Re: [AMIA-L] Where are the home movies going? COE Research Topic

["Wintle, Pam" <WINTLEP@xxxxxx>]

Liz,
 
Well said--thank you.  As one grows older and older (as, ahem I am) hopefully we reflect and learn from our mistakes and misdeeds to become thoughtful elder citizens who share what insight we've gained with the younger generation.  And, as you have expressed, I've heard numerous younger archivists speak highly of Ray's insight and guidance.
 
BTW, pls let me know when the book arrives.
 
Best, Pam 

________________________________

From: Association of Moving Image Archivists on behalf of Liz Coffey
Sent: Wed 10/10/2007 10:00 AM
To: AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [AMIA-L] Where are the home movies going? COE Research Topic



While I know nothing about the specifics of the situation Peter Goed
refers to, I do know that Ray has been facing and dealing with all
sorts of ethical issues concerning archives and archive management for
a long time.  I don't expect he always made the correct choice, as I'm
sure Peter hasn't and I know I haven't.

I hope we all try to do the right thing and chalk up the mistakes to
*experience* (after doing what we can to correct them), and it's
exactly his long experience and thoughtfulness that puts Ray in a good
position to discuss ethics broadly.

I personally value Ray's opinions and would be hard pressed to put
anyone out of this discussion based on past mistakes or judgements.

Perhaps those who have different opinions could add them to the
discussion in a productive manner instead of working to tarnish the
reputation of a former co-worker or boss.

~Liz Coffey
Harvard Film Archive
Film Conservator
http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/

opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Harvard University



On 10/10/07, Peter Goed <petergoed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Ray makes some good points, but they are rather misguided.  During his stay
> with the National Film and Sound Archives in Canberra, Australia, I was
> totally dismayed with some of Ray's decisions in regard to the acquisition
> of 'collectors' private archives and feel that he has no real worthwhile
> input towards this current discussion, as it would necessarily have to be
> biased.
>
> Sorry Ray, but some of us have LONG memories.
>
> Peter Goed,
> Co-ordinator,
> Redcliffe Picture Palace
> Museum and Archive
> Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ray Edmondson" <ray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 8:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [AMIA-L] Where are the home movies going? COE Research Topic
>
>
> > Albert,
> >
> > These are real practical issues that archivists face and a code of ethics
> > will have to take account of them. Making value judgments about collection
> > material is a daily part of our work, whether selecting material for
> > acquisition, prioritizing a preservation or cataloguing queue, negotiating
> > a
> > price or conducting an exchange. The need to make judgments, as opposed to
> > merely following a set of rules, is part of what makes us a profession.
> >
> > I don't think any Code can be a "by the numbers" rule book for every
> > situation. It can recognize principles, and suggest the means by which we
> > might try to arrive at solutions, but it doesn't absolve us from thinking
> > our way through dilemmas for which there are no easy or obvious answers.
> >
> > And I think there are some challenging issues to tease out, like whether
> > one
> > is bound by the code even if one is not currently employed as an
> > archivist.
> > My own answer to that is "yes" in some circumstances, but not everyone
> > would
> > agree. How do other professions, like medical doctors or lawyers, answer
> > that one?
> >
> > I've made many collection decisions as an archivist which, in hindsight,
> > weren't always optimal. The most I can say is that they were made in good
> > conscience, acting on the best information I had at the time. That's often
> > the reality, and we have to figure out solutions from first principles
> > with
> > incomplete knowledge. A Code of Ethics can set out the first principles
> > but
> > can't always set out an obvious solution. Even when it can't, though, it
> > might give us the tools for getting there and for being able to defend the
> > judgments we have to make.
> >
> > Ray
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Association of Moving Image Archivists [mailto:AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > On
> > Behalf Of Albert Steg
> > Sent: Wednesday, 10 October 2007 7:51 PM
> > To: AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [AMIA-L] Where are the home movies going? COE Research Topic
> >
> > Hi Janet --
> >
> > This is an interestintg approach to the issue, but also illustrates
> > some of the difficulties of building an Ethics codefor AMIA.  With
> > regard to Home Movies on eBay, would the Code *prohibit* "Archivists"
> > from engaging in any commerce that treats original film elements as
> > commodities in an open market (buying/selling)?  Or would it
> > *require* them to undertake efforts to rescue films from the open
> > markt by raising acquisition unds and devoting them to this purpose?
> >
> > As an individual member of AMIA, am I bound by the code of ethics
> > even when not employed as an archivist?  When I was employed by the
> > Baseball Hall of Fame in an archival role, I could say I was an
> > archivist who was also a collector, and was careful to keep my
> > activities distinct from each other, and with full transparency to my
> > employers.  Currently I am not employed by an archive, and so am more
> > active as a collector -- though one with archive-friendly attitudes
> > and values.  I would be curious to know what sort of ethics regarding
> > the Home Movie market anyone might suggest?
> >
> > Over the past couple of years, I spent close to $3000 trying to re-
> > unite a large collection of original 16mm itinerant films from the
> > late 1930's, and part of that cost was paid for by my selling off
> > other home movies that I regarded as having far less historical
> > value.  I know that it is anathema to achivists to make "value
> > judgments" about cultural materials.  But no one is providing me with
> > an acquisition budget (or paying me for my time).  I don't have the
> > means to purchase, care for, and house every reel of home movies that
> > I see, so in this area of my collecting I think of myself as gleaning
> > the most significant material I can from the eBay pond -- some I
> > catch and release, others, based on my subjective assessment of
> > significance, I retain with a view to eventual preservation.   Here's
> > a web-page about the Higgins itinerant films:
> >
> > http://www.mindspring.com/~asteg/Higgins/AJHiggins.html
> >
> > I can easily imagine an AMIA Ethics Code branding this activity as
> > 'unethical' (bye, bye Albert) -- while I see it as ethically dubious
> > to stand around and let this material be scattered to the winds.
> > While I support the ideal of ethical behavior, broadly conceived, I
> > am very doubtful that specific ethical strictures can be written that
> > address this issue in a meaningful way.  I'd be interested to hear
> > some attempts at it.
> >
> > Albert Steg
> > Cambridge, MA
> > (currently) Independent Collector-Archivist Filemaker Guy
> >
> >
> > On Oct 9, 2007, at 3:04 PM, Janet Ceja wrote:
> >
> >> Another fascinating area of research is the role of a "code of
> >> ethics" in a
> >> professional organization. Aside from the complexities of AV media,
> >> is AMIA
> >> as an international association another reason why there has been no
> >> consensus in drafting a code of ethics everyone can agree on (or
> >> has one
> >> been drafted that I do not know of)? As more students graduate from
> >> these
> >> Moving Image Archiving programs AMIA is the primary association
> >> looked upon
> >> to address their professional needs, yet the association is lacking
> >> the
> >> fundamental principals that underline what a profession ethically
> >> professes.
> >> Sure, there is a FIAF code of ethics but most of us are not FIAF
> >> members (or
> >> deal with film) and some may argue that a code of ethics is simply a
> >> façade, but such principals are building blocks that must be
> >> addressed as
> >> more students enter the field (or decide to leave it because they
> >> cannot
> >> afford to live in a cycle of archival poverty as many have gotten
> >> in debt in
> >> a way that our predecessors who learned on the job did not
> >> necessarily have
> >> to endure). I'm just curious if students or graduates from these
> >> programs
> >> worldwide think that having a code of ethics would be beneficial to
> >> them as
> >> future practitioners, or even educators?
> >>
> >> Janet Ceja A.
> >> I'm just a student
> >> Pittsburgh, PA
> >
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