saa research forum new orleans august 13, 2013
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Archival Diasporas: Understanding Dispersed Photographic Collections Ricky Punzalan Assistant Professor University of Maryland College of Information Studies [email protected] | www.rpunzalan.com. SAA Research Forum New Orleans August 13, 2013. The Problem of Dispersed Collections. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Archival Diasporas: Understanding Dispersed Photographic Collections
Ricky PunzalanAssistant Professor
University of Maryland College of Information Studies [email protected] | www.rpunzalan.com
SAA Research ForumNew Orleans
August 13, 2013
The Problem of Dispersed Collections
Acknowledging complementary collections in finding aids
Enlarging our notions of provenance, ownership, and custody
Exploring the role of technical standards and tools in reconnecting and linking collections
Bastian (2001/2006), Nesmith (2006), Wurl (2005), Hurley (2005), Pitti (1997)
“Standards such as Encoded Archival Description now offer the potential of virtually reuniting fragmented collections and relating distributed collections through the on-line linking of finding aids.”Jeanette Allis Bastian, “A Question of Custody: The Colonial Archives of the United States Virgin Islands,” American Archivist 64 (Spring/Summer 2001): p. 114.
“Allowing dispersed collections to be brought together” (Deegan and Tanner, 2002)
A collaborative endeavorHarnesses the affordances of the
digital
Unsworth (2006), Austenfeld (2010), Lynch (2009), Deegan and Tanner (2002), and Shenton (2010)
Virtual Reunification
MethodologyA Case Study of Worcester’s Dispersed Ethnographic Images
A Suitable candidate for reunification
In 10 LAM institutionsResearch demandEfforts to consolidate since the 70’s In various stages of digitizationFunding availability
1887-1888 Visited the Philippines as a student
1890-1893 Led a zoological expedition of the Islands
1899-1901 Appointed to the Philippine Commission
1901-1913 Appointed Secretary of the Interior of the Insular Government
Several publications on Philippine Indigenous Groups
1898 The Philippine Islands and their PeopleNotes on Some Primitive Philippine Tribes, National Geographic
1906 The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon, Philippine Journal of Science
1911 Field Sports Among the Wild Men of Northern Luzon, National Geographic
1912 Head-Hunters of Northern Luzon, National Geographic
1913 The Non-Christian Peoples of the Philippine Islands, National Geographic
1914 The Philippines Past and Present
Dean C. Worcester, 1866-1924
NATURAL HISTORY
American Museum of Natural History PrivateField Museum of Natural History Private
ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology University (Private)Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum PublicU. Michigan Museum of Anthropology University (Public)U. Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology University (Private)
ARCHIVESNational Anthropological Archives PublicU. Michigan Bentley Historical Library University (Public)
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Newberry Library PrivateU. Michigan Special Collections Library University (Public)
Research Sites
• Accession records• Worcester photographs & indexes• Worcester papers and manuscripts• Published materials on Worcester
and his photographs
Site Visits and Archival Research
(Jul 2010 – May 2012) 10 Institutions
- 9 on-site / 1 off-site - Chicago, New York,
Boston, Ann Arbor, & D.C.
25 respondents
- Heritage workers (19)
- Researchers (2)- Funding admins. (4)
Semi-Structured Interviews
(Nov 2011 – June 2012)
Data Gathering
• Interview transcripts• Field notes• Memos
Interview Participants (n=25)
Stakeholder Group Job Description No. of Participants
Heritage Professionals and Administratorsfrom Owning Institutions (n=19)
Archivists 10Curators 6Collections Managers 2
Librarian 1
Funding Agency Representatives (n=4)Executive Director 1Program Officers 3
Researchers (n=2)Professor 1Exhibit Intern 1
Dimensions of Dispersion
Dispersion – Geographic
1-3 Ann Arbor, MI (UM: Bentley/Special Collections/UMMA)4-5 Chicago, IL (Field Museum/Newberry)6 Suitland, MD (NAA)
7 Philadelphia, PA (UPenn Museum)
8 New York, NY (AMNH) 9 Cambridge, MA (Peabody Museum) 10 Cologne, Germany (R-Joest Museum)
Dispersion – Provenancial
Dispersion – Temporal
Dispersion - Material
Conclusions
What does it mean to assemble the ‘whole’?
What is the ‘object’ of reunification?
If reunification is the solution, what is the problem?