In August
2015 three members of Borthwick staff travelled across land and sea to present
papers at the annual Archives and Records Association conference in Dublin. The
theme of the conference was 'Challenges,
Obligations, or Imperatives? The moral and legal role of the Record Keeper
today'. The three sessions that our staff presented demonstrate a range of
ethical concerns that exist within the worlds of archives and conservation, but
also offer a glimpse into the inner workings of these two relatively little-known
professions.
Tracy’s talk was very well received, and
generated a number of enthusiastic and complimentary tweets from listeners. The
presentation has also resulted in some excellent contacts with a number of
other organisations running digitisation projects, and the potential for
further collaboration. Colleagues are interested in further information
regarding how the Borthwick project has been managed, equipment and techniques that
have been used, problems that have arisen and how they have been overcome. It
will be exciting to see where this goes next.
My presentation ‘The Archbishops’
Registers of York: A case study of ethical dilemmas in conservation and
digitisation’ was
directly after Tracy’s, and also used a digitisation project as a case study,
this time to study the role of the conservator as an arbitrator of ethical
problem-solving and decision-making. One of the points I addressed was the
tension that can exist between the available research into materials (which may
recommend against certain treatments) and the need to access or digitise an
archive (which may need treatment to enable access).
As an example I talked about the ethics of
removing creases from parchment using solvents. Although I only had time to
briefly outline the technique I finally used in the project, I had set up a
demonstration volume for the delegates in the adjoining room, along with a
selection of magnets and magnetic material to try. In the coffee-break after
the first session I chatted with a stream of
Working with
magnets on the ‘York’s Archbishops’ Registers Revealed’ project.
For more
information visit: www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/projects/archbishops-registers/
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After lunch the conservation, digital
preservation and archive strands merged into a hot-pot of workshops, panels and
break-out sessions. Gary Brannan, our Access Archivist, was running a workshop
entitled ‘From Filth to the Future: Reviewing the ARA training offer’. The
session was based heavily upon the ARA Northern Region’s 2013 Filth
conference, and was designed to get delegates thinking about the role that ARA
could - and perhaps, maybe even should - have in supporting members dealing
with difficult, disturbing and legally dubious collections.
Flying home
after a productive and inspiring day.
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The exercises were based on real experiences
sent in by ARA members and featured issues including I still sometimes find
myself picturing the photograph from a Coroner’s notebook showing the image of
a man who had been murdered by having his head nailed to a tree and Male
reader requesting (repeatedly) access to 1950s photographs of schoolgirls in
gym clothes. Delegates were asked to sort the issues provided into those
which they felt they needed emotional support to deal with, and those which may
be helped by practical advice and training. Some of the results were surprising
- for instance, much unease at processing and making available content that may
upset third parties, and a desire for training in dealing with requests from
customers for embarrassing (but not legally exempt) data. However, the greatest
need came in the desire for both training and support in dealing with content
and imagery related to death and inquests.
Gary’s session received considerable interest
and encouragement from delegates, and provided a supportive outlet for frank
discussions in a profession whose members often work in small teams or in
isolation. The subject matter and style of delivery really embodied the theme
and aims of the conference as a whole: addressing relevant issues amongst our
peers, sharing experiences and exploring practical solutions. Talking to Tracy
and Gary on our journey home I was struck by how much we had taken away from
the conference – new ideas and perspectives, new contacts – and for myself a
renewed motivation for the job that I do and respect for the colleagues that I
work alongside, both within the Borthwick and without. The overlapping worlds
of archives and conservation might not be very well known – but they are
passionately appreciated by those that know them well.
Catherine Dand, Conservator.
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