Oh, how I long for a dungeon and rack.
Bradley D. Cook
Curator of Photographs
Office of University Archives & Records Management
Indiana University
Bryan Hall 201
107 South Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000
812-855-4495
812-855-8104 (Fax)
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Visit our website at:
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
VENI, VEDI, VICI.
-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Chris Flynn
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 2:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Can a living person refuse to have a subject file created
for them?
Emily,
To begin with I am not a lawyer, so if it is a real cocern you might
want to consult one. Second. dead people have few rights so.... . Third,
your member did not own the file and the removal of it might constitute
theft. It really depends on how far you want to puch the issue. The long
and short is that IMHO, anyone can create a file on anyone else.
Granting access and publishing materials based on what is in file is
another issue. You might want to consider giving your membership the
option to restrict access to the files. Another issue might be the
courts having access to the information.
Chris Flynn
-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Emily Jones
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 10:45 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Can a living person refuse to have a subject file created for
them?
Hi everyone,
I hope some of my wise colleagues can help me out with something going
on in my archive. My archive mostly consists of subject files on artists
with a link to Woodstock, NY, past and present. Since we are an artists
association (in addition to a museum), we have a membership and many
people who exhibit in our gallery year round. One my co-workers, who
works in the gallery, also helps me out a few hours a week in the
archive. She is also an "Active Member" in the association and so often
has a piece in one of our shows. One day, when I wasn't working the
archive, she came into the archive and removed the file we had on her
(which was started on her before I was hired). She told me about it
later and said that she did not want to have a file in the archive kept
on her. Mostly files on our living artists have information about their
careers in the form of newspaper clippings and show postcards and the
like. Anyone could collect this information if they really wanted to. I
tried to explain to her that the file does not belong to her, since it
was created as a part of the archive (and using supplies, paper, and the
like paid for by the organization). I tried to explain that she was
already a part of the archive and that it isn't my job to second guess
the reasons why previous archivists created files on some individuals
and not others. The archive does not currently have a collecting policy,
although many of the staff are aware that, in terms of the living files,
that I'm trying to have files on all individuals who have reached
"Active Member" status. So I tried to explain to my co-worker that
because she is an "Active Member" in the Association, that she should
have a file. But she does not want to have a file. After she removed her
file from the archive, I started another file on her, since it doesn't
seem to me like she should have the ability to remove herself. The long
and short of it is that the other day she discovered her file in the
archive and complained to me again. I don't really know what to do. It
doesn't seem to me like she should be able to edit herself out of the
archive, since she is a part of this organization. But perhaps I'm wrong
on this one. I'd appreciate any help anyone could give me with this
situation. Please reply off-list. Thanks so much!
Emily
Emily R. Jones
Archivist
Woodstock Artists Association
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In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>