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Sorry to come back to this subject, but by coincidence the following was posted to the American archives and archivists listserv: "From: infotegrity [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 8:26 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: In Search of the Humourous Archivist Why is it that so little archival humour has surfaced? Why does an Internet search for items related to this topic produce....nothing. Why are there no archivist stand-up comics? And, perhaps the most galling question, why do others with far less interesting professions attract all the funny stories, amusing anecdotes, terrible puns and ribald limericks? Is the lack of archival humour a compliment to the profession or is it a serious case of neglect? I'm convinced it is the latter and I would like to do my part to correct this terrible wrong. In my many years in a public archive, I worked with colleagues who had a great sense of humour. They needed it to deal with both the professional challenges of their work as well as with the questions, quibbles and quirks of researchers and donors. While patience has always been an important qualification for an archivist, a good sense of humour must surely be close behind. Ian Wilson, the National Archivist of Canada and a former colleague, has used a small repertoire of humourous anecdotes in most of his public speaking. He has often remarked that it is easier to find new audiences than to find new archival jokes. An example: Ian married a woman who is also an archivist. At their wedding, a friend remarked that a marriage of two archivists was perfect because, as they grew older, they would become more and more interested in each other. I would like to invite your assistance in defining and expanding the body of archival humour. The purpose? To form the basis for a paper, presentation, Web site or other means of disseminating collected and new material. The reward? Your contribution to changing the public image of archivists and archives, as well as the prospect of future amusement. Responses can cover the range of humourous forms, such as: - stories and anecdotes - jokes - puns - definitions - signs and notices - aphorisms, epigrams, similes and metaphors - limericks and other humourous verse - satires - parodies - put-downs and come-backs They can relate to any aspect of archiving, archivists and archival institutions, such as: - the nature of the profession and archival stereotypes - relations between archivists, records managers and other professions - dealings with researchers - dealings with donors and sponsors - archival selection, appraisal, organization, description, preservation, storage, etc. - archivists and technology - archival collections in all media - workplace humour - historical events and individuals in archival records - archival language and terminology - archival services and publications - news reporting about archives and archivists Some "rules": Offerings may be about real experiences, people, locations, etc. or they may be fanciful fabrications. Personally identifiable information about another individual should generally be avoided or have the permission of that person for distribution. Information about the origin of the material should be provided, if known. No copyright or other legal rights should be infringed. All submissions sent directly to me will be acknowledged, but use or publication is not assured. Please send any material to me directly at [log in to unmask] . Responses received before September 15 would be especially appreciated. Comments and suggestions of any kind regarding this project are also welcome. Please excuse cross postings. Thank you. Andy Lipchak" So you now have your chance to send those highly witty and amusing stories (or dreadful puns) to someone who will appreciate them. Whilst we're on this subject, the American listserv regularly has messages about whether humour or topics which are not strictly archive related should have a place on the listserv. This usually starts a great debate which goes on for days and which can go off at weird and wonderful tangents. Most of the humour tends to appear on a Friday and such messages are known as 'Friday funnies'. Someone has already pointed out to Andy Lipchak that a search under 'Friday Funnies' on the American archives listserv website will find examples of humour, and soneone else gave examples of several websites which have library related humour (is such a thing possible.....no I didn't say that). I know this message should have been posted on a Friday but I check my American archive listserv digest first thing in the morning along with all my other e-mails, and I knew that this message was so important that I had to send it straight away. Finally, a word of warning if you feel inclined to subscribe to the American listserv. If you do, opt for a digest, otherwise your PC will collapse under the weight of messages sent. A digest also has subject headings at the start so you can read these to see if there is anything of interest before deleting immediately or reading the digest. Gary Collins Unilever plc