Friday, February 11, 2011

Building Community, 1 Hollinger Box At A Time

At NixoNARA, historian Maarja Krusten reflects on her and others' efforts to build and nurture an on-line community for archival professionals. As for getting to know one another by talking about contentious issues, that sounds a little like church:
U.S. Archivist David Ferriero recently posted a link to a NARA reorganization effort which is aimed at creating "an open door culture, creating a safe environment for differing views." Not every history or records forum has those attributes. It takes hard work and good will and some sensitivity to those different from oneself to create such a forum. You may not fit in everywhere but it’s the same as making friends and working with colleagues in real life. By trial and error and gauging people and studying how they handle different situations, you can find the forum that fits you best. There’s no better way to get to know people than to talk to them about difficult issues of national import.

1 comment:

MK said...

Thanks much for the post. I laughed a "1 Hollinger box at a time." Nice insider reference to the acid free manuscript boxes archivists use.

Yes, in many ways it is much like church. I am staying with my current church for now but I do have friends who have "shopped around," trying out different congregations. You never know what any group of people is like until you step in the door or mingle with them for a while.