Digital archives, COVID-19, and popular culture
This week's newsletter will focus on some new archives projects I'm putting together and, as always, news from the archives and library fields.
Hello everyone! Even as the COVID-19 crisis continues, I hope you are doing well. I’d like to share some articles I’ve written and other stories to lift your spirits.
This past week, I put together a digital archive on Webrecorder for COVID-19 materials and a website titled “Shaking the U.S. to the core: consequences of the COVID-19 public health crisis.” The website uses the same URL I was assigned when I created a project for National History Day a few years ago about the war on drugs. This topic seemed meaningful enough to archive and bring together, refocusing the site on COVID-19 instead. The old website is already archived, so I didn’t worry that the content would be lost. I’ve been trying to update the website with new information every so often and add it to the digital archive, so there can be a collection of materials which can be used when the crisis has ended.
That brings me to two articles I published in the last week. The first of these examines a basement newspaper archives in an ongoing animated series, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. While the show tends to fall into the oft-stereotypes for archives (like having the archives in a dirty and dingy basement), this portrayal is better than any of the others I have come across so far. One character is outwardly proud he is an archivist, so that’s a positive. I already talked about the show before in my reviews of libraries in popular culture, but it was worth mentioning the show again. Additionally, I published an article focusing on genealogy/family history themes in two animated series: Amphibia and Infinity Train. Each of these shows incorporate family history elements into their stories in different and unique ways, unlike other shows. In the future, I may look at additional series, so this post is only a start.
There are some library-related news which is worth noting. Macmillan backed off its policy which restricted e-book sales to libraries, a decision the ALA welcomed, while the Library of Congress announced that historical law library reports will be published online, and one writer highlighted free resources you can use to do your reading from home since many libraries are closed. Furthermore, a site called Super Library Marketing issued a post about how libraries are responding to COVID-19 and gave recommendations for how other libraries can prepare. Hack Library School, on the other hand, had posts about staying busy while the COVID-19 crisis continues and the importance of maintaining a work-life balance.
In the archives field, NARA assessed FOIA reading rooms, while other posts highlighted Irish-American Heritage Month, problems with federal agencies not following NARA’s record guidelines, and noted that the spread of COVID-19 is focusing many industries to “rethink how they do business.” In the latter case, they suggested that people contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) by email instead of by mail or fax. Apart from a post by Thomas F. Schwartz, Director, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, the SAA advocated for supporting supplemental funding for the humanities as part of the Coronavirus stimulus bill, and how to make the archives profession more inclusive.
On a related note, other posts highlighted the value of SAA membership, using google maps/google earth for your genealogy research, and federal writers talking about oral history in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
That’s all for this week. I hope everyone has a great rest of your week (and weekend)!
- Burkely