Viewing the physical material history and remains of the Federal Theater Project when visiting Special collections was enlightening. For some objects like the costumes and puppets, seeing photos from the plays, most of which we’ve seen only in black and white negatives, do not truly show the detail that went into the making of the play. A deeper understanding of the Federal Theater Project comes with the realization that these objects were made by the seamstresses and stagehands hired by the FTP; this is the skill that the FTP sought to preserve and provide employment for.
Other objects and materials we viewed in Special Collections, like copies of Hallie Flanagan’s notes for the first meeting with the directors of the Federal Theater Project, were also interesting but not as profound. My group viewed an onion paper copy of the notes, which included Flanagan’s renowned moving speech, “Is This the Time and Place?” as well as a manuscript of the discussion among the directors. The information expressed by the source was certainly valuable; we learned the personal beliefs of those who objected the Federal Theater Project, we learned of Flanagan’s motivations in pursuing the FTP. However, this source in particular did not give much more information than a digital copy would.
We learned however, that this source is not one that is likely to be digitized any time soon. When deciding which materials to digitize, it is important for archivists to prioritize items which are fragile or have high research value, while also considering rights or privacy1. While this material could contribute to interesting research, paper stored properly should not be fragile and should last quite a while.
For these reasons, scholars and the general public can both benefit from the process by which archivists store collections, whether it be digitally or physically. For the general public who may wish to interact with these resources purely out of curiosity and interest, they can request to view and handle items of great novelty, such as the puppets, costumes, and printer stamps that we got to interact with. Items such as manuscripts and posters that aren’t quite as interesting to someone without a scholastic interest in the topic, can be stored digitally in a way that is easier for scholars to access and study. This allows for text analysis and distance reading, which can contribute to their research better than closely examining numerous physical copies. Digitizing physical copies of texts such as these allow for modern research to equitably apply to pre-internet resources just as it does to sources “born” digitally2. This process of digitizing records therefore serves the purposes of digital humanities in allowing for democratization of history.
- Arroyo-Ramirez, E. & Padillo, T. (September 13, 2017). Bias, Perception, and Archival Praxis. Retrieved from https://acrl.ala.org/dh/2017/09/13/archivalpraxis/
- Manus, S. (November 28, 2011). The Artifactual Elements of Born-Digital Records, Part 1. Retrieved from https://blogs.loc.gov/thesignal/2011/11/the-artifactual-elements-of-born-digital-records-part-1/
