More Process, Less Whatever

It has happened to every archivist who has spent any time processing the personal papers of a nineteenth century family: the sudden discovery of a lock of human hair either pinned to a letter, or folded away in an old envelope. Victorians had a thing about hair, so much so that they actually created artwork out of the strands recovered from hairbrushes. Modern archivists also have a thing about hair, especially when discovering it in the soup they ordered for lunch at the local greasy spoon. Finding samples of the same stuff amidst the promissory notes and laundry lists of an 1880s era banker is probably more creepy than it is stomach churning, but it is unsettling regardless, especially when one considers other body parts that may turn up!

The Desolation of Smaugness

One thing that has always separated archivists from librarians is our commitment to the preservation of the items in our care. Librarians consider a book to be like a disposable razor: open the package and after a dozen shaves or so, toss it in the trash. Archivists, on the other hand, treat materials like Grandpa’s straight razor: keep it dry and clean and it will last a lifetime (and then some). Archivists have always been concerned with the long haul, allowing access under controlled conditions to maximize the life of three-dimensional information-bearing objects. For our pains, however, we have been maligned by Biblioposers as “dragons,” guarding our treasure trove from pesky little Hobbits who would steal from us. While we should take pride in such accusations, lets take a moment to explain our Smaugness.

Biblioposers love to put access to information above any other consideration. In creating “commons” for the commoners, Biblioposers love to bend over backwards for any motivation-challenged, thumb-typing Hobbit and show off the latest brain numbing tool served up by their masters, the Information Scientists. By comparison to their cheerful, helping presence at the reference desk, we archivists easily appear to be nothing more than snooty, elitist fussbudgets that don’t allow our researchers to use pens or even so much as bring a coffee in from the espresso bar. Here at True Archives we say never compromise your reading room rules to appear more "friendly" and "helpful." If Bilbo Baggins and his pals want to enjoy a few flagons of mead while they research, tell them to leave! Don't ever apologize for guarding the treasure of Erebor with all the ferocity of a Dragon.

In the Garden of Information Scientist Beasts

Here at True Archives we love hyperbole. By exaggerating the threat from the digital world that the Information Scientists want to create, we hope to at least to raise a few questions regarding its desirability even while admitting our alarmist rhetoric is doing very little about it. Exaggeration, then, leads us to today’s topic: the similarity of Information Scientists to fascists. Read no further if you cannot recognize a tongue in a cheek.

Is there nothing more sinister, more threatening, more scary than a movement dedicated to global domination? A cadre of "superior" thinkers who only want to conquer and control us for our own good? Have we seen this movie before? The answer is “yes,” and take a moment before you click away to the latest Miley Cyrus update allow for a brief comparison of those crazy, goose-stepping goons and the never ending onslaught of the Biblioposers.

1) Fascists have always been concerned about doing away with the “old order” and replacing it with a new system of conformity. Information Scientists also want to do away with the old order, changing our libraries into computer filled Starbucks parlors where books, if they are to be found at all, have been pushed to the periphery.

2) Fascists are obsessed with youth and strength, promoting the symbolic superiority of both in a society. Information Scientists are obsessed with the latest hula hoop of digital technology, including the use of “social media” to create “robust user communities”made up of clueless, slackjawed internet junkies. (Don’t remind me that I am using social media to warn you all about social media; who says I have to be consistent or even make sense on this blog?)

3) Fascists burned books. Information Scientists? Well, let’s be charitable and say they “recycle” books.

Make no mistake about it. The Biblioposers want to pulp your books and make you believe the screens of their Kindles will be just as good or better than ink on paper. Never mind the fact that the electronic text has all the permanence and retrieval veracity as a breath you took yesterday. When it comes to considering the future of the book, you’d best take several deep breaths before putting your trust in a “cloud” of Information Science promises.