17 Mar
2007
17 Mar
'07
5:24 p.m.
Fred Cisin wrote:
[ questions snipped :-) ]
THESE questions are rhetorical, but they are typical
of stuff that
archivists need to research on a regular basis. It isn't often, but every
now and then somebody NEEDS some specific old disk.
I'm not going to disagree and say that there aren't archivists who can answer
things like that within some narrow area of expertise - but I suspect the vast
majority out there make no claim to know everything; the bulk of them will
simply archive material in a responsible fashion.
I mean, even the Mac is a pretty big field - I doubt any archivist is going to
know all there is to know about the Mac, and unless they're paid for their
work they likely won't have the time or inclination to research every question
that gets asked. What they *can* do though is present their archive material
in as flexible form as possible so that in the majority of cases users who do
need a specific piece of material can easily find what they need for themselves.
cheers
Jules