Xmas party

Last night I went to the joint Society of Archivists London Region and Archives for London Christmas Party. It was held on the HMS Belfast. Sue Hill sponsored the event and as I’ve found them helpful in the past for finding work I was pleased that they’re taking such an interest in the archive profession in London. The customary quiz took the form of a hunt for information around the ship, which was excellent fun. Although there was at least one other party on board (an IT department from some firm) we seemed to have the ship to ourselves and got to poke around into the cabins, nooks and other places, run up and down ladders and admire London by moonlight. All up it was a good night.

Christmas traditions

On the weekend I attended a seminar on the subject of mid-winter pagan traditions. It asked the question: “How much paganism is rooted in European customs and Christian celebrations?” Quite a bit it seems. My interest in early English history ensured that I was in for an enjoyable learning opportunity. What I didn’t expect was to start questioning the value of continuing to perform and sustain rituals and practices that are no longer relevant or meaningful to contemporary life. I found myself suffering a crisis, torn between a recognition of the historical (and evidential and informational) value of these traditions and a realisation that their original function has altered so much as to now be nonsensical. Mummers plays, blessing the plough ceremonies, the tradition of the “first-footers”, all these were ways of celebrating the turning of the season and of ensuring good luck for the coming year. Now we perform them because they’re historical. The reality of contemporary knowledge and contemporary life-styles means that beliefs and superstitions which found expression in these ritualistic forms are no longer relevant or even properly understood. Perhaps these traditional activities should be altered so that they resonate with contemporary life experiences, thereby giving back to the original form it’s original purpose.

whæt þa?

I saw Beowulf the movie on the weekend, in 3D. It was predictably awful. Hrothgar is a toga-wearing drunkard, Grendel’s mother is a naked Angelina Jolie and I’m not quite sure how to interpret the symbolic self-mutilation of Beowulf, the dragon-turned-golden-boy or the “sins of the father” motif that runs throughout. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary nudity for a story that’s set in a very cold place. And why did Anthony Hopkins dissolve in sea water? That’s not normal (or explained). I also don’t understand why Neil Gaimon and Roger Avary re-wrote the story to provide an alternative origin/paternity for the monsters, making them half-brothers, for what in the poem are two distinctive types of evil beasts. I suspect this ties in with a modern idea of “evil” that’s different from the concept of “evil” in Anglo-Saxon / Old Norse cultures. I’ve noticed that movies show evil as something that doesn’t get killed at the end of the story. Is this so they can have sequels? Surely they're not thinking of Beowulf 2. It's alreay "personal". I suspect contempory considerations of “what makes a hero” has something to do with the changes. Not sure how I feel about Ray Winstone as Beowulf either. In a way it’s great that they had an English actor play the hero, but at times his cockney accent lacked the gravity needed.

But, I was pleased that the movie kept some of the Old English words and used the oral culture of the time to further the plot (when Hrothgar ordered the scopes to sing of Herot’s misfortune); as a part of the story (when the players in Herot celebrated the anniversary of Beowulf’s victory over Grendel); and even to comment on storytelling itself and how truth and history are formed through oral accounts and boasting (Unferth’s questioning of Beowulf via the swimming competition with Brecca).

First Jenkinson Lecture

Last night I went to the first Jenkinson Lecture held at the UCL: 60 years on: the role of a 21st century archive vs. Jenkinson’s model, given by Natalie Ceeney, Chief Executive of The National Archives of the UK. As a general comment I thought the lecture lacked depth. Given the audience, there was an opportunity there for a comprehensive or profound examination of the role of the National Archives now as compared to Jenkinson’s conception over half a century ago. Instead the lecture merely pointed out, in broad terms, how selection, preservation and access to archival material have changed through the influence of new technology and changing political agendas. But, I’m pleased the UCL has started this lecture series and hope to attend more.

The cataloguing hole

I am currently in a cataloguing hole. The accession I’m cataloguing is huge: 28 collections and at least 40 series (and counting!). Being in the hole means that I can’t properly concentrate on anything outside of the hole. My existence has been reduced to a stream of metadata fields and forms in endless succession.
I’ve also agreed to give a talk on how I’m applying ISAAR(CPF) to my cataloguing activities. So I need to find a space, within the hole, where I can think about authority records, their purpose and importance.

Beer Glorious Beer

Went to the Great British Beer Festival last week. On Hat Day, although we didn’t know it until we got there. What a wasted opportunity! My life is lacking in chances to wear a humorous or unusual hat. I vow to be more alert and prepared next year. That aside, the Festival was great. Many beers and one Perry were tried. I was particularly pleased with the interest being shown in vegetarian beers, a bandwagon that needs to be pushed down the hill. In addition to sampling the brews we watched the auction, had a go at some of the games on offer and perused the t-shirt stalls. Turns out I’m rubbish at soccer.

Time spent doing...

For the past two weeks I’ve been studying for an exam. Classical Greek. Now it’s over I can get back to more pleasurable pastimes such as watching tv and having drinks with my friends. I can also concentrate more fully at work where I’ve been reading over the draft of ISIAH, the new international standard for institutions with archival holdings, and trying to rearrange storage space so I can fit more in. What I need is a magical room where space expands at will. My will. That would be cool.

The view from here

The topic of archivists and related professionals in fiction seems endlessly fascinating. Thanks to French Panic for your comments on a previous post. They highlighted a link between my first two posts, namely how archivists/record keepers are viewed by us and the wider world. David Mattison’s website The Fictional World of Archives, Art Galleries and Museums is worth plenty of attention.

I wonder whether record keepers are making more frequent appearances in the world of fiction or whether I’m just noticing it more. As an example, not long ago I read Death at Windsor Castle: Her Majesty Investigates by C.C. Benson (published 1998). This is one of a series of 3 Her Majesty Investigates books. It’s a very good read. A person is found dead in the Throne Room at Windsor Castle, with a sword in his chest. This person is none other than an assistant curator in the Print Room of the Royal Library at the Castle! Turns out he was a nasty piece of work who had enemies enough with a motive to kill, but I was kinda pleased to see a fellow professional in the role of murder victim.

Conference Season

It’s that time of year when I start browsing conference programmes. Actually, I do this on and off during the year, promising myself that I’ll read every last paper from all the really interesting sessions, once the society in question has helpfully published them on their web pages. In reality this never happens. This year my attention’s been grabbed by the title of the joint Association of Canadian Archivists and Archives Association of Ontario Conference: “As Others See Us: Archivists and Society”. You need to be stout of heart to venture near other people’s perceptions. As an example: last month I attended a history weekend where I was introduced to two people who weren’t fazed at all to be meeting an alchemist but who expressed extreme surprise once I’d explained what I actually did.

Back to the conferences, I’m pleased to see that many of the up and coming conferences include a nice spread of topics from digital issues to archives and community groups, including topics such as the relationship between record keeping professionals and democracy, human rights and memory.

The importance of records revealed in the movies

I love watching scary science fiction films, particularly if you can see the zipper on the swamp-creature’s costume.

As an archivist, it’s gratifying when records play pivotal roles in plot development. Last night I watched a quality film called Mosquito Man. At one point, this poor municipal sewer worker discovered a grisly murder scene. Luckily, he just happened to have brought with him to work that day a blue print of the underground passages beneath the city park. This was good news for the hero, who needed those drawings to track the mutant insect. Without them, he’d’ve been foolish to venture into the maze-like tunnels. The plot would’ve floundered and the ultimate fight against bad guys (or in this case, monsters) would’ve had an unhappy and somewhat gruesome ending.

This got me thinking about how records allow the narrative of our days to move forward. Ephemeral items like bus timetables provide important information to physically get us moving. Pay packets give us our motivation while weighty documents such as job descriptions provide the script. I also like to think of archives, and the archival profession, as contributing to the ongoing fight between goodness and bad things. Archival theory often looks at the imperatives of democracy, human rights, etc, so this is not a difficult framework to maintain