This is a Friday afternoon - or even an over-the-week-end request.
Many moons ago, when I was editor of the Society of Archivist's Newsletter
as it was then, I requested instances of archivists or archive offices in
fiction. For about a year, we received enough examples to make a regular
small feature in the back of the Newsletter. The examples did not give our
profession a good press, viz. this example from Joanna Trollope:
Crossing the Close back to the hotel car-park, Archie was intercepted by
his sister-in-law, Clare. She worked for the city archivist, a job she
claimed any filing clerk could do. [To give Joanna Trollope credit where
it may not be due, this does depend on which city archivist she was working
for.] She was wearing a grey flannel skirt and a navy-blue blazer, and was
carrying a shopping basket containing files and a tin of cat-food. He
kissed her and asked her how she was. She said, "Oh, you know. Dusty and
depressed." ...She drooped. "Walk back to the car with me", Archie said.
"I'll drive you home". He took her basket. "You and the medieval
records". "Saxon, actually. It's amazing how fascinating it ought to be
and how boring it is".
Believe me, many examples are much worse.
In 1996, I wrote up all the examples as a talk, which I am quite happy to
send a copy to anyone interested. I have now been asked to resurrect the
talk and give it next Friday. But there must have been other fiction about
archivists and archive offices written since. Do we have a better press?
Please would people let me know of anything they have read? The quality of
the writing is immaterial. Please reply on or off list.
Caroline Adams
Senior Archivist
West Sussex Record Office
County Hall
Chichester
West Sussex
01243 753617
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