In class this past week we explored interesting artifacts that George Mason has kept secure since the 1930s. In groups we were asked to examine notes written or typed in scripts from shows produced by the Federal Theatre Project. I found them extremely interesting because looking closely at handwritten notes by a director or member of the crew spoke volumes about the intentions of the production. For example, a group shared that their director took notes that the electricity stopped working during a production called Power. Another one shared the director made a notes that the actors needed to act more southern and another shared notes on how they were trying to get their production advertised but found some difficulties. All of these notes can make a reader understand the productions and society at the time better. Without saving these notes people would think all the plays went rather smoothly and the difficulties they faced wouldn’t be known. The information on the productions left by notes and kept safe is so important because it makes people understand the struggles the Federal Theatre Project faced.
The archive collection at Mason is huge and although I was unable to attend the seminar I have a friend who works there and I was able to hear a little bit about what they store there, and how they store the information.
I thought the reading and learning about digital archives was interesting because I always wondered how, why and to what purpose saving something digital could be as important as preserving something like a photograph. In The Artifactual Elements of Born-Digital Records, Part 1 author Susan Manus touched on the changing technology. Looking back technology has changed immensely and being about to keep “antiquated carriers can also serve distinct roles in digital preservation activities” which is something I never thought about.Being able to look back onto something from one of the first computers would open up a whole new idea to you then just reading about it.
In the interview between Thomas and Elvia, Elvia touches on her interest in archives and the topic of how people decide what is important enough to preserve. In the interview it touches on how Elvia grew up bilingual in America and so she can relate to artifacts about cultures and is able to distinguish the useful ones. Also Elevia states that there are “ Issues of representation and power are fundamentally rooted in archival work “ and because of this people challenge archival neutrality. People in the archive work need to remain neutral in order to preserve important information. Elevia says she tries to “have conversations across similar fields with a diversity of practitioners is key to understanding how our practices and end goals are alike and dissimilar”.
Manus,Susan. The Artifactual Elements of Born- Digital Records, Part 1. (November, 2011). Library of Congress.
Padilla, Thomas. Elvia, P. Bias, Perception and Archival Praxis. (September 2013). Data Praxis
