I posted a message concerning use of the terms 'manuscripts' and 'archives'
a week or so back, and have there have been several replies. Some of these
have been on-list, but just to conclude...there does not seem to be much of
a conclusion! Many of the replies were based on the experiences within the
individual's own work environment, and they included the following opinions:
Manuscripts: literary texts; old fashioned image; artificial collections;
draft or unpublished literary material; records of historical interest that
form a companion to official archives; historical document collections
acquired from external sources; handwritten bound items
Archives: an identifiable creator, structure and provenance; from official
bodies and organisations; records forming an organic whole produced by an
employing authority; does not depend on physical form but on having formed
part of a transaction
It seems that 'manuscripts' is not a favoured term. I have my own
particular problem because I am the archivist for a collection of written
records, as opposed to our other collections of drawings and photographs.
Therefore, if I refer to the collection I manage as 'the Archive', people
would tend to assume that it includes the drawings and photographs. If I
use the term 'manuscripts' it suggests the exclusion of records from offices
and organisations that are often printed and usually have a coherent
structure.
I appreciate that people such as Michael Cook have written books dealing
with definitions. But it still seems to me that there are differing
opinions, and often the given meaning of a term does not fit in with a work
situation in a practical sense.
The curator of the drawings insists on calling them 'objects', which makes
life even more confusing!
Jane Collings
Curator of a Collection of handwritten, typescript and printed written
records
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