Meeting 1 of 2023 was held on 1 February, at 1pm AEDT.
We read Jennifer Douglas, Alexandra Alisauskas, Elizabeth Bassett, Noah Duranseaud, Ted Lee and Christina Mantey, "'These are not just pieces of paper': Acknowledging grief and other emotions in pursuit of person-centered archives", Archives and Manuscripts, Vol 50 no 1, pp5-29, 2022, https://doi.org/10.37683/asa.v50.10211
We were joined by author Jennifer Douglas for the discussion.
Jennifer kindly shared an introduction to the article and the research project it was from. Discussion included:
- The generosity of the interviewees in sharing their experiences
- Differences (if any) in conducting these interviews over skype or in person
- Grief felt in all aspects of archival work (because people are part of archival work)
- The importance of acknowledging grief and other emotions as an important first step for interviewees
- Person-centred approaches to archives and how these are not anti-record or in conflict with records-focussed approaches. Accountability is still critical.
- Things people talk about as records are often different to what archivists are trained to consider as records. Material that doesn't end up in archives doesn't mean it's not still important.
Also, please come with your ideas for articles you're interested in reading and discussing at future meetings. If you're super keen, you can add your suggestions to our Zotero library.
If you would like more information, send us an email.