Blog Post_ Community Collaboration In Ethnomusicology Archives: Ethical Considerations For Collections Management

Posted by: Martin, Melissa

Citation: VanCour, S & Vallier, J. (2021). Community collaboration in ethnomusicology archives:

    Ethical considerations for collections management. ARSC Journal. 52(1). https://link-gale-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/apps/doc/A663758128/AONE?u=csusj&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=2407f723

Summary

This article addresses two collections – Melville Jacobs Collection and Crocodile Café Collection. The idea of addressing these specific collections is to evaluate the “nature and ethics of collection ownership and access” and “reimagined traditional principles of collection stewardship, embracing a collaborative, community-oriented approach as the cornerstone for ethical management of recorded sound collections in contemporary ethnomusicology archives” (VanCour & Vallier, 2021).  

The Melville Jacobs collection consists of 96 Edison and Ediphone cylinders and over 100 varies disc sizes of other materials (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). They document music, language, and stories from Snohomish, Tulalip, Puyallup, Snoqualmie, and Duwamish peoples (VanCour & Vallier, 2021).  The materials also document other Pacific Northwest communities, like the Cowlitz of Oregon, Semiahmoo of British Columbia, and Carcross/Tagish First Nation of the Yukon (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). They are developing an free open-sourced content management system that follows an ethically grounded access model called Mukurtu, with collaboration with local tribal communities (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). This helps remove colonial barriers and acknowledges the tribal communities having ownership of their songs and stories that were recorded by Jacobs and empowering to define the level of access granted to their heritage materials (VanCour & Vallier, 2021).

The Crocodile Café Collection consists of 3,000 hours of live music from 2002 to 2007 (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). The bands on the recordings were Mudhoney, Everclear, Modest Mouse, Harvey Danger, and Death Cab for Cutie (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). Performers never gave informed consent of the recordings which leads to copyright and ethical issues of the collection (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). They created an ethically grounded access model by contacting stakeholders and user groups (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). This allowed them to take a portion of the recording and make them widely available to users (VanCour & Vallier, 2021). VanCour and Vallier concluded the importance of community collaboration on ethical management of a specific collection.

Opinion

This article does a great job at holding a conversation about ethical management within special collection. This ethically grounded access model helps replace the colonial model which was previously enforced in the institutions. VanCour and Vallier (2021) summaries colonial model as “researchers from settler nations traveling to record or extract ‘primitive’ sounds from ‘non-Western’ cultures; upon returning to their home institutions in Europe or North America, they then published their findings and deposited their field recordings into archives to be mined for further academic and financial gain.” The new model continues to work with the communities after the recordings were acquired. The institution does own the recordings and has copyright of the recording. However, it is vital to have community collaboration, with the communities who were recorded, about the level of accessibility certain materials may have in the collection. Collection management is broader than growing, maintaining, or shrinking a collection. There is an ethical element to special collections. Librarians and archivist must be aware of ethical implications when they are managing their collection.

Collection Management with a Focus on Preservation

 Post by Oakes, Cory

Gregory, Vicki L.. Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections : An Introduction, American Library Association, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/sjsu/detail.action?docID=5850106. 

While the entire textbook by Gregory, "Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections" gives some solid foundational information for someone new to the subject, I found Chapter 11: Preservation the most interesting. 

Special collections within libraries, or on their own, require a different approach to maintain and manage. This chapter gives basics to be considered on preservation of books and other physical information items, how these can be reproduced in various forms that include putting items on microfilm, what sort of contingencies should be put in place in case of a disaster for physical as well as digital resources, and some discussion on what makes a digital item "preserved" or "preservable."

While I am interested in learning more about preservation and restoration of physical texts and information items, this textbook chapter only provides the briefest overview, and I would encourage anyone else interested in these things to seek out more in-depth information unless just a simple overview is needed.

A Case for Popular Culture in Academic Library Collection Development

Blick, W. M. (2015) Pulp Poets and Superhero Prophets: A Case for Popular Culture in Academic Library Collection Development. Community & Junior College Libraries, 21:1-2, 5-10, DOI: 10.1080/02763915.2015.1111069

Notes on the article:

·        Argues for popular culture materials in academic libraries

o   Not for leisure purposes

o   For sociological and relevant issues

o   Keeps students interested by learning through medium they like

§  Maus + Watchmen referenced

o   Find balance between functionality and diversity

§  Argues academic libraries focus to much on functionality rather than diversity

I found this article particularly interesting as the literary and sociological importance of non-traditional media is a particular interest to me. The article specifically argues that materials like comic books, graphic novels, film, and music can be of importance for academic collections for popular culture references. I posit that this can takes a step further and that video games and manga can be analyzed for similar purposes, but it is nice to see this process being discussed on an academic level.

I think this article did an excellent job justifying its case for these types of materials in academic library collections. Part of its justification was that Academic libraries tend to focus too much on functionality rather that diversity.

Libraries of Things: A Movement

Westa, Emily


Robinson, M. & Shedd, L. (2017). Audio recorders to zucchini seeds: Building a library of things. Santa Barbara, CA. ABC-CLIO.
Preview found here!


While this link leads not to an article, but rather to the first few chapters of a book, I feel that these few chapters give a great introduction and insight into the rising Library of Things movement. Many libraries in the Boston area (where I live), have been expanding their collections to include significant Library of Things (LoTs) collections and I’ve been noticing a rise in community engagement and excitement surrounding these new collections. This movement is nation-wide, and even international, and I believe it will continue to grow until LoTs are a staple in every major library. Let me know if your library has a LoT or is thinking about adding one!


Summary:

Beginning with a comprehensive history of the Library of Things movement and moving into case studies of LoTs in both public and academic libraries, Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds provides an engaging and complete overview of the movement as it has grown, how it looks today across the U.S.A, and what it could become as it continues to grow. The Library of Things movement has its roots in Curriculum Material Centers, offering real classroom materials for training and use by teachers-in-training, Tool Libraries, and other specialized collections, such as those with toys & games or multimedia collections. Today, many of these materials and objects are still a significant part of LoTs, but the possibilities of what can be included are both “diverse and limitless” (pg. 22). In Part II, we are presented with six case studies from public libraries with LoTs focused on everything from, bicycles to seeds, which people borrow, plant, and replace with new seeds grown in their plants during the next season. Part III focuses on academic libraries- providing us with seven case studies of LoTs with gaming consoles, video equipment, scopes, curriculum materials, technology and more. Although I haven’t read the end of the book (yet!), I know from the introduction that the last couple chapters focus on a special library in Alaska and an offering of best practices for libraries to consider and adopt when building their own Library of Things!


Evaluation:

Well written and extensively researched, Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds provides the most in depth discussion of the Library of Things movement that I could find online or in print. The introduction and history given in this book are comprehensive and clear. I especially appreciated the analysis of social movements, including the community sharing economy, that have supported LoTs and allowed these to move from specialized, unique collections to being more of the norm and expectation at many libraries across the U.S.A. The editors’ inclusion of case studies as the major content of this book brings in critical real-world experiences- successes and challenges. While I had only heard of LoTs at public libraries, the section on academic libraries opened my eyes to even greater possibilities for this type of collections as spanning across library types. Someday soon, LoTs could even exist in school libraries, supported the success of both students and school libraries. Overall, this book was well-written, engaging and incredibly informative. I would definitely recommend checking it out and at least reading the introduction, which provides an overview of each section. Let me know what you think!

The case of LLACE

Rivera, Destiny

Wakimoto, D. K., Hansen, D. L., & Bruce, C. (2013). The case of LLACE: Challenge, triumphs, and lessons of a community archives. The American Archivist, 76(2), 438-457.

This article gives us a little history on the Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE), a people’s library with LGBT items located in Sacramento, California. This library has withstood resistance and condemnation but affirms its mission to serve this community and anyone interested. They have presentations, crafternoons, film screenings and more!  LLACE is a setting in which contents that serve historically marginalized communities can be curated and preserved by and for the people. LLACE “affirms its commitment to document communities neglected by institutional archives and libraries”. Developing institutional spaces for marginalized communities is one way in which libraries serve the community. LLACE represents a Special Collections and is a highly recommended read for developing a collection that embodies the diversity of the community.

Collections as a service

1. Seppi, Gregory

2. Linden, Julie, Tudesco, Sarah, and Dollar, Daniel. (2017). Collections as a Service: A Research Library’s Perspective. Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2017/01/30/crl17-981.full.pdf

3. This pre-publication version of an article by three Yale collection development librarians explores broad changes in collecting occurring as a result of changes in practice by Yale librarians. The article includes extensive details about Yale’s library budget, which is second only to Harvard’s in yearly spending, and notes a policy change at the Beinecke (Yale’s main rare book and manuscript library)  towards collecting materials more firmly in line with modern research needs and classroom usage.

4. A very interesting article-- getting a high-level picture of Yale's many libraries and how their budgets and collecting strategies tie together is fascinating, as is the way the authors share how ACRL documents have shaped their collecting practices. That even an extraordinarily well-funded library system needs to adjust its collecting practices to better meet patron needs is a good lesson to learn.

How to destroy special collections with social media in 3 easy steps: A guide for researchers and librarians.

Leslie Fox
INFO 266

Werner, S. (July 31, 2015). How to destroy special collections with social media in 3 easy steps: A guide for researchers and librarians. Wynken de Worde. Retrieved from: http://sarahwerner.net/blog/2015/07/how-to-destroy-special-collections-with-social-media/


In her blog, Wynken de Worde, Sarah Werner posts her notes, amazing slides, and audio form her talk given at Rare Book School. She argues that while many Special Collections libraries are reaching out to users with social media, there are many ways this can go wrong, frustrate users and send them away. She uses humor to give examples of how keeping images locked up tight, treating everything as a joke or pretty picture and by relying too heavily on analytics for engagement by users can send researchers away and undermine the purpose of special collections.

The author then points out ways that social media can be used without damaging your special collection or stifling research and perpetuating misunderstandings. Werner asserts that special collections can grow using social media if you digitize with open access licenses; teach your audience to think about the past rather than laughing at it, and choose your aims carefully. Don't confuse popularity with engagement.

This presentation uses humor to engage the reader, but it is the detail and professionalism in the images presented as examples that I took special note of. A helpful resource for any special collections library wanting to utilize social media.

Modern Special Collections: Embracing the Future While Taking Care of the Past

Evans, M. R. (2015). Modern special collections: Embracing the future while taking care of the past. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(2), 116-128.

This article was highly informative because it addressed special collections, which I know very little about.  Evans, a librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, provides a very good primer and background on special collections, and in addition, offers a framework to archivists to ensure continued collection development and access for the next generation of users.  This strategy for modern special collections includes: collecting, connecting, collaborating, and community.  The bulk of the article goes in-depth into each concept, but Evans provides an overview, stating: “Collecting content from the past and the present and preparing for the future; Connecting with people through events, exhibits, and use of technology; Collaborating with immediate constituents and external entities such as other cultural institutions; Community: engaging the community that owns, supports, or serves the repository or creating a new community that will advocate for and donate to the repository” (p. 117).  Insofar as collecting, Evans advocates that archivists think in innovative ways, outside the box, that the materials include both physical and digital, and that collecting should be “in the now.”  The author acknowledges that special collections are the least understood and most overlooked part of a library, yet too can be the most valuable due to the rarity or uniqueness of the collection.  Unique entities in their own right, special collections are considered “microcosms of a library.”  If anyone has an interest in special collections, I highly recommend this article, for it articulates a vision of “managing forward,” which is about preserving the past, but also championing the future.

Integrating Unique Collections and Undergraduate Research

Christina Perris
INFO 266
Fall 2015

Integrating Unique Collections and Undergraduate Research

Cook, M. (2015). Build it and they will come: Integrating unique collections and undergraduate research. Collection Building, 34(4), 128-133. doi:10.1108/CB-06-2015-0010

This article presents an in-practice model for the “build it and they will come approach” proposition that has been employed in the special collections department at California State University, Channel Islands.  The article presents three case studies that exhibit ways the collections have been uniquely harnessed by California State University, Channel Island’s students through their research, both through in-class and independent study projects.  In one case study, the students’ research harnesses the information in a way that actually served to market and promote collections unique to the repository.  The second case study focuses on how a unique archival collection utilized as an assignment worked out as the foundation for an assignment for a significant graduation requirement.  The final case study focuses specifically on how collection management can have an impact on other library efforts such as reference, outreach and information literacy.

It is great for an article of this nature to be published as it clearly illustrates to administrators and faculty that special collections departments can serve as active, vital core elements of the curriculum.  It is all-too-common for special collections and archives to be ascribed the “ivory tower” image of being special realms reserved, literally, for the “academically venerated”: some still close off access to their collections to readers unless they hold a minimum academic degree, usually ABD (all but dissertation, or nearly PhD’s).

 

 

 

Strategies for Managing Electronic Records

Christina Perris
INFO 266
Fall 2015

Bantin, Philip C. (1998). Strategies for managing electronic records: A new archival paradigm? An affirmation of our archival traditions? Archival Issues: Journal of the Midwest Archives Conference, 23(1), 17-34.

Strategies for Managing Electronic Records

This academic journal article explores the existing strategies for managing electronic records and whether existing archival management paradigms for “analog records” – in other words, hard-copy records – will be compatible.  The author presents the two record management paradigms – the life-cycle model, as advanced by Theodore R. Schellenberg, which advances that records exist along a pattern of creation like a living organism, and the records continuum model, in which the record’s usefulness is viewed as constant and unchanging.  After he summarizes the basics of electronic records and how they are appraised for their potential research value, Bentin explores the prevailing arguments within the information professions as to whether these record management paradigms can be applied to electronic records.  Bentin arrives at the conclusion that it is still too early in our collective experience of managing electronic records to outright dismiss any records management paradigm.

As an information professional who works with and is currently preparing to certify as a digital archives specialist, the management of electronic records is a relatively speaking “new” concept for information professionals to begin to seriously consider.  With the inevitable march of technology, which has brought us new advances in data storage technologies from high-capacity flash and hard drives to seemingly-limitless cloud storage, the massive growth of electronic records is creating a crisis in electronic data management in par with the one that faced some of the United States archivists in the early 1920’s as they assessed the nation’s repositories, part of which were held on overloaded, swaybacked shelving in the garage of the White House.  The caution afforded in the article is simple: we should not discount any possible record management paradigm for dealing with electronic records. 

Arduino Kits, Bakeware and LEGOs...Oh My!

Mejdrich, K. & Buss, E., & Lax, B. (2015). Arduino kits, bakeware and LEGOs…oh my!. OLA Quarterly, 20(4), 9-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.20.04

Summary: The Hillsboro Public Library has been looking for innovative ways in which to expand library services to the patrons. By being innovative and seeking different ways in which to bring patrons in to the library by finding new ways to circulate non-traditional items in the library such as the Arduino kits that were donated to the library. After seeing the success of the Arduino kits, then more programs were created to bring bridge the gap between kids, teens, adults, and grandparents working together with LEGOs infusing the kids use of their creative skills. After realizing that there is only so much creativity that can be done by encouraging people to use the library, the Hillsboro Public Library staff thought of ways in which to circulate items that patrons might only use once or twice throughout the year that could benefit the community as a whole. That is when the thought occurred of circulating bakeware items that would encourage patrons to use them at home and share their creations on social media. At the time this article was published the bakeware items had only been circulating 2 months, and been very successful and looking for additional items to be added to the collection.

Response: Being a part of this same cooperative that the Hillsboro Public Library is at, I can see first hand how popular these special collections have become and how excited the patrons are to see them. This summer, the most popular item was the ice cream maker that the library was circulating in their library.

Library services for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Farmer, L. S. (2013). The Perspectives of a Public Library. Library services for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (pp. 191-205). Chicago: ALA.

In this chapter, the author describes how public libraries can alter their collection to support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The author advises having materials on social skills within the collection and easily available to individuals with ASD. This chapter describes the experience of Lancaster Public library as it opens an Autism Resource Center in its library. The author explains that the librarians found themselves without the resources or knowledge to provide accurate information for the high volume of ASD-related questions. They Lancaster Public library created the center to assist families and individuals with ASD find information. They expanded their collection to include many journals and books on ASD. They also added materials to collections to assist individuals with ASD cope such as noise canceling headphones, weighted toys, and manipulatives. A professor at California State University Long Beach wrote this book. She is an experienced librarian, professor, teacher, and have worked in schools, public libraries, and academic libraries. This book is a well-researched detailed overview of the methods and approaches libraries can implement to assist individuals with ASD in their libraries. As the rate of ASD increases across the countries, across racial, and socioeconomic divides the importance of meeting the needs of this community has never more apparent.

KARR, J. (2015). A CATALOG OF THE ADDENDA TO THE RICASOLI COLLECTION HOUSED AT THE DWIGHT ANDERSON MUSIC LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE. Notes, 72(1), 23-75.

 

Summary

 

This paper discusses the Ricasoli collection, which is the largest collection of Tuscan sacred music and concertos in the world (Karr, 2015). The collection was purchased in 1987 and through the help of donations the library was able turn this into the collection it is today. The full catalogue is displayed in the paper and its helpful in seeing how the items are organized. There are many pieces that are anonymous that still remain a mystery to whom the owner is. 

 

Evaluation

 

This collection identifies all the pieces available for patrons at University of Louisville, pertaining to the Ricasoli collection. Its thorough and it gives the entirety of index. Looking this over, it would be helpful with Vocabulary design and exposure to the Library of Congress catalogue structure. Also, it is impressive how this collection came to be and the history on how it was made possible.

 

 

 

Large-scale Acquisitions: The Story of Ian McLaren's Collection.

Tatarakis, Kelly

Kennedy, R., & Macauley, P. (2015). Large-scale acquisitions: The story of Ian McLaren's collection. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 46(1), 39-51. doi:10.1080/00048623.2014.1003166

 Summary:

            This 12 page article begins with a narrative of Ian F. McLaren and his private book collecting habits in the mid-1900's. His private library collection of primarily Australiana works were then acquired by the Baillieu Library as a special collection in 1976. The authors use this historical account to examine large-scale special collection and donation acquisitions, discuss the inherent problems in housing, maintaining, and cataloging the materials (particularly over extended periods of time), and suggest standard practices for libraries in general. Libraries need to be cautious during negotiations that they are not limiting their future freedom with the collection, and make sure terms for future management are clear to both parties during the initial acquisition.

            The authors state that the value of acquiring private library collections is in the whole of a collection rather than individual items. Many times the significance of a special collection lies primarily in the "celebrity" nature of the original collector, such as a prime minister, or in their specific subject focus (Kennedy & Macauley 2015). These types of large-scale acquisitions, according to the authors, have much more an element of chance than in acquiring items from publishers; there may be many less significant individual items in a collection, and the donor or seller must be negotiated with. Sellers and donors will often have reasons behind giving up their personal collections, such as taxes, storage, and management difficulties, wanting to make the collection more available to the public, and not having the collection burden inheritors after death.

            Institutions will also need to decide whether it would be of more use to break up the collection, sell or auction it off individually or as a whole, or keep the collection together as part of their own library. Staff time and maintenance costs must be factored into how these acquisitions are dealt with. Having policies in place to deal with large-scale donations by assessing the collection and planning for either keeping or selling it will help reduce these difficulties. Policies for negotiating with a seller will be similar but have some different needs to address.

Evaluation:

            I found this article very informative. Large-scale acquisitions of special collections, private libraries, and donations are not the first thing that springs to mind when considering collection development, but certainly significant and worth studying. This article provides and in-depth view of how the Ian McLaren special collection was acquired and then managed over time, which helps illustrate the issues involved in general for large-scale acquisitions. This article, in my opinion, is very good supplementary reading for a Collection Development class.