[Personal_archives] censorship vs. sensitivity

[RICKBARRY at aol.com]

Thanks, Heather. Doesn't it also come down in the end very much to the  
contract signed by the donor at the time of transfer of personal records with  the 
institution accepting them?
 
Rick
 
 
In a message dated 10/31/2008 10:52:55 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
heather.dean at yale.edu writes:

 
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_ 
(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_ (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_ 
(http://archivists.ca/about/ethics.aspx) ,  and Society of American Archivists 
_http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp_ 
(http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp) ,  and Protocols for Native American Archival 
Materials, _http://www2.nau.edu/libnap-p/protocols.html_ 
(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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