[Personal_archives] censorship vs. sensitivity

[Dean, Heather]

Thanks Martha, Alison, and Nancy for drawing out these issues around the archivist and their responsibility to patrons and potentially sensitive material.

As far as I'm aware, there is no legislation applicable to managing privacy in personal archives (whereas legislation such as PIPEDA, http://www.privcom.gc.ca/legislation/02_06_01_e.asp, the Privacy Act http://www.privcom.gc.ca/legislation/02_07_01_e.asp, and FOIPOP apply to personal information maintained in commercial and government settings).  Archivists are accountable to professional ethics (such as Association of Canadian Archivists, http://archivists.ca/about/ethics.aspx, and Society of American Archivists http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp, and Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, http://www2.nau.edu/libnap-p/protocols.html) that require the archivist to ensure citizens' privacy and access to information (regardless of the researcher's motivations and intentions).  From my understanding, managing privacy in personal papers (including photographs) comes down to professional judgment - and while the archivist, like anyone, is subjective, I believe (hope) most archivists do their best to keep these dual professional goals in mind.

Establishing restrictions, or the lack thereof, is an important element when acquiring personal archives from a donor, and in some ways I feel the profession lacks concrete guidance for professionals in engaging in these discussions.

-Heather


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