What’s old is new again

What’s old is new again

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Musée Héritage Archivist Vino Vipulanantharajah poses with an exhibit showcasing some of the past ways historical information was archived in St. Albert. CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

Archives Week is an excellent time to get a better behind the scenes understanding of how museums manage their collections. In many ways, archivists do double duty as not only the guardians of history but its caregivers, too.

“We actually talk about what we do. We have archives but what do we do?” was the rhetorical question proposed by Vino Vipulanantharajah, archivist at the Musée Héritage Museum.

The annual focus week is marked by the Archives Society of Alberta, headed by the Musée’s former archivist Rene Georgopali. From Oct. 4 to 11, the organization puts a spotlight on the vast documents, photographs, audiovisual holdings, digital records, and other records that are preserved by Alberta’s many archival institutions.

“Archives Week is a great opportunity for the public to engage with archives as the week showcases archives in interesting ways outside of reading rooms,” she said.

“The way most of us encounter archives is through books, documentary films, museum exhibits, etc. All those products, if you think of it, are based on archives: this is where historians gather facts, filmmakers acquire footage, and museum curators acquire content for exhibits, etc. During Archives Week we take archives to the forefront so the public becomes more aware of what an important role they have," explained Andrew Chernevych, the president of the Archives Society of Alberta.

To mark the occasion, the Musée has changed out part of its permanent history exhibit to offer a display with some special pieces from its own archives. There is also a table that offers a detective game and a monitor shows clips from some of the many videos that the institution has digitized over the years. Some of those clips show a demonstration of Calahoo fiddle music and the famous 1959 Canadian Derby horse race where Sonoma won and gave it his all, retiring right after the prize was awarded.

The display called Discovering also offers information about some of the hidden concerns that keep archivists up at night, such as climate control and pest control. Keeping all kinds of materials safe from the ravages of time is tough work.

It’s also work that Vipulanantharajah takes very seriously.

“You got to get everything out and share, which is true. We as an organization feel that strongly. We don't want to just hog things and just keep them stored and not have it out there. At the same time – and that's what we want to show in the exhibit – is that we have to preserve these things. If you're not handling it properly, if you're not keeping it well, there's no point. It's going to deteriorate. You're gonna lose it anyway. Our job is really to be that sharer of information and also protector.”

The Discovering display also includes a computer for people to search through the Musée's holdings.

As an additional way to celebrate the week, the museum will also be participating in the ASA’s social media campaign to highlight different groups of people who visit archives and the diverse types of records available to them. Other institutions, including the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum, the Millet and District Museum and Archives, and the Grande Prairie Museum also have their own special exhibits and displays set up for the week.

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