed a lot of the debate.
I see the list as having two main functions: to act as a forum for general
discussion and to act as a source for help and advice for individual
archivists or departments.
Re the latter, every time I have posted a request for advice or information
I have promptly recieved a number (usually manageable) of helpful,
informative and occasionally amusing messages. This has been of great help,
not only in getting the information I need but also in supporting our
policies, existing as we do in a business environment. I do usually ask for
replies off-list as I am conscious of the problem highlighted by Dick after
the Friday Incident and don't want to clog up people's email systems.
Perhaps the solution is for the message poster to cut-and-paste all replies
into one message and send it to the list with any commentary they wish to
add??
Re the former, I do think that there is more scope for general discussion.
There seems to be a cycle of complaints that no Serious Archival Issues are
being discussed and complaints that there is Too Much License and that
Liberties are being Taken. Apart from the worrying trend of all archivists
listening to Radio 4 (of course I do) I don't see any problem with jokes.
It makes the list friendlier and may encourage others to join in.
To add an issue: is the newsletter the best place for debate, as it is owned
by the Society of Archivists who have their own agenda? Is a list-serve a
better place as it is owned by an academic body? (is it? check your facts
first, Locker)
(This isn't a call for archivists, bearded or otherwise, to march down the
streets shouting 'social control! social control!')
Anne
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