[Dialogue] Archives - preservation & accessibility

Thu Jun 28 00:25:07 EDT 2007

A couple months ago, I visited with Betty Pesek & Marge Philbrook about the 
archives.  They are very concerned about the archives, having spent years 
collecting & protecting & organizing them & providing the rest of us with 
access.  I'm thrilled to hear the voices of so many others who care about 
them.

I was mainly blown away in Chicago by what seems to be a complete 
disassociation of the ICA staff from those who created the history of the 
organization.  I thought at the time that the board & staff had hijacked the 
organization.  But we have to remember that they have been moving in this 
direction for several years, for whatever reasons, and we have only emerged 
with our passionate questions very recently.  There are & have been people 
on the board who have been our colleagues over the years -- those who care. 
I know we would all love to hear from the board & we find their silence 
almost unbearable.

Thanks, Len, for mentioning us "experienced librarians" -- I certainly fit 
that category & I would love to be on the archives team.  Moreover, I will 
actually have some time to devote to it in the coming year, since both my 
kids will be in college in the fall.  The tech teams have done a great job 
with categories & web design, but I would be glad to add whatever expertise 
I have.

As a possible model, there is a huge effort of grassroots people 
contributing local information to web-based genealogical databases.  Here in 
Madison County, Iowa, volunteers work diligently adding birth records, land 
records, obituaries, etc, to the site:  www.rootsweb.com/~iamadiso/.  It 
gives me hope for our archives, because they are trying to document the 
vital information of every living soul in the history of the state (county 
on this particular site).

I hope we can organize ourselves similarly to add our own files to the 
Repository.  We may be surprised by how much info is residing in each of our 
individual filing cabinets.

I am open to further dialogue about the archives in the Kemper Building, but 
don't have any solutions to offer at this time.  I pray that the information 
will be organized & preserved as it deserves to be, for ourselves & others 
to build upon.

Add me to the team,
Nancy Trask

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Len Hockley" <lenh at efn.org>
To: "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue at wedgeblade.net>; "Order Ecumenical 
Community" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Trashing the Archives

> Pat and all,
>
> There is a start on a list of Global Assignments in the Repository
> under  Subject Index/Organizational Structure/Global Assignments:
>
> http://twiki.wedgeblade.net/bin/view.cgi/Main/GlobalAssignments
>
> It might well be cross referenced under other categories (We could well 
> use
> an experienced librarian on our team) but please anyone, put up (or send 
> to
> me) any assignment documents you have.
>
> Len
>
> At 08:42 AM 6/27/2007 -0700, Patricia Tuecke wrote:
>>Dear Colleagues,
>>
>>This message is addressing thoughts I've had - some in the past days as 
>>this
>>part of the saga unfolds, some I realize for years - about the "hard copy"
>>of our common memory.
>>
>>1.  David, when I hear the details of your experience in trying to care  -
>>in many ways - the JWM & the Global Archives, I am appalled. I know of the
>>Trainers Network experience with the Board, but, not all at this detail.
>>True to our spirit of collegiality, I could have if I had chosen to be on
>>all the conference calls. Thanks for letting us know this part of the 
>>story.
>>Thanks, also, for the remarkable and passionate care you've taken on our
>>behalf in this.
>>
>>2.  I remember the first time I had the thought, "someday we will probably
>>want some of these files." I was a 2nd prior in Rapid City House. My
>>assignment to the San Jose House had come from the Order Council in the 
>>late
>>summer of 1972. Up to this point we had been moving our worldly goods we 
>>had
>>left across country in moving vans & station wagons. But the word had come
>>that it was just 2 suitcases from now on. I, being an inveterate keeper of
>>information, had accumulated lots of files from 1967 on. I was piling them
>>up in the garage prior to disposing of them. They made quite a large pile.
>>Thankfully I saved a few.
>>
>>3.  I still have some files, though not many, thinking as many of us may
>>have, the archives are in Chicago. As Marilyn wrote, we have the common
>>memory & history in our file cabinets & in our being. I'm willing to be 
>>part
>>of this venture. I have some models in my office files. I have a box more
>>stuff in storage. Some we would consider pertinent; some probably not. 
>>I've
>>noticed that people related to hard copy stuff differently. For some, 
>>being
>>a more of a historian, these things were important & so we filed away.
>>Others think they are not high on the priority list and dispose of them
>>without a pang. Many of these two types are married to each other. :-) 
>>Dan,
>>for instance, has moved us three times from one international post to
>>another. He, being of the second leaning, never even thought to bring or 
>>at
>>least copy, all my LENS files and network notes from my years of working
>>with that program in many countries. I had many pangs over that & he never
>>remembered. Go figure.
>>
>>4.  Here's a piece I've wished for. With today's electronics, it's not out
>>of the question. Over the past few years as I was thinking about or 
>>telling
>>"those were the days" stories with colleagues, I can't recall all the 
>>people
>>or, if I can recall the face and shared experiences, the names of those 
>>with
>>whom I've worked. I've often wished I had all the assignment sheets from 
>>our
>>years of work. Remember those lavender mimeographed pages? Yesterday, the
>>familiar thought came to me again as I pondered the archive discussion. I
>>bet we could come close to re-creating such a list. If we can remember 
>>what
>>houses there were & when & who was there. Together we could fill in some
>>memory blanks.
>>
>>5.  Now, even if this isn't high on the list of what could be saved for
>>posterity, this could be fun! And spark lots of stories for the 
>>Repository.
>>To steal a line from Capital One, "What's in your wallet? Or, the thought
>>hits me, maybe ICA Canada has this or a lot of it in their Toronto files.
>>One thing this will take is for us to get in the habit of regularly 
>>checking
>>the Repository. If a file or section (I haven't checked lately, you can
>>tell) could be set up for the Assignment project, people could fill in 
>>what
>>they remember - when/if they remember - if it works like that. What do you
>>think?
>>
>>Now I need to get to work.
>>
>>Pat
>>
>>
>>Patricia R. Tuecke
>>Sierra Circle Consulting
>>775-333-6998   ptuecke at charter.net
>>
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net
>>[mailto:dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Wayne Nelson
>>Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:21 PM
>>To: Colleague Dialogue
>>Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Trashing the Archives
>>
>>
>>We have files from ICA Canada and OE in Canada. We also have integrated
>>extensive files from Greg Harris and Ken Fisher.  We go to them primarily
>>for use in course design and things like that. We have them in our 
>>basement.
>>Anyone is welcome - anytime.
>>
>>\\/
>>
>>"David Dunn"  wrote:
>>
>> > It seems important to notice, however, that there is a third kind of
>>global
>> > archives that has existed for many years and a fourth that is growing. 
>> > All
>> > of us have greater or lesser archives of our own. There is even a 
>> > catalog
>> > scheme created during the '90s that has been used in at least one
>> > location--ICA Toronto--to categorize the entire archival collection of 
>> > the
>> > Toronto office. In a sense, taken collectively, we all represent a kind 
>> > of
>> > dispersed, virtual global archive.
>>
>>
>>< >  < >  < >  < >  < >
>>Wayne Nelson - ICA Associates Inc
>>416-691-2316 - http://ica-associates.ca
>>
>>
>>
>>
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