Comments on the initial darft

Hello fellow pod folk! Obviously, this draft is still in its infancy. I need to expand on most sections, especially the introductory bit and the History section. Any comments on the overall structure and my choice of topics for the sections would be especially appreciated! I'm still unsure about it. I'm also thinking about adding a list of literary archives, with links to their websites.

Thanks! Katie

Hi, Katie.

This is looking great! I think the structure is very logical and clear and your topics are really pertinent and useful (so much so that I am thinking about "borrowing" one or two for my own page, particularly the list of literary archives-related organizations). I also love the idea of including a list of literary archives, as Lisa included a list of archives in Ontario, and I may also add a list of performing arts archives to my page.

I can't believe it didn't occur to me until now, but I actually did some reading on literary archives for a paper I did for our selection and acquisition last term. In particular, Catherine Hobbs at LAC is a big literary manuscripts person, so perhaps you could expand the Literary Archives in the United States section to Literary Archives in the North America and could add some details from her articles. Here are a couple that might be useful:

• Hobbs, Catherine. “New Approaches to Canadian Literary Archives.” Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue D’études Canadiennes 40, no. 2 (2007): 109–119.
• Hobbs, Catherine. “Personal Archives: The Character of Personal Archives: Reflections on the Value of Records of Individuals.” Archivaria no. 52 (Fall 2001): 126–135.
• Stewart, Virginia R. “A Primer on Manuscript Field Work.” In A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice, edited by Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch, 124–138. Washington, D.C: National Archives and Records Service, U.S. General Services Administration, 1984. (I think this includes stuff about literary materials, but I may be misremembering.)

One of the things that came up in these articles that would be interesting to talk about is the challenge of dealing with a still living donors (including dealing with their concerns about privacy), which seems to come up a lot with literary materials.

I hope this is useful, but feel free to ask me if you have questions. Great work, Katie!

Thanks Chelsea! I have read Catherine Hobbs and found them very interesting, but did not quit manage to fit what she had to say into the entry. I am planning on adding a section on Canada though, so those articles will probably be relevant for that topic.

I have also read and thought about the practice of authors donating their papers while still living. It's becoming increasingly common and raises some interesting issues (Does their awareness of the destiny of their papers into the archives affect how and what they keep? Should the author give input into the selection, arrangement, and description of their fonds?). Also, a lot has been written and debated about the market that exists for authors' papers. Repositories that have the money spend big bucks on more well known authors papers. I haven't figured out how to work any of this into the entry either, but may find one as it evolves.

Hi, Katie.

I echo Chelsea in saying, looking great! You have a very practical structure and it appropriately highlights the main topics concerning literary archives. A few comments: 1. I would consider placing the copyright topic within a heading rather than subheading. You can always introduce the topic and leave room for future contributions as more resources and information becomes available. I think it is a strong topic and don't forget to link it to Cristen's page. 2. If you are wondering what photographs to add, I would suggest adding in photos from your two case studies. You also might want to consider including a hyperlink to their website. 3. Chelsea made some great suggestions. I was also wondering if you had enough resources concerning literary archives in Canada. If you do have enough, I would also suggest expanding your heading to incorporate North America or even separate Canada. You can always provide a paragraph about Canadian literary archives and open up the topic for future contributions. Within your acquisitions section, you previously mentioned the challenges concerning the separation of the donors records. Perhaps you will have enough information to create a separate heading or subheading focusing on all of the challenges. This would allow you to also incorporate Chelsea's suggestion.

I hope this helps.

-L

Hi Chelsea, Thanks for the good suggestions! I am leaning toward making copyright its own heading, and you made a good point that even if I don't have enough to say about it, others could expand on it in the future. I'm also leaning toward adding a section on literary archives in Canada, as I think I have enough sources now.

Photos are definitely needed on my entry, and the case studies do seem like the most logical place. I know there are pictures out there for the Rushdie archives at Emory University (which had gotten a decent amount of press). I'm hoping to embed the video related to his archives, which is currently just a link. I just need to figure out the copyright situation.

Okay, Katie, now I am starting to feel a little guilty

I realize that you and I have both been suggesting that Lisa narrow down and focus on just the provincial archives of Ontario in order to make her topic more manageable and focused, but the class (myself included) has been pushing you to expand your section to all of North America (and beyond, in some instances). I am rethinking that a bit now because, of course, there is plenty to talk about just related to the U.S. and literary archives (heck, you could do a whole wiki on the Harry Ransom Center stuff alone!).

So, I am backtracking and saying that I think that while Canadian archival literature certainly has interesting things to offer on the topic of literary archives, for the purposes of this wiki it might be biting off a little too much to cover all of North America, and if you decide to focus only on the U.S., I am sure that will still be great!

Hi Katie,

I agree with Chelsea! Now that I am trying to tackle the surmountable task of including everything I can about the Archives of Ontario, I have come to realize that broader does not equal better. I recommend incorporating a small paragraph about Canada and remained focused on the U.S. There is a lot to cover there as it is.

Thanks Lisa and Chelsea! I have been leaning toward, as Lisa suggested, including a section on Canada, but not going into as much depth within in as I will for the US.