Just to add a few further thoughts on mixed media.
Yes Robin, there are those 'out there' who have to grapple with a variety
of formats, some of which would traditionally be seen as objects rather
than documents. How do you cope with soap powder packaging which still has
the contents inside (powder or liquid), or even worse mustard jars or soup
tins? These are problems we face at Unilever every day and I'm sure there
is a paper in there somewhere for the SoA journal or BAC. As
There are obviously some items which we cannot store properly because we
do not have the right storage conditions, for example we are transferring
film onto video and plan to transfer the original films to a proper film
archive. We obviously treat video or film copies differently if there is
an original as well, but we frequently receive videos which are
'originals' and should be treated in the same way as a document or
photograph.
Surely the format of the item - parchment, paper, photo, video, film,
floppy disk, database, e-mail - is of no concern when listing. The
provenance of the item and its relationship with the other items in a
collection is of paramount concern. Such items may be kept separately as
they need different temperature and RH conditions, but as a business
archivist who has to deal with all sorts of media (including product
packaging, and promotional items such as cuddly toys and other bizarre
objects) I don't have any qualms about treating each item in a similar way
when it comes to cataloguing.
Gary Collins
Unilever plc
|