Archives and the Intangible
Abstract
The realm of archives has always had an affinity for objects. Whether those objects were records, photographs, or artifacts determined their locus within the archival institution, or whether they were relegated to some distant storage facility or an affiliated place, such as a museum or library. But today’s altered landscape has necessitated a rethinking of archival “objecthood,” of the archives as a meaning-forming place, and of the basic tenets of archival acquisitions and appraisal strategies. UNESCO’s Program for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage provides an example of contemporary efforts to archive not only the culturally ephemeral, but also the quintessentially intangible. As such, it contributes to a reflection on the underlying premises of the archives’ preference for and elevation of objects, and suggests frameworks by which archivists may re-conceptualize their roles in preserving culturally meaningful expressions regardless of physicality.
RÉSUMÉ
Le domaine des archives a toujours eu une affinité avec les objets. La nature des objets en question, documents, photographies ou artefacts, déterminait leur place au sein de l’institution archivistique ou les reléguait à un centre d’entreposage hors-site ou à une autre institution, comme un musée ou une bibliothèque. Mais les récents changements sur le terrain ont nécessité un réexamen du « statut de l’objet » (« objecthood ») archivistique, des archives comme endroit créateur de la signification (« a meaning-forming place ») et des principes de base servant à l’acquisition archivistique et aux stratégies d’évaluation. Le programme de l’UNESCO pour la protection du patrimoine culturel intangible donne un exemple des efforts contemporains pour archiver non seulement ce qui est culturellement éphémère, mais aussi ce qui est fondamentalement intangible. Comme tel, il contribue à une réflexion sur les prémisses sousjacentes de la préférence pour les objets et de leur valorisation par les archives, tout en proposant des cadres de travail permettant aux archivistes de re-conceptualiser leur rôle dans la préservation de ce qui a une valeur culturelle, peu importe sa forme physique.
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