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Stuck in the past, stuck in the basement

So yesterday @mandahill posted a link to a Library Journal article that ruffled a few folders. “OMG,” said the archivists, collectively, “did he really just SAY that about us?” Oh yes. Yes he did.

So these two librarians are chatting at the reference desk (next to a window! with sunshine!) and one of them is all, "Archives will always need librarians to curate and preserve." And the archivist below them in the basement is all, "Hey librarians, I can hear you down here." The whole thing would be kind of sad if it were true, but it's not, it's just a metaphor for how librarians and archivists need to communicate better.

So these two librarians are chatting at the reference desk (next to a window! with sunshine!) and one of them is all, "Archives will always need librarians to curate and preserve." And the archivist below them in the basement is all, "Hey librarians, I can hear you down here." The whole thing would be kind of sad if it were true, but it's not, it's just a metaphor for how librarians and archivists need to communicate better.

Hey Professor Stephens: a lot of the things you’d like to see librarians doing, archivists are already pretty good at. Helping users find things? Creating localized collections? Helping users create localized collections? I’ve done all those things. In the last week. And I think I’m hardly unique in this respect. We archivists would be happy to show you how it’s done–you just need to ask.

Hey archivists: don’t wait for the librarians to come find you in the basement. We’ve got a lot to learn from each other, and the sunlight would do you some good.

–Rebecca (who works in an archives and a library, and loves books)

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This entry was posted on April 29, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Stuck in the past, stuck in the basement”

  1. Lisa Pasquinelli Rickey Says:
    April 29, 2011 at 1:24 pm | Reply

    I wish I had a window :)

  2. nixonara Says:
    April 29, 2011 at 10:25 pm | Reply

    Heh, no longer an archivist but it stays with you because my history collection SO is in a basement at work. . . .

    Well done!

  3. Lisa Says:
    June 4, 2011 at 6:49 pm | Reply

    As a MLS student studying and working in both archives and libraries, I can’t help but giggle….

  4. “An edgy Easter bunny crossed with a Great White that does standup” « Derangement and Description Says:
    September 21, 2011 at 9:02 am | Reply

    […] was one of the things that convinced him I was the right lady for the job. He agrees with me that divisions between librarians and archivists are often unhelpful, and that this job was a wonderful librarian/archivist hybrid. In fact–and I hope he […]

  5. Dana Says:
    May 20, 2013 at 11:55 pm | Reply

    Reblogged this on Archive 34 and commented:
    A little pushback from the laughter of my SLIS colleagues towards Professor Salo’s commencement speech when she said, “Archivists, you think you’re safe in the past?”
    (We don’t. Read our journals, and then you’d know.)

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