---"The Board tends to look at everything with the question of how it
can make money ---(including the Archive), so I'm a bit skeptical as to
what they'll say after I meet with ---them."

Maybe you can influence the board by stating that what she took was not
just a few papers, but:

The cost of the folder 
The cost of the individual who put the items into the folder
The cost of the copies of the papers in the folder
The cost of upkeep of the folder, storage of the folder (AC/Heat costs,
cost per sq foot)...

There is a book that just came out about a man who estimated the cost of
the tomatoes he grew and found that they cost $64 each to grow (cost of
weeding, tools, plant food). Perhaps you can make the same assessment
about the cost of this one folder to demonstrate the gravity of the
situation.


Jackie Shalberg
Archivist / Assistant Historian 
National Model Aviation Museum
Academy of Model Aeronautics
5151 E Memorial Drive
Muncie, IN 47302
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
(765) 287-1256 ext. 511

-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Emily Jones
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 2:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Follow up to "Can a living person refuse..."

Hi everyone,
    Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my problem with one
of my co-workers not wanting to have a subject file on her (and her
removing of her file without my permission). I got a lot of e-mails from
people, which was wonderful. I really appreciate all of the advice,
support, and suggestions I got. The basic message I got from most
everyone was that what she did was theft and that at the very least I
should fire her or have her stop working in the archive.

    Someone posted a message on the list asking for me to post a follow
up. The short answer is--not much has happened. I haven't been able to
talk to my co-worker because she's been dealing with a serious illness
in her family and an increased workload in her main job in the gallery. 
So she hasn't really been in the archive at all. Our Executive Director
just resigned and so I talked to the Vice Chair of our Board (who is
also the head of the Personnel Committee on the Board) about the issue. 
I told her I wanted someone with higher authority to back me up. She
told me she wants to talk to the Board Chair and meet with me when the
Board Chair has returned from a trip in a few weeks. So that delays
things. And who knows what they will tell me. The Board tends to look at
everything with the question of how it can make money (including the
Archive), so I'm a bit skeptical as to what they'll say after I meet
with them.

    In the meantime, I have been writing a collection policy for the
Archive and have started to think about what other things need to be put
into place for the safety of the collection.

    Hopefully something good will come out of the whole thing. Badly
needed policies. Perhaps a little bit of understanding from the Board
about archives and their importance and integrity. I'm crossing my
fingers that this doesn't end up wrecking things that currently work
well.
   
    Anyway, thanks again to everyone who helped me out with my problem. 
It is much appreciated.
Emily

Emily R. Jones
Archivist
Woodstock Artists Association
28 Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498

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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
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