I Start Wondering Conversation: Carolyn Dahl: Creating a Personal Archive
Summary:
Archiving offers a process that preserves history for future generations. In this podcast, which is the second in a three-part series featuring Carolyn Dahl and Brenda Riojas, the pair discuss the actual process of archiving and some of the decisions that need to be made when creating one.
Shownotes:
Topics that are addressed:
Making the decision to archive
• Carolyn said her decision to create an archive came as a surprise because she initially thought that one needed to be famous to have an archive.
• She came to understand the importance of archiving after cleaning out elderly relatives’ homes. As the curator of their treasures, Carolyn had difficulty deciding what to keep and what to let go of making decisions without knowing the history behind those objects. She then realized that someone eventually would be doing the same for her possessions.
• Few women’s stories historically have been saved so it’s important to create an archive to inform future generations and younger women.
Specifics of archiving
• Creating an archive is a life review so it’s important to realize that you’re going to have emotions that emerge during the process. Archiving can help you understand your life so much better, as well as those of your parents and family.
• Additionally, Carolyn recommends starting your archival processing early while you’re still healthy and have energy.
• Carolyn is considered a “living donor” in archive terminology because she is able to offer the value-added element of her perspective while curating, organizing and explaining her archive.
• There are three major decision points one needs to make in relation to archiving: 1) deciding to create an archive; 2) determining the type of archive; and 3) selecting a place to house the archive.
• One type of archive is personal in nature. This type of archive is done specifically for relatives so they can learn about the family’s history and the materials can be used to inform future generations. The archivist has liberty in how to organize this type of archive and can include scrapbooks, videos and other recordings, other members’ stories, etc.
• A public archive differs in the type of contents, ownership and level of exposure. The contents of this type of archive include the collection of your papers, programs and letters. All of the contents is transferred to the ownership of the institution and available to the general public. Creating this type of archive requires a different perspective focused on servicing the future by providing a firsthand perspective about that time period.
• The process of collecting, culling, organizing and sorting to create an archive takes a long time.
• Public archives focus on paper documents with evidence of a human being (such as personal handwriting) instead of technology, which rapidly goes out of date.
• Preserving the objects that you create or accumulate is another issue. These items may not be eligible to be put into a public archive.
The thought process
• Carolyn decided to create a public archive at the University of Minnesota. She had to apply to the university, which considered whether Carolyn’s archive would be useful to researchers and individuals studying the past. Once accepted, Carolyn had to mold her archive based on the institution’s needs and requirements.
• Carolyn developed a format for the culling process, which can take a long time. She recommends finding a space in your home, such as an extra room and tables where you can display things and not need to constantly move them. She set up boxes with labels and then “clump categorized” different information into the appropriate boxes without sorting them. She then did a finer analysis, working on one box and categorizing them into piles and sub-piles, before putting them into labeled sealed bags that have been inventoried into categories.
• Carolyn’s archive includes her professional-related materials and also will include her personal journals, which date back to her youth, after her death.
Featured on This Podcast:
Brenda Riojas, I Start Wondering columnist, is poet, journalist, editor, mother, wife, creative spirit, and citizen of the world.
Carolyn Dahl, an artist and author, was the Grand Prize winner in the national ARTlines2 poetry contest and a finalist in the PEN Texas Literary competition and the Malovrh-Fenlon Poetry Prize.
Resources: Carolyn Dahl’s website, which includes information about her work and ordering her books: https://www.carolyndahlstudio.com/
I Start Wondering Resources:
Carolyn Dahl: Reviewing a Life Immersed in the Arts (Part 1 of this series): • I Start Wondering Conversation: Carolyn Da...
Preserving Our Stories for Posterity: Artist and Writer Carolyn Dahl on Archiving https://www.istartwondering.com/post/...
A Life Review: Who Are You Becoming? https://www.istartwondering.com/post/...