[Dialogue] Values for the Archives | creating a prototype database

[David Dunn]

On May 19, 2009, at 6:50 PM, Marilyn R Crocker wrote:

> We are wondering, is there a way we (collectively) might be able to  
> identify and fill gaps in the official archives with the gifts of  
> items from our dispersed family archives?  Otherwise we're thinking  
> the whole lot may get chucked given the "down-sizing" time of life  
> we are all entering, or "the dumpster strategy" that our kids would  
> likely choose if they were the ones left "holding the files."

Hello Marilyn and other colleagues.

Walt Epley and I have been custodians of the Paul Evans personal  
archive that Gini Natali passed on to me for temporary care until the  
Global Archives is ready to receive it. We've begun by cataloging  
Paul's audio recording collection and researching what is involved in  
digitizing the audio cassettes. The tool we're using is a Filemaker  
Pro database that we expect to have online by the end of this week.  
(See the attached 'screenshots.')

Though we began experimenting with this prototype before Bill Parker's  
values email arrived, our experiment is in some sense an attempt to  
further the discussion about his three values: preservation,  
accessibility, and flexibility.

As it stands, the structure of this prototype database is more like a  
"participatory archive processing management" tool that addresses the  
question Marilyn raises. We see it as a way to engage a dispersed  
network in the exercise of visualizing and growing the Global Archive.

We began building a prototype with several principles in mind:

1) accommodate the data in the present Global Archive catalog in  
Marge's care
2) access with a web browser over the Internet with an evolving  
structure and functions
3) colleagues can catalog their personal archives
4) colleagues can identify their priorities for processing and  
interpreting particular categories of materials
5) colleagues can specify particular materials they are seeking for  
current use
6) colleagues can indicate the arenas of our common memory in which  
they have "subject area" expertise or interest (dispersed archive  
"curatorial teams")
7) colleagues can link contemporary institutional or programmatic  
examples of their use and impact (ToP, Training Inc, etc., etc.) with  
arenas of our common memory
8) colleagues processing the Global Archive collection in Chicago can  
update the online catalog and track their activities in real time
9) ICA staff can track the amount of volunteer time invested in work  
related to the Global Archives
10) URL links to each of the items that are available in the Repository
11) an online database visible to the public that can only be added to  
or changed by users with access credentials (secure login and specific  
usage privileges)

When we get the database online, we'll let you know where to find it  
and how to try it out so that you can give us feedback.

David

---
David Dunn
dmdunn1 at gmail.com

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