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Statement of Goals

Archives and Libraries Section

This statement of goals is a revised version of the statment adopted by the Archiving Section in 1994. This revision adds language to include Library issues, approved at the 2001 meeting of the section.

  1. To promote awareness of preservation issues of both historic and modern ethnographic collections and act in support of archival care of documentary media. Because of the potential loss of historic collections in fragile formats (wax cylinders, acetate recordings, nitrate film) and the changing technological media and fragile nature of modern formats (magnetic media, DAT) the skill of archivists and archival repositories must be encouraged, developed, and recognized if documentary collections are to be preserved for future use.
  2. To promote the treatment of multi-format ethnographic collections as whole created works including all media and preserving the collectors' intent. In order to make librarians and historical archivists our collaborators, we must promote an understanding among those professionals of ethnographic collections as multi-format created works.
  3. To explore and develop technological methods of providing access to folklife materials using state of the art methods and technologies, such as CD ROM, MARC databases, and World Wide Web. While the development of standard methods of access may help the field, efforts towards the development of standards should not stand in the way of exploration.
  4. To promote collections management in fieldwork planning and practice to ensure better documentation of collected materials. To educate students and collectors concerning methods of preserving and managing data, including the use of technology (computer databases, CDR etc.)
  5. To encourage student use of archives and special library collections in ethnographic research and to facilitate the introduction of students in ethnographic disciplines to archival practice and library science.
  6. To reach out to archivists and librarians in related fields. The concerns of folklife archivists and librarians are shared by archivists and librarians in related disciplines such as ethnomusicology, anthropology, oral history, and sociolinguistics. Establishing connections with these archivists and librarians will help us in mutual efforts to develop our practice.
  7. To encourage granting agencies to require planning for collections management and funding for the care of collected materials. Educate researchers about opportunities to apply for funding for collections management.
  8. To encourage folklorists in the academy to accept an arranged, housed, accessible collection as a created work, providing credit towards tenure.
  9. To support the creation of archives in public or private arts and cultural programs that collect data.
  10. To review and analyze the current state of bibliographic control in folklore and ethnomusicology, relating to cataloging and reference tools in all media, ongoing indexing projects such as the JAF Index, the International Folklore Bibliography, and the MLA Folklore Bibliography.

Draft revision 1/01/2001

(Updated 04/06/2001)

 

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