Reflections on Your Favorite "American Archivist" Articles

Thanks to the inspiring contributions of countless archivists, SAA has published thousands of articles in The American Archivist for the past seventy-five years. Now, SAA wants to celebrate this work! Click on the links below to read about your fellow members' favorite articles. And if you haven't shared your thoughts on a favorite article, SAA wants to hear from you! Tell us about the article here.

"Dear Mary Jane" by John A. Fleckner [favorite article of David McAllister]

Name: David McAllister

Title: Student

Institution: Drexel University

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist

Author(s) of Article: John A. Fleckner

Volume and Date: 54:1 (Winter 1991)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

 

“Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist” was one of the first pieces I read in my endeavor to reinvent myself as an archivist. It immediately put me at ease, reinforced that my choice to go back to school again was a smart one, an important one. Like Fleckner, I went the graduate-school-in-history route, and have been teaching history courses as an adjunct for too many years. With limited prospects for a tenure-track position and not sure anymore I really wanted to be a full-time academic historian, I started school again and, like the fictional Mary Jane Appel, “met” John Fleckner.

There is something soothingly personal about a letter, something that comes through even when you are reading a digitized copy of a journal article that contained three letters that weren’t even addressed to you. This is a tribute to Fleckner of course; to take the format of a letter required him to open up to reveal part of himself, and he understood this and used it to great effect. He admitted mistakes, admitted infallibility in his decisions he made and continues to make as an archivist. It is intimidating to start again, to open oneself up to criticism in the classroom (especially for one used to giving the criticism), and to admit that you do not know something. “Don’t worry,” Fleckner is saying here to young colleagues; you will make mistakes, but we all do; learn from them and move on.

For me, the real key of these letters comes in the third with his discussion about the social importance of archives. “The archival record,” Fleckner writes, “is a bastion of a just society;” it “assures our rights. . .to our ownership of our history;” it enables “individuals and groups neglected or maligned by the dominant culture” a chance to recreate a “sense of their historical peoplehood too frequently denied to them in the past.” An archivist is more than a records keeper, she is in the broadest sense a keeper of history, a keeper of democracy.

If this is true, and I believe it is, it represented for me a place to start rethinking about what archives are and how they should function in society. In a few sentences, Fleckner suggests that the archival profession is not passive but active; that its power is not simply in accumulating the papers passed down from the state, but in assembling an archival record that represents a representative history of the people. It includes the history of groups and individuals with little power and influence and those who often courageously challenge state power. In thinking about and digesting Fleckner’s piece as an archivist to be, it is enlivening to think that I will be a part of this important societal task. I understand that Fleckner is stepping back here and taking a big-picture approach and that the day-to-day tasks of an archivist can be mundane and far removed from the lofty goals of preserving democratic institutions. But Fleckner gives me something to strive for: to make a career that is focused on actively assembling that real history of the people.

"Dear Mary Jane" by John A. Fleckner [favorite article of Christina Landis]

Name: Christina Landis

Title: Student and Archives Assistant

Institution: Drexel University

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist

Author(s) of Article: John A. Fleckner

Volume and Date: 54:1 (Winter 1991)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

I was first introduced to John Fleckner’s “Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist” in my second week as an archival studies student. It was an exciting time for me, treading an educational path which would lead to a career, and having just secured an internship in an archives. And I wanted to know: Why did people become archivists?  What drew them to the profession?  What was it really like being an archivist? Eight months later finds me re-visiting “Dear Mary Jane” and remembering how it made me fall in love with archives.

I realized that no one seems to set out to be an archivist – that perhaps we all find our way to the profession, as John did, through “an accident in good guidance.” Coming from an English and history background, I thought my only options were to teach (which I didn’t want to do) or work in a library somewhere, leaving my seemingly unfeasible dreams of playing with old stuff and getting paid to do so. For me, it was a history professor, not a university career counselor, that pointed me on the way, but the end result was the same. Knowing that we, as archivists, come from so many different backgrounds quelled my fears about entering the profession rather late in life.

But it was John’s description of being an archivist – and the reasons he cares for it so – that did it for me. He spoke fondly of his first collection (at the time of the article, nearly twenty years ago) and I remember my first collection (although not so long ago) through his words and the joy of listening to those records.  It was, too, John’s vision of what it means to be an archivist that stuck with me; that we “maintain the integrity of the historical record;” that we can, through our work, help to remind society of where we have been and who we have been.

He spoke also of our skills as archivists; our understanding, not just of the content of historical records, but of how and why they were created; and our ability to make those records relevant to society today, whether it be to correct injustice, secure justice, or ensure that our past is not forgotten or re-written.

“Dear Mary Jane” has taught me what it means to be an archivist and why we do what we do. It has taught me that I am entering a profession filled with like-minded colleagues who are eager to share their knowledge. It has taught me, above all, that to be an archivist is a wonderful thing, indeed.

"Dear Mary Jane" by John A. Fleckner [favorite article of April P. Akins]

Name: April P. Akins

Title: Student

Institution: University of Tennessee Knoxville

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist

Author(s) of Article: John A. Fleckner

Volume and Date: 54:1 (Winter 1991)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

After reading John Fleckner’s article, “Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist,” I have a renewed confidence in my decision to work in archives and special collections when I complete my M.S.I.S. in the spring of 2014. After eight and half years in public safety and with a master’s degree in Social Work, I have a calling to seek justice and equality for all members of society. Fleckner points out “if we are successful as archivists, the historical record will speak for this past in a full and truthful voice.”  (Fleckner, 13)  We, as archivists, not only set high standards for ourselves in understanding and preserving historical records, but society expects us to meet these standards in order to serve future generations. We have to approach each record with a critical eye for detail and organization without personal judgments or else we influence and alter the record. Taking on these standards encompasses my calling to seek justice and equality for all members of society. In this effort I know that “our allies are those who struggle to understand and protect the past for the benefit of the future.” (Fleckner, 13)

The way Fleckner describes the archival profession and community in this article satisfies my sense of longing and belonging. I have been on a journey to find my professional place in this world and through my educational and practical archival opportunities I have found my home among “a community of colleagues who share not just a common occupation but a common set of values and commitments.” (Fleckner, 12)  Through professional conferences, organizations, social media accounts, blogs, and scholarly communications, I have become a part of this community and I want to have the opportunity to preserve our rich heritage for future generations through both archival and digital preservation efforts.

From Fleckner’s first letter to Mary Jane to the last, I felt a sense of pride knowing that I am going to become a part of such an elite profession. The overview of the profession as being “part science, part art, and—when done properly—part showmanship, our ability to quickly understand and evaluate the record—especially when it is old, large, or complex—is a unique facet of our craft,” (Fleckner, 11) provides me with a better understanding of how far I have to go in my knowledge and skills in order to be successful as an archivist. With the community of professionals by my side I look forward to forging my way in this new profession and passing down my knowledge to future generations of archival students and professionals. “…Who knows better than archivist that our pasts—personal and communal—are never left entirely behind.” (Fleckner, 10) We all have a place in this world and I have found mine with the help of so many influential professionals, including Fleckner, in the archives field.  

"Dear Mary Jane" by John A. Fleckner [favorite article of Gregory S. Hunter]

Name: Gregory S. Hunter

Title: The American Archivist Editor and Professor

Institution: Palmer School of Library and Information Science, LIU Post

Years in Profession: 36

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist

Author(s) of Article: John A. Fleckner

Volume and Date: 54:1 (Winter 1991)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

I'm sure I won't be the only person who selects this article as among the most influential. I remember hearing John deliver this speech in person at the SAA Annual Meeting. I was struck at the time that John would use his presidential address, the highlight of a long professional career, to share his correspondence with an intern about the meaning of being an archivist.  But, of course, that's John Fleckner!

Every semester, when I read this article with a new group of archives students, I remember the start of my own career and John's influence upon it. In the late 1970s, I was the first archivist for the United Negro College Fund, writing a grant proposal for a records survey. John had recently completed his still-excellent SAA Basic Manual on surveys. I had no business approaching someone as prominent as John Fleckner to be on my advisory board; to my surprise, he said yes.

So, "Dear Mary Jane" is one of the great presidential addresses and journal articles because the text truly represents the person behind it—a man of great integrity and abundant generosity. It will influence archivists for generations to come.

"Dear Mary Jane" by John A. Fleckner [favorite article of David Klaassen]

Name: David Klaassen

Title: Retired

Institution: University of Minnesota

Years in Profession: 39

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: "Dear Mary Jane: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist"

Author(s) of Article: John A. Fleckner

Volume and Date: 54:1 (Winter 1991)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist? 

John Fleckner didn't influence me to do any aspect of my work differently, nor did he help me see it in a different way. Rather, as seems appropriate for an archivist who preserves the existing record, he reminded—and, in so doing, inspired and reinvigorated—me to recall what attracted me to the profession and why what we do matters, what it is that we "profess" as a profession. I don't know if his words speak as effectively to persons entering the profession a generation or two after he and I did, but a literature that speaks increasingly to the "how" aspects of the field still needs to consider the "why" as well.

"More Product, Less Process" by Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner [favorite article of Elizabeth W. Adkins]

Name: Elizabeth W. Adkins

Title: Director, Global Information Management

Institution: CSC

Years in Profession: 31

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing"

Author(s) of Article: Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner

Volume and Date: 68:2 (Fall/Winter 2005)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

This article garnered so much attention that MPLP has become an acronym instantly recognized by most archivists, and several conferences have had sessions dedicated to the issues raised by the article. In one case an entire conference was dedicated to MPLP. This article deserves special recognition!

"Picking Our Text" by Heather MacNeil [favorite article of Bill Landis]

Name: Bill Landis

Title: Head of Public Services, Manuscripts and Archives

Institution: Yale University Library

Years in Profession: 19

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: "Picking Our Text: Archival Description, Authenticity, and the Archivist as Editor"

Author(s) of Article: Heather MacNeil

Volume and Date: 68 (Fall/Winter 2005)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

It made me sit up and take notice, in a visceral way, to the incredible lack of transparency in our descriptive tools and metadata for our future generations of users. Heather MacNeil does an incredible job of unpacking the hidden assumptions we've developed as a profession over decades and provides clear and enlightening examples to problematize those assumptions and practices from the perspective of researchers trying to use archival collections to support arguments, draw conclusions, and otherwise do the kinds of things we say are important to us and are the very reason for the existence of our profession and the work we do to preserve documentation.

"Some Kinds of Classification" by Dallas Irvine [favorite article of Alfonso Diaz Rodriguez]

Name: ALFONSO DÍAZ RODRÍGUEZ

Title:  ARCHIVIST

Institution: ASTURIAS GOVERNMENT (SPAIN)

Years in Profession: 25

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: "Some Kinds of Classification"

Author(s) of Article: Dallas Irvine

Volume and Date: 1968

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

I located this text during my research on classification, such as archival process, while receiving my doctorate at Salamanca University. I have to say that though have passed forty years  since its publication, it has been one of the most suggestive readings, and best summary of the classification applied to records.

Without doubt, it was a lucky find.

Congratulations to the SAA.

 

"The Archival Edge" by F. Gerald Ham [favorite article of Susan E. Davis]

Name: Susan E. Davis

Title: Associate Teaching Professor

Institution: Drexel University

Years in Profession: 38

Title of Influential American Archivist Article: "The Archival Edge"

Author(s) of Article: F. Gerald Ham

Volume and Date: 38:1 (Winter 1975)

How has this article influenced you as an archivist?

I became a professional archivist the year this article appeared, although I had put in a few years of student slave labor before that time. Jerry Ham was my professor, boss, and mentor, and I have proudly claimed to be "one of Jerry's kids" ever since.  Jerry practiced what he preached, and the Wisconsin Historical Society was a leading archival repository in many ways - including attention to social action and civil rights, collecting beyond "great white men" earlier than most. I did not appreciate the contribution made by Jerry and that article until years later. 

These days I am an archival educator and assign "The Archival Edge" to my students, as do many of my colleagues. The article continues to resonate with aspiring archivists today, and is still frequently cited in the literature. His exhortation to the profession, to become "activist archivists" is as critical now as it was then. I am reminded of Jerry's words when I listen to discussion about the power of archives and about archival values.