OK, I'm listening to the report now on the NPR website ... and sure enough, the beginning of the report refers to the "subterranean vault", and the "dusty treasure trove". The report also refers to Mary Beth herself as a woman "whose second home is a bank vault." THIS is what drives me nuts. While we may be housed in some pretty weird spaces, why do reports like this go out of their way to mention the strange aspects of our work and our collections? The report does have some nice quotes from Mary Beth, in which she puts the records in historical context (gold and the purchase of Alaska - nicely done). Have to give NPR credit for that, and I think that does qualify as "history detective". So I don't see an an insult in the term "history detective". What I do see is an instance of stereotyping archives as weird dusty things presided over by weird dusty people. Not the first and certainly not the last. Sigh ... Carole Prietto Daughters of Charity West Central Province St. Louis 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]>