What We Talk About When We Talk About Original Order in Writers’ Archives
Abstract
This article suggests that although the discussion of the principle of respect for original order and its application to personal archives has been both enriched and complicated in recent years, considerable confusion remains concerning both the meaning of the principle (i.e., what constitutes an original order) and its significance (i.e., what it is that an original order is thought to communicate). Focusing on the meaning and significance of original order in the specific context of writers’ archives, this article draws on interviews with archivists and librarians who work with literary archives and on archival research to argue that archivists need to think more carefully about what we convey about order and its significance in both our theoretical discussions and in the finding aids we create to represent fonds.
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article suggère que bien que la discussion au sujet du principe du respect de l’ordre d’origine et son application aux archives personnelles a été à la fois enrichie et complexifiée depuis quelques années, il existe toujours une grande confusion à la fois avec le sens de ce principe (c.-à.-d. ce qui constitue un ordre d’origine) et son importance (c.-à.-d. ce que l’on pense que l’ordre d’origine va communiquer). En se concentrant sur le sens et l’importance de l’ordre d’origine dans le contexte spécifique des archives des écrivains, cet article s’inspire des entrevues avec des archivistes et des bibliothécaires qui travaillent avec des archives littéraires et sur la recherche en archivistique pour conclure que les archivistes se doivent de mieux réfléchir à ce qu’ils veulent communiquer par rapport à l’ordre et à son importance, tant dans leurs discussions théoriques que dans les instruments de recherche qu’ils créent pour représenter les fonds d’archives.
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