These pics are of an older two colour job for a band called 'So So Modern', designed
by Autistk. The poster was printed as an edition of 50 A1's. Hopefully
it helps you all understand the screenpritning process a little better.
Here's
the seperations. These are the designs, turned into their respective
colours/layers, as each colour is printed one at a time. Black on the
right, red on the left.
The
seps are then stuck to the screen. The key is UV sensitive emulsion
(the orange stuff), which is coated onto the screen earlier and needs to
be kept out of the light until exposure. I keep my large screens in the
attic: smaller screens in a light-safe box I made.
The
screen then goes into my UV lightbox for exposure...I use 6 UV bulbs at
around 20mins, which burns the design from the seps into the emulsion.
The foam on the right pushes the screen flush to the glass when the lid
is closed, making a crisp image. You can do this with a halogen lamp, or even the sun.
After
exposure, the screens are washed down. The black areas in the design
block the light, but the clear areas are burned into the screen. The
result is that the blocked areas (the yellowish sections) washes away,
making the stencil for printing.
Sweet,
so my screen is dry and I'm taping it up so I can print. The orange
areas are blocked, so no ink can pass through. It's the other
(yellowish) areas where the inks passes through in the printing process.
I use clear packing tape on the gutters, which helps cleaning up the excess ink and stops leakage at the sides.
Screen
is locked into my vacuum table using hinges, and the stock is ready to
register. I use business cards as a 3 point rego system....I also use
that kick arm which holds up the screen and helps for feeding in stock.
The screen is lowered, and I then add the ink. I use waterbased inks so I don't have to deal with chemicals.
Printing
the first layer, red. Generally lighter colours go first. This is the
repetitive part. So for a 50 poster job I'd do this action 50 times,
plus another 50 for the second colour.
And
ta da! I work from right to left, and usually get up a bit of pace,
which is nice. Loud punk (Minor Threat usually) or national radio is a
necessity for this process.
Here's the first colour done.
The screens then get cleaned in my washout area out back. Tape, ink, blood, etc.
Time
for the second colour. I line up the second colour with the
transparency, then do the same with the screen to make sure registration
is ok. This is probably the hardest thing because things can move
during the whole process!
Tape it up, line it up, and get ready to brake my back again. Music on.
Done!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
'Remains to be Seen' Auckland launch this weekend
Just a wee reminder that this is happening this Saturday! Also I'm pleased to announce that Radio New Zealand will be airing a 50 minute feature on my research on Labour Day—October 24—at 10am.
Jared Davidson, author and designer of 'Remains to be Seen', will share a few thoughts on the book, to be followed by a screening of 'The Wobblies'—a classic and informative documentary of one of the worlds most lively and radical unions, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). You can watch an excerpt here: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=VS5nP0F8sXI&feature=related
Come along and share in a slice of Aotearoa's radical history.
Saturday 24 September, 5.30pm, at the Cityside Baptist Church Hall (8 Mount Eden Road, Mt. Eden, Auckland).
More information on the book can be found at http://www.rebelpress.org.nz/ publications/remains-to-be- seen.
Cheers,
'Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand'—an easy-to-read account of censorship and radical labour during the First World War—will be launched in Auckland September 24.
Jared Davidson, author and designer of 'Remains to be Seen', will share a few thoughts on the book, to be followed by a screening of 'The Wobblies'—a classic and informative documentary of one of the worlds most lively and radical unions, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). You can watch an excerpt here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Come along and share in a slice of Aotearoa's radical history.
Saturday 24 September, 5.30pm, at the Cityside Baptist Church Hall (8 Mount Eden Road, Mt. Eden, Auckland).
More information on the book can be found at http://www.rebelpress.org.nz/
Cheers,
Saturday, September 3, 2011
New Katipo Books webiste is live!
After a wee hiatus, a change in the collective, and a number of major earthquakes, Katipo Books Workers' Co-Operative is finally back on track! And we're excited to say we have a brand new website.
You can now check out radical books, zines and more at http://www.katipobooks.co.nz. We've still got a swag of zines to upload, and a new shipment of books is due in next month, so there's much more to come. And bear with us if there's any bugs.
If you're in Otautahi/Christchurch then watch out for us at the Vegetarian Expo, and if you're keen to get involved then give us a buzz. Our new email is katipobooks (at) riseup (dot) net.
What is Katipo Books?
Katipo Books was established in 2006 as a way to bring more radical and alternative educational material into circulation within Aotearoa/New Zealand. We’re a small collective that aims to grow over time and expand the material we have available, through our online store and regular bookstalls at events such as speakers’ evenings, book launches and other events (such as publishing our own literature). We also support and network with other small publishing and distribution groups such as Rebel Press and AK Press. [Read more at our website]
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Christchurch Protest: National Party Welcoming Committee!
For the first time in 16 years the cabinet are meeting outside of the beehive to acknowledge the anniversary of September's Earthquake. The same cabinet that brought us 1000's of families freezing in condemned homes, record levels of unemployment, attacks on workers and beneficiary rights, billion dollar bailouts for private business and a cabinet with a clear agenda to drag New Zealand into a third world economic state - LET'S MAKE IT CLEAR THAT NOT EVERYONE IN AOTEAROA LOVES JOHN KEY AND HIS PARASITIC MATES!!!
Time: Monday, September 5 · 1:30pm - 3.30pm
Location: Copthorne Hotel, 449 Memorial Avenue - nr Ch Ch airport
Friday, August 26, 2011
Auckland Launch of 'Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in NZ'
'Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand'—an easy-to-read account of censorship and radical labour during the First World War—will be launched in Auckland September 24.
Jared Davidson, author and designer of 'Remains to be Seen', will share a few thoughts on the book, to be followed by a screening of 'The Wobblies'—a classic and informative documentary of one of the worlds most lively and radical unions, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Watch an excerpt here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS5nP0F8sXI&feature=related
Come along and share in a slice of Aotearoa's radical history.
Saturday 24 September, 5.30pm, at the Cityside Baptist Church Hall (8 Mount Eden Road, Mt. Eden, Auckland).
More information on the book can be found at http://www.rebelpress.org.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Probably the best personal account of the riots I've read so far...
An article by London anarchist 'Max von Sudo' published on London Indymedia on the looting in his home neighborhood of Brixton.
-- Luther Brecht
Looters don't give many press conferences. This made all of the conversations on today's BBC morning show a little bit one-sided.
Having been out last night in Brixton, I feel as qualified as anybody to offer at least a bit of perspective as an anarchist living in the area for the past six years.
First things first. None of the people hauling ass out of Currys last night will ever pay £9000 annual tuition to David Cameron's shiny new neo-liberal university system, so beloved by the young people of London. Although Britain has a bit more social mobility now than in the Victorian era which Cameron seems to idolize, the racist overtones in the Great British societal symphony are still pretty loud. Most of the black people who participated in last night's looting of the Currys over on Effra Road may never make it off their housing estates and into the Big Society. They don't have a hell of a lot to lose.
Despite this, the fairly mixed (for Brixton) crowd of several hundred was feeling festive last night, as cars lined up on both sides of the road, all the way to Brixton Water Lane. They're not people who are used to winning very often. The chance to haul away several hundred thousand pounds worth of electronics, right under the helpless noses of the police who routinely harass, beat, and kill them, made it a great night. The fourteen year old girls heading for that 60 inch plasma TV of their dreams were polite enough to say "excuse me", quite sincerely, as they bumped into me while springing into the Currys parking lot. Last night, everybody on Effra Road was in a great mood.
This morning, killjoys in the corporate media disagreed.
Many commentators decried the lack of a clear political motive in the riots, and seemed worried about how unrespectable the looting makes it all seem. According to this line of thought, poverty is not political.
On the radio, on the web, and in the papers, there's a lot of talk right now about the 'stupidity' of the rioters, burning down their own neighbourhoods. All of the commentators who follow this line of argument haven't considered some pretty basic facts.
Outraged Guardian readers, I say to you: you're only partially correct. It's true that the guy carrying that cash register past Brixton Academy last night probably didn't conceptualize his actions according to rational choice economic theories. However, when compared with four years of failed state capitalist attempts to catapult us out of the economic crisis, his maneuvers were in fact the height of rationality. Destroying evidence by turning on the gas cooker full-blast and burning down the Stockwell Road Nandos is pretty crazy. But it makes a lot more economic sense, for Brixton, than anything so far attempted by Labour, the Conservatives, or the wizard brains of the City of London.
Smashing windows in Brixton is probably a surer road to prosperity for most people than any of the more respectable paths already explored.
The guy who showed up today to fix the smashed windows on Brixton Road may live just down the street from the shattered glass lying on the pavement; it's unlikely that he's a currency speculator or a hedge fund manager on the side. Any money he makes from fixing the windows will be mostly spent back in the local community.
The merits of endlessly sucking money out of the pockets of working people into the reserve accounts of the supercharged risk-takers at Canary wharf are quite a bit less clear to me, at present. The crisis is entering year five. Throwing hundreds of billions into the endless rounds of bank bailouts, corporate tax breaks, and other props for a global economy which increasingly resembles that of the USSR circa 1987 is not clearly a winning strategy.
The eruption of economic chaos in the Eurozone, and the police bullets which ripped into Mark Duggan, ending his life, are now two events which are bound together in a massive sequence of riots in London, the European continent's largest financial centre.
These riots are remarkable chiefly for the role-reversals they bring about, and most of the outrage in the corporate media is a reflection of this. The outrage is really interesting if you stop to think about it.
For instance: retail profit is a kind of theft. It's economic value which is hoovered out of a local community via corporate cash registers. The decisions about where to re-invest the profits are the preserve of corporate managers and shareholders, not the decision of the people from whom the value was extracted. The whole process is fundamentally anti-democratic.
This daily denial of basic democratic political rights is "normal", and may last for years, decades or centuries. Corporations may steal from poor people - but any attempt on the part of poor people to steal back must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
Similarly, I had multiple conversations today about Saturday night's riots in Tottenham. They invariably referenced the case of Keith Blakelock, the police officer who was killed during the Broadwater Farm riots of 1985. Not one of the conversations I had included any reference to Cynthia Jarrett, the woman whose killing during a search of her apartment sparked those riots in the first place.
In the same way, I doubt whether any of the outraged middle-class commentators on the BBC 4 radio show this morning gave much thought to the dozens of people that the cops have killed in custody, or to the more or less daily humiliation of black youths who get stopped and searched outside my house. The message conveyed by all of this is pretty clear: police attacks on poor people who can't defend themselves (especially black ones) are normal. Conversely, popular attacks on police are an outrage, especially if they happen to succeed. And don't ask that guy who nicked the cash register to give his side of the story.
None of this is to say that the fire truck which just screamed past my window is a good thing. The political and economic problems of Brixton are complex. It's too easy to spout platitudes about how nothing will ever be the same again - but for a few hours last night, walking down Effra road with plasma screen TVs and Macintosh laptops, the losers were the winners. And that could have a powerful effect.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Direct democracy: An anarchist alternative to voting
With elections around the corner, various parties and their members will be out seeking your vote, your support, or at least your attention. “It’s the time for you to have a say in how the country is run”, as the adverts say. You might also hear a rather different message from some corners, namely anarchist ones. Not only do anarchists say “don’t vote”, but they usually follow it up with “organise!” They also talk about ‘direct democracy’.
So what does that actually mean? If voting is the only way to have your say, why would anarchists question it? And what does the ‘organise’ and ‘direct democracy’ bit entail?
While there are many reasons why anarchists think voting and parliamentary representation is a bankrupt way of directly looking after our many needs and wants, such debates are not the main focus of this wee text (these arguments can be found at on various websites such as www.libcom.org or www.anarchistfaq.org). What we want to try and illustrate here is the ‘organise’ part of the critique—the ways of doing things anarchists refer to as self-management and direct democracy. These are summed up by a thing called ‘federalism’—a tongue-twister of a word that will be explained by thrashing the analogy of grocery shopping the extreme!
How democracy works now
Politics, political parties, and our current system of parliamentary democracy all rely on ‘representation’. Politicians are elected by popular vote to represent us and our interests, and in exchange, we give them the power to make decisions—in short, to govern us. We do this either a) voluntarily every 3 years (because we are led to believe that this is the most logical and efficient way of doing things); or b) unwillingly through the use of coercion or force.This means the power to make laws, to regulate and control society, are in the hands of those in power (politicians), and are binding on you and me. Because we pass on these responsibilities we advocate a system of hierarchy—a pyramid-like structure with a few at the top, and the rest of us at various levels below. The system can be described as top-down, because information and power are concentrated with the few representatives, who make decisions for the people. If those representatives at the top don’t do a good job, we are allowed the right to replace them every three years by voting in another bunch of people at the top. This is a very basic run down of things, but it will do for here.
For anarchists, it is this very kind of hierarchy and imbalance of power that causes most of the problems in today’s world, because it means a tiny group of people (politicians, corporations), have more power, more say, and more control than others. This loss of control at the bottom leads to things like greed, exploitation and poverty—we who have no power are exploited by those with power, whether it be economic, social or political.
An alternative
Anarchists propose that a better way to do things would be to ensure that no one has more power than another, that everyone was equal and had an equal say in their direct affairs. We believe important decisions such as where and how we work, how we live, and how we relate to each other, should be decided directly by all those involved. This is what we mean by ‘direct democracy’, and as we shall see, is totally different to ‘representative democracy’.So, how do anarchists think direct democracy would work? And how do they think that ‘bigger’ tasks such as ‘running a country’ could be done, without falling back into structures of unequal power, control and hierarchy? How do we ensure all decisions are made fairly, democratically, and directly, in all aspects of life—local, national and international?“Anarchism is a theory for social change based on the essential belief that no person has the right to have power over another person. When you accept the notion that every person has their own personal freedom, it becomes clear that our present social structure does not allow people equal footing. It does not allow us control over our own lives.”
Far from advocating chaos, anarchists are strong believers in organisation—and in particular, ways of organising that are as non-exploitative as possible. Anarchists don’t just wont to flip the ‘pyramid’ upside down, so the bottom becomes the top and the top becomes the bottom—we would rather do away with the pyramid all together! Instead, horizontal and equal forms of decision making would replace it, making the most out of non-hierarchal systems that would function—not up or down—but from the outside edges-in, from the periphial to the centre. This form of direct democracy is known as Federalism.
Confused? In fact, we do this kind of organising in most aspects of our lives already.
Take, for example, the weekly task of going grocery shopping for the house or flat. A few of the flatmates are entrusted with carrying out the task of getting the groceries agreed to earlier by the whole flat (the dreaded shopping list), and it’s then their job to do (administer) the tasks set out (ie the shopping). We expect them to stick to the list we all agreed on, and this would make sense, because they helped create it too. They are part of the group and the decision making process, so to change the list effects them also. They might come back from the shopping with suggestions on how to do it better next time, but these are only suggestions, to discuss together as a group.
The key here is the nature of power and representation. The ‘delagates’ of the task put forward by everyone (in this case, the grocery shopping) are temporary, administrative (doing) in nature, and do not have any power to make binding or final decisions. If they really sucked at the shopping and spent all the flat money on booze and chips (‘awesome’ some might say), then obviously the next time around the group would decide on different flatmates to have a go. In fact, we all know the task of getting groceries swaps around as it’s fairer that way. Anarchists say, why not take this kind logical system and apply it our wider lives?
The key aspects of direct democracy is the fluid and temporary nature of delegation; that delegates are directly involved in the decision making, and are directly from and for the group; and that everyone involved has a direct say in the issue at hand (whether that’s shopping, running a community garden, or an entire workplace/community). What’s cool about it is the equal balance of power in making decisions, and the non-existence of an exploitative hierarchy. It is in this way that direct democracy and self-management takes place—meaning you can have the maximum input in what directly effects you. When this process joins together with other groups doing the very same thing (such as between communities or workplaces, or even countries), federalism on a larger scale takes place—following the same structures and the same principles.
Still not sure if this is a better way of doing things? Lets bash this shopping analogy out even further, and see how the shopping would take place under the current system of ‘representation’.
The people who you ‘elected’ to go shopping—and who promised they would ‘stick to the list’—have decided to not only stay and live at the supermarket, but try and control everything else about the flat from there too. They try to make sure you’ve got the right groceries from where they are, as they say it’s more efficient than making trips back and forth. So, the flat trusts that those in the supermarket will somehow know what the flat needs each changing week, even though they are now separate and removed from the flat. If they start to get it wrong and become completely out of touch with the flat’s various needs, then all you can do is wait three years to vote in another group—who, funnily enough, also happen to live at the supermarket! And finally, if you decide to go out and actually do the shopping yourself, and at a different kind of supermarket, they send out the trolley boy’s after you!
This analogy is terribly cheesy (as is this pun), but when it comes down to it, it’s sadly accurate. The representative system is far from efficient—in fact, its illogical, wasteful and completely divorced from our everyday lives. That’s why anarchists advocate direct democracy, direct participation, and a system of inclusive, equal, federalism. That’s also what it means when we say, “don’t vote—organise!”
Monday, July 25, 2011
My first review!
Until this week I had a fear of history books. Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's Ashes in New Zealand by Jared Davidson dispelled my fear with its stunning layout, exceptional readability and perfect length (85 pages). The book’s subtitle might be a little misleading, as the book takes us through events that seem to have produced no trace of Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand whatsoever. The journey, however, is very informative, revealing sad truths about New Zealand's history and the origins of today's repressive state. If a history book should do anything it is to kindle an interest in the past. Davidson's book left me with inspiration to learn more of Joe Hill and dissenters during World War I, and therefore comes highly recommended. – Arthur Price.Courtesy of the Labour History Project Newsletter #52.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
'Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand' (Book Launch)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Remains to be Seen: Pics from the production floor
Here's some neat pictures from the amazing peeps at Rebel Press: without their labour there would be no book! If you want to get your hands on a copy, it's available to purchase from Rebel Press: http://www.rebelpress.org.nz/
Monday, June 6, 2011
'Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand' is out now!
Featuring an array of archival documents and illustrations, Remains to be Seen: Tracing Joe Hill's ashes in New Zealand—an easy-to-read account of censorship and radical labour during the First World War—is now available to purchase from Rebel Press: http://www.rebelpress.org.nz/ publications/remains-to-be- seen
About the book:
On the eve of his execution in 1915, Joe Hill—radical songwriter, union organiser and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)—penned one final telegram from his Utah prison cell: “Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don’t want to be found dead in Utah.” Hill’s body was then cremated, his ashes placed into tiny packets and sent to IWW Locals, sympathetic organizations and individuals around the world. Among the nations said to receive Hill’s ashes, New Zealand is listed.
Yet nothing is known about what happened to the ashes of Joe Hill in New Zealand. Were Hill’s ashes really sent to New Zealand? Or was New Zealand simply listed to give such a symbolic act more scope? If they did make it, what ever happened to them?
Remains to be Seen traces the ashes of Joe Hill from their distribution in Chicago to wartime New Zealand. Drawing on previously unseen archival material, it examines the persecution of anarchists, socialists and Wobblies in New Zealand during the First World War. It also explores how intense censorship measures—put in place by the National Coalition Government of William Massey and zealously enforced by New Zealand’s Solicitor-General, Sir John Salmond—effectively silenced and suppressed the IWW in New Zealand.
A free downloadable PDF version is also available from Rebel Press.
The book will be launched in Christchurch on Thursday June 30 at Beat Street Cafe (Corner Barbadoes and Armagh), at 5.30pm. Jared Davidson, author and designer of Remains to be Seen, will share a few thoughts on his research, and copies of the book will also be available for purchase.
About the book:
On the eve of his execution in 1915, Joe Hill—radical songwriter, union organiser and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)—penned one final telegram from his Utah prison cell: “Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don’t want to be found dead in Utah.” Hill’s body was then cremated, his ashes placed into tiny packets and sent to IWW Locals, sympathetic organizations and individuals around the world. Among the nations said to receive Hill’s ashes, New Zealand is listed.
Yet nothing is known about what happened to the ashes of Joe Hill in New Zealand. Were Hill’s ashes really sent to New Zealand? Or was New Zealand simply listed to give such a symbolic act more scope? If they did make it, what ever happened to them?
Remains to be Seen traces the ashes of Joe Hill from their distribution in Chicago to wartime New Zealand. Drawing on previously unseen archival material, it examines the persecution of anarchists, socialists and Wobblies in New Zealand during the First World War. It also explores how intense censorship measures—put in place by the National Coalition Government of William Massey and zealously enforced by New Zealand’s Solicitor-General, Sir John Salmond—effectively silenced and suppressed the IWW in New Zealand.
A free downloadable PDF version is also available from Rebel Press.
The book will be launched in Christchurch on Thursday June 30 at Beat Street Cafe (Corner Barbadoes and Armagh), at 5.30pm. Jared Davidson, author and designer of Remains to be Seen, will share a few thoughts on his research, and copies of the book will also be available for purchase.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century: free download
Damier's Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century (which I reviewed here) has been released as a free PDF. It's a really good read—I definitely recommend it!
Download it here: http://libcom.org/library/anarcho-syndicalism-20th-century-vadim-damier
From my review:
For those who can read Russian, Vadim Damier’s two-volume study of the International Workers’ Association (IWA) is a comprehensive history of the worldwide anarchist labour movement in the early 20th Century. For the rest of us, Malcom Archibald has translated what is essentially a streamlined version of Damier’s larger work into English. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century is a broad survey of a movement often marginalised by Marxist academics, and is a welcome addition to the existing literature on anarcho-syndicalism. As Damier illustrates, anarcho-syndicalism was far from a outmoded, ineffective or petty-bourgeois movement — the practice of direct action and revolutionary struggle controlled and self-managed by the workers themselves extended to all countries of the world.
Friday, June 3, 2011
It's time to get organised! Join Beyond Resistance
With the National Government steadily sweeping away what little crumbs of a living we have left, it’s time to get organised. Cuts to welfare, draconian earthquake laws, union busting and employment nightmares — all in the first term. What they get away with next depends on our ability to resist. And we don’t mean voting in Labour (who would do exactly the same).
If you are based in Aotearoa, sick of the situation we’re up against, and want to see a change, then let’s get together. By joining Beyond Resistance we multiply our skills and our strengths, and face the ills of our society collectively rather than on our own. Only in Solidarity can we truly effect change.
Contact otautahianarchists[at]gmail[dot]com to find out more, or check out our website on how to join. You can either join as an individual from anywhere in Aotearoa, or if there’s members nearby, you can join (or start) a Local.
It’s time for anarchists in Aotearoa to be heard!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Interview with Justseeds printmaker Dylan Miner
The Norwegian art quarterly MĂĽg Magazine just published their new issue which includes an extensive interview with Justseeds artist and creator of the Joe Hill image for my book, Dylan Miner. View the issue online here.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Gardens and Forests? Two perspectives on archival outreach
Yet another MIS paper, the last for my 'Archives, Advocacy and Outreach' course, taught by Wendy Duff. For this paper we were asked to compare and contrast 'user-centred' and 'materials-centred' approaches to outreach.
The only constant in this world is change. However, from my limited knowledge of archives, change in that world seems at a pace slower than most. And probably for good reason. The core archival theories guiding acquisition, appraisal, description and preservation currently serve their purpose, and on the most part, serve it well. Yet there is a missing but equally important element: the ‘global south’ of archives that is outreach.
Outreach, also known as public programming, is one way that archives create awareness and promote use through things like public events, physical or online exhibitions, and educational or in-school workshops (to name but a few). Unfortunately, this aspect of archival work is either viewed as not important by some repositories, or they simply do not have the time or funds to spare. For many archives outreach is like a mid-winter tropical sojourn, a nice thought, but often unattainable.
In spite of these difficulties, a change in perspective on archival outreach has come to the fore in the last 20-30 years. Writers such as Elsie Freeman, Randall Jimerson, Timothy Ericson, and others, have been pushing outreach to the forefront of archival theory. At the frontline of this push is the user, with an increased focus on their search techniques and their current (rather than future) needs. This user-centred approach not so much departs from the traditional archival viewpoint, but places emphasis on one of its key components: use.
However this change is far from accepted in the archival world. Writers such as Terry Cook—while supporting improvements in outreach—warns that taken to the extreme, a focus on the user instead of a focus on the records themselves could have dire consequences for the archival profession. For Cook, it is a matter of the message outreach conveys, and that message has to be the value of the record in its context.
Both the user-focus of Ericson, and the materials-focus of Cook, has important repercussions for archives and archival theory—not only in outreach, but the way records are used, and how they are appraised. It is these two facets of archival theory that concerns archivists such as Cook, and the focus of this text.
GARDENS & FORESTS: TWO PERSPECTIVES ON OUTREACH
“The archival profession has fallen short of the mark in promoting archival materials…” writes Ericson in Archivaria 31, “…it is the inevitable afterthought” (Ericson, 1990/91, p.114, 116). Archivists have become “preoccupied with our own gardens, and too little aware of the larger historical and social landscape around us” (Ham, 1981, as cited in Ericson, p.115). As a result, the promotion and use of archives for current users (and non-users) is far from what it could be.
According to Ericson and a number of others writing about outreach, this neglect of the record’s use, and those who use them, is the result of outreach playing second fiddle to acquisition and description. “Availability and use are last…when, in fact, they should be first. This may seem like a minor point, but the consequences are insidious. Outreach and use come last… something to be undertaken when all the rest of the work has been done” (Ericson, p.116). Naturally, when time and funding is stretched, those at the bottom of the archival ladder (such as outreach) suffer.
If the purpose of preserving archival materials is so that they will be used (Eriscon, p.114), then outreach should be tied to an archive’s mission statement, and sit alongside (or even in front) of other archival principles:
the goal is use. We need continually to remind ourselves of this fact. Identification, acquisition, description and the rest are simply the means we use to achieve this goal. They are tools. We may employ all these tools skilfully; but if, after we brilliantly and meticulously appraise, arrange, describe and conserve our records, nobody comes to use them, then we have wasted out time (Ericson, p.117).
This shift towards outreach and the user is what Malbin describes as being user-centred: “the increasingly widespread, mostly American school, which favours a user-centred approach,” including user-friendly finding aids and indexes arranged by subject (1997, p.70). According to this school, archivists should concentrate on ‘translating’ archival theory (such as provenance) into a form more understandable to the typical user’s needs (Malbin, p.70).
Lowrence Dowler echoes this trend: “use, rather than the form of material, is the basis on which archival practice and theory ought to be constructed” (1988, as cited in Cook, p.125). The value of records and the information they contain is not in the record’s context, but in “the relationship between the use of information and the ways in which it is or can be provided” (1988, as cited in Cook, p.125). It is this relationship that should define archival practice.
But for archivists such as Terry Cook, this shift in archival theory could undermine both it “and the very richness of that documentary heritage” which outreach would make available (Cook, 1990/91, p.123). Cook’s fears are not in making archives more accessible (something he supports), but in extending a user-centred approach to the two main archival functions of appraisal and description—in other words, what we keep, and how it will be found by the user. According to Cook, rather than making records instantly available, outreach needs to ensure the right message is being delivered. That message is the unique value of the record when viewed through the lens of archival theory.
This view represents a materials-centred approach, and arguably the dominant discourse of archival theory. For Cook, “archives are not just collections of individual documents but, rather, a blend of what is in all of them” (Malbin, p.71). Knowledge is gained through the record’s richness, the contextual significance of the record, and the collections in which they are found. Rather than “focusing on that isolated tree,” archivists, through educating users on the power of provenance, should lead their users “through the grand archival forest, with all its fascinating paths and interesting byways” (Cook, p.128).
Cook argues that the key principles of archival theory—provenance, original order, context and the like—imply “a sense of understanding, of ‘knowledge,’ rather than the merely efficient retrieval of names, dates, subjects, or whatever, all devoid of context, that is ‘information’” (Cook, 1984/85, as cited in Cook, p.128). Records do not simply provide facts and figures, but offer a unique insight into the creator of the record and the larger society to which they belong. Treating a record as containing mere data or information negates its archival value.
Cook is concerned that if outreach is promoted at the expense of archival theory, then the current and future use of records is threatened. A user-centred approach to appraisal, while increasing service for today’s users, could be to the detriment of future use. And while outreach should not “be the tail unthinkingly following the appraisal and description dog, it is no healthier that [outreach] should wag the entire archival dog” (Cook, p.127).
USE, INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE
There is no question that outreach should be prime and centre in the role of an archive. As well as ensuring that our cultural heritage is accessed by a wide variety of people in order to create new knowledge, outreach is needed for the very existence of archives itself—even more so a neo-liberal world overly concerned with outcomes and profit margins. As Tapscott and Williams, when discussing Web 2.0 and outreach, put it: we must “harness the new collaboration or perish” (2006, as cited in Daines & Nimer, 2009).
Outreach and public programming creates an awareness of the archive and what it does. It can aid current users and act as the catalyst for new ones. Online exhibitions, educational programs in schools, workshops and events, and innovative digital tools that bring archives to the streets (such as being able to text a number and find out information about that street or place), all aid in the use of archival documents. Outreach activities “teach people that archives are places to which they may come for information” (Ericson, p.119).
But does this use come at expense of archival principles? And if so, what knowledge is being gained? For Cook, if outreach is taken to its limit at the expense of the archival message, archives would be turned into “the McDonald’s of Information, where everything is carefully measured to meet every customer profile and every market demographic” (Cook, p.127). This is because ‘information’ and ‘knowledge’ is not the same thing.
In the same issue of Archivaria as Ericson, Cook quotes Theodore Roszak to describe the differences of information and knowledge: “information is not knowledge. You can mass-produce raw data and incredible quantities of facts and figures. You cannot mass-produce knowledge, which is created by individual minds, drawing on individual experience, separating the significant from the irrelevant, making value judgements” (as cited in Cook, p.128). The knowledge gained from records through their original order, their provenance, and an understanding of the societal context in which they were created, is threatened when a record is pulled from its collection and instantly served to the user “on a silver platter” (Cook, p.125). It may service their need, but at a price. That price is archival value.
Instead, archivists need to get back to the records themselves, and to the unique power of provenance. Although difficult for the Google generation to grapple, archival theory on record creation and description is important because of the uniqueness of archives: “archives are not like libraries, nor should they be” (Malbin, p.71). The power of provenance ensures the user is not limited to “a diet of fast food, of quick hits of facts, names and dates without context and without much meaning” (Cook, p.131), but a rich experience of knowledge making.
Cook argues: “every user from the genealogist looking for a single fact or a copy of a single documents through the most sophisticated researcher using ‘discourse’ methodology would benefit from this materials-centred approach to archives” (Cook, p.130). This is because the retrieval of information is not a logical, analytical and linear process, but a holistic, intuitive and creative one (Ketelaar, 1988, as cited in Cook, p.129). Therefore finding aids structured to the users current needs, or description that caters to subjects only, would hinder the holistic search process, fragment the organic relationships of archives, and endanger a record’s coherence. “In the rush to produce more sophisticated and more comprehensive finding aids better to assist the researcher, turning him or her into a one-minute expert, grave risks presents themselves to archivists and researchers alike” (Cook, p.126). For Cook, these grave risks also include how records would be appraised.
TRENDY CONSUMERISM OR PRAGMATIC ACQUISITION: USER-CENTRED APPRAISAL
“A deep and dangerous theoretical iceberg,” is how Cook responded to the extension of a user-centred approach to appraisal. For writers such as Freeman, however, it is more a case of bringing records above the surface in order to be used today, rather than a preoccupation with the explorers of tomorrow. Archivists need to “consider less the uses of the future and turn more to identifying the users and uses of today” (Gracy, 1986, as cited in Cook, p.125). Because of this eye on the future, the ‘products’ archives hold “do not supply what users want or, far more important, what they will actually use,” writes Freeman; “a look at how and why users approach records will give us new criteria for appraising records” (1984, as cited in Cook, p.126).
Knowing what the user wants or needs and acquiring records for that purpose, ensures the records are relevant, and above all, used. Archivists should “respond to the needs of users, rather than the expectations of archivists” (Blais & Enn, 1990, as cited in Cook, p.124). Although this would require a “radical rethinking” of archival theory, the advocates of such an approach content that the user, and archives, would benefit—through increased use and increased funding. In all probability, this would lead to an awareness and use of the archives not yet seen in its history.
However for Cook, such an approach is a disaster in the making. “Archivists do not (and should not!) want to acquire labour records this week, women’s diaries next week, or scientific lab reports after that” Cook, p.131). Appraising and collection records should never be based on “trendy consumerism” or the “transient whims of users” (Cook, p.130), because such an approach would destroy the unique value of archives—that is, the accurate reflection of the “functions, ideas and activities or records creators and those with whom they interact” (Cook, p.130).
Having a window on how a society functioned and the values that prevailed through the archival record, is the key to appraisal (and the very function of archives). Acquisition based on current use would provide a fragmented, rather than a holistic view on the period in question. Instead, it is better to develop criteria “to ensure that the records acquired reflect the values, patterns and functions of society today, or for older records, of the society contemporary with the records’ creators” (Cook, p.130). In this way “all kinds of research will be supported” (Cook, p.130).
Cook makes it clear that he is not supporting “cultural elitism” (Cook, p. 131), but ensuring that the uniqueness of records and the insights they provide are not negated by appraisal dictated by transient whims or quick-strike answers. Rather, Cook urges “archivists to step back from being superficial McDonald’s of Information or flashy Disney-Worlds of Heritage Entertainment, and step forward to providing all researchers with relevance, meaning, understanding and knowledge” (Cook, p.131). Because in the end, providing records in context in order to make knowledge is what an archive does best (even if it happens at a snail’s pace).
CONCLUSION
The seeds of change are taking root in modern archives. A user-centred approach is coming to the fore, lead by American archivists and writers such as Freeman and Ericson. This emphasis on the user and use of records has the potential to change the world of archives—from its public perception to the archival profession itself.
However, whether that change is for the better is open to question. For if change comes at the expense of key archival theory, then is the change worth it? If the goal of archives is facilitating use that makes sense of a particular period in question, and to create knowledge through an understanding of a record’s wider context (rather than accessing mere information), then the jettisoning of key archival theories is problematic, to say the least. Instead, archivists such as Cook reaffirm the power of provenance and a materials-centred approach in the quest for meaning and knowledge.
Perhaps the question archivists should be asking is: “how can we combine outreach with key archival principles, at the expense of neither?” For it is the combination of these components, rather than the privileging of one over another, that could steer change in the most beneficial direction. Instead of disregarding archival principles of provenance, original order, context and the like for more palatable translations for the public, archives—through education and outreach—should promote why such techniques are used, and the unique value they bring to research.
The last word on these two views of outreach goes to Terry Cook (sorry Ericson): “the user should also be led to information about the contextual significance of that document… that is informed public service; that is exciting public programming; that is making archival users knowledgeable rather than loaded down, however efficiently, with facts and copies of detached documents floating around devoid of context” (Cook, p.131).
REFERENCES
Cook, T. (1990/91). Viewing the world upside down: Reflections on the theoretical underpinning of archival public programming. Archivaria, 31 (Winter), 123-134.
Daines, J.G., & Nimer, C.L. (18 May, 2009). Web 2.0 and archives. Accessed 12 May 2011 from http://interactivearchivist.archivists.org/
Ericson, T. L. (1990/91). Preoccupied with our own gardens: Outreach and archivists. Archivaria, 31 (Winter), 114-122.
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