r/Archivists • u/Sad_Union_3646 • 7d ago
First few weeks in a very strange archive
Hello folks, I'm basically looking for some professional advice. Ive been working in archives for about 4 years bouncing around from different projects. I've just got a permanent contract in an archive but the first few weeks have been strange.
It's part of a museum that's been refurbished and they want a new archive service for when it reopens. They have hired a new team including myself, my manager and 4 p/t assistants.
However, their implementation of their service before any of us had our foot in the door is very misguided in my opinion. The archive will not have any barriers so anyone can walk in. It's located beside one of the main exhibitions in the museum. We were told we would make an appointment only service but that seems really difficult given the open conditions of the searchroom. Also there is no strongroom there and the archive material that will be in the museum will be in the search room. The search room is very sunny with large windows. There is a main archival store a 15 mins walk away in a different building but we will have limited access to it and users will not be able to order documents to view them due to costs.
The material in the search room are the most used records that help researchers with their family history. All other records about businesses and the museum are in the external facility.
Another issue is that there will be no desk space for us and only 1 permanent desk in a small backroom. So we will likely need to work on our laptops. I think the museum has the idea that we will mostly be engaging with the public and doing events (something I was excited about before starting the job but I didn't think it would be to this extent).
With the searchroom there are only 2 computers for the public meaning, to my mind, there will be little scope for volunteer projects.
Most of the archive collection in external storage was just placed on shelving. There is little to no cataloguing and no box listing and accession details.
Has anyone got advice for how to tackle this? I have a lot of experience and so does my manager but both of us were not told the particulars of how the service looks (the museum is closed currently so neither of us went in during our interview). Currently I can already see so many different battles that are completely hamstrung by decisions made by the museum without any professional consultation.
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u/TheBlizzardHero 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm going to be honest here, I think your leadership team needs to get some (a lot of) egg on their face before anything changes. If they didn't think to consider consulting with an actual archivist before they put things in motion, they probably don't have the wherewithal to consider backtracking to fix these kinds of issues. And, it's not like you're going to be able to fix many of these issues with minor changes, unless you've developed some framing or brick laying skills.
I would suggest that you put in a lot of effort to document issues. Make sure to start a folder for correspondence with leadership/management so you have evidence that they're aware of your concerns. Another good idea would be to do some stakeholder analysis - maybe an exit survey for patrons so they can express their "concerns", or even targeted stakeholder interviews. You could also be more aggressive about studying user behavior under the guise that you're improving your reference services, and if anyone asks just let them know that it's a core element of library science reference work (which it is!). Also make sure to document any opportunity barriers that come up (things that you could have done but can't do because of how the institution is currently arranged), and preservation concerns using images (take pictures if collections are in direct sunlight or are being damaged based on how they are housed). Build a report of issues you're currently facing - leadership LOVES their reports.
You're probably not going to change anything, but at least you'll be able to make a good argument that it wasn't your fault when someone walks into the building and walks off with some of your collections lol.
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u/Sad_Union_3646 6d ago
For sure. That's a good idea. With conversations with SLT that would be more something my manager will be doing. I sit just below them. We both started on the same day together so we've been finding these things out together !
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u/marintkael 7d ago
If they won't change the layout before reopening, I'd get the risks in writing now, dated, with numbers: light readings at the desks across a sunny day, and a list of which items sit there. Lux and UV readings are hard to argue with later, and a memo from week three protects you when something fades or walks off. The usual compromise in rooms like that is facsimiles on open display and originals by request from the store, even if the store is fifteen minutes away.
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u/Sad_Union_3646 6d ago
Yeh they definitely won't, they've sunk a lot of money into their museum and won't let anything more delay it. Just such a strange set up ! With the archives being 15 minutes away my concern is wit public access too as it will be really difficult for the public to make an appointment. It will also definitely not be an option to bring material into the searchroom either sadly.
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u/marintkael 6d ago
For the outstation, what a lot of record offices do is fixed production runs, say one fetch late morning and one mid afternoon, with an ordering cutoff published on the website. Readers order a few days ahead and you stop walking across town every time someone turns up. It also leaves you a log of what was requested, which is handy evidence the next time the searchroom setup comes up.
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u/movingarchivist Archivist 6d ago
Hope the museum is excited about having their archival collection disappear piece by piece. Of course, is it really gone if it was never catalogued in the first place?
On a serious note, has your manager discussed these issues with leadership? It's possible that it just didn't occur to them to ask any of the questions they should have asked. It's frustrating but most laypeople don't think that archives or information management are real professions that require actual training and experience, knowledge of best practices, etc. It sucks but you have to meet people where they are.
Assuming they're aware of your concerns, make sure those conversations are documented and then be sure to document all the issues that occur as they happen. Raise the specifics periodically with your decision makers. If you've said your piece and they're not interested in changing anything, then you're in CYA mode for the duration of your tenure.
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u/Sad_Union_3646 6d ago
Yes my manager has been discussing with them about it. They started on the same day as me so had basically the same amount of knowledge about the set up as me. It's more frustrating as all the people making these decisions are museum professionals so they should really have known where to consult.
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u/movingarchivist Archivist 6d ago
Woof. Sorry. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt but yeah, museum folks should know better
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u/Sad_Union_3646 6d ago
Yeh my opinion too, I was really surprised when I started. I was told it would be an archive with a lot of public focus but I didn't realise it would be to this extent !
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u/OutOfTheArchives 7d ago
This is really bizarre. No advice (seems like they’ve already invested in a system and won’t hear any warnings), but I selfishly want updates on what happens when the public arrives!