The next print-out in my pile is from 2001. This article, Archives, Archivers and Achievement, is still available online at Francois Lachance's Web site. My print out was from the Teaching Online in Higher Education conference, although their archives don't appear to reach back to the 2001 conference. So why did I print out this article? This was a few years before I briefly considered going back to school to get a Masters in Library Science. I don't remember what it was that caught my attention back then, but this is what catches my eye now:
"The roles of curator, creator, custodian are congruent with the activities of describing, manipulating, and preserving information."
An archive can
- serve as a showcase
- serve as a storeroom
- introduce a triage dimension to pedagogical work & play
- serve as a gateway to other archives
The existence of an archive can
- be leveraged by an institution for marketing
- indicate institutional long term commitment
- demonstrate a judicious use of resources
The very idea of an archive does stretch the "anyplace, anytime" mantra
to include "anyone". But not everyone can serve anyone all the time and so
the goals associated with the construction of any archive will take on
their own local colour.
Do you have an archive of content on your site? Does it have a purpose beyond what's described by Dr. Lachance's article?
