{"id":221,"date":"2021-08-25T14:17:27","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T21:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/hardfeelings\/?p=221"},"modified":"2021-08-25T14:17:27","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T21:17:27","slug":"talking-to-archivists-5-listen-hold-on-to-it-dont-drop-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/hardfeelings\/2021\/08\/25\/talking-to-archivists-5-listen-hold-on-to-it-dont-drop-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking to Archivists (5): Listen, \u201chold on to it, don\u2019t drop it!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post, written by project research assistant Elizabeth Bassett, is part of a series of posts\u00a0 we’re writing that explore some of the emerging themes in our research on the emotional dimensions of archival work. We\u2019re calling this series \u201cTalking to Archivists\u201d because it reports on <\/span><\/i>our analysis of interviews with 29 archivists and working professionals<\/span><\/i><\/a> on grief and other emotions in archival work, on their preparedness for such work, and on resources that support it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Talking to Archivists About Emotions (1): Introducing the Research<\/span><\/a>
\nTalking to Archivists (2): Surprise, emotion!<\/span><\/a>
\nTalking to Archivists (3): Redescribing the Profession<\/a>
\n<\/span>Talking to Archivists (4): Doing Emotionally-Demanding Research<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen, \u201chold on to it, don\u2019t drop it!\u201d<\/h3>\n

The act of listening has been at the heart of our research with the archivist interviews. In the last post<\/a> of this series, Jennifer discussed listening in the context of the research process<\/span>\u2014<\/span>specifically, as a research activity that was emotionally demanding at the same time as it was a privilege for us as researchers. Similarly, a significant number of the interview participants discussed listening as a central, rewarding, but often difficult aspect of their own jobs. In this blog post, I turn our attention to what the interviewees had to say about the importance of listening in the context of archival work.<\/span><\/p>\n

To begin, I\u2019ll preface with the words of one participant:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstanding how to listen is a huge skill to learn. And I think of it not only in terms of <\/span><\/i>listening to donors<\/i><\/b> in that moment when I\u2019m encountering the donor, but also <\/span><\/i>listening to the records<\/i><\/b> when I\u2019m processing them. And\u2026 what are the records trying to say to me, and how can I describe them adequately enough that\u2026 you know, these records can speak to other people? So it\u2019s that whole process of<\/span><\/i> trying to honour<\/i><\/b> through<\/span><\/i>\u2014<\/span><\/i>not just through the first donor encounter, but through the whole process of processing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This quotation captures many of the themes that came out in these discussions. Interviewees explained that listening skills are essential to all aspects of the profession: from donor relations, to archival processing, to reference work. In addition, some participants talked about \u201chonouring\u201d records, creators, subjects, donors, and researchers by listening to their stories. There was a general acknowledgement that we, as records professionals, owe it to the records\u2014and to the people involved in the records\u2014to take the time needed for listening.<\/span><\/p>\n

As one participant put it, listening is an important part of \u201c<\/span>getting it right<\/b>\u2026 for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also central to the discussions were considerations of how to listen and respond with care, in all aspects of the work.<\/span><\/p>\n

As another participant explained:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s this outpouring and this sense of responsibility, that they\u2019re giving me in essence their life story, and<\/span><\/i> hold on to it, don\u2019t drop it!<\/i><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Listening & responding to stories<\/b><\/h5>\n

Hand-in-hand with listening, participants discussed stories as central to archival work. One archivist explained that \u201cthe role of the story keeper and teller is the one that sells archives to most people.\u201d Some pointed out the unique positions they held for collecting stories that might otherwise go unwitnessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

One aspect of archival work where the role of stories was highlighted was in appraisal and acquisition processes. Several participants expressed gratitude toward donors who were generous with stories (as well as with their records):<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s such a privilege to\u2026 be able\u2014 to be allowed into these people\u2019s lives […] It\u2019s not only just interesting on an intellectual level. It\u2019s heartfelt at an emotional level that you\u2019re being allowed to hear their stories.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beyond listening, many participants described feeling a sense of responsibility for capturing donor stories more formally in the archives\u2014perhaps by taking notes or recording donor interviews\u2014and some expressed feeling a sense of loss when this was not possible. A few archivists talked about strategies for incorporating donor stories into finding aids in order to better describe the materials\u2019 significance to their creators. Participants were conscious of listening closely, both to the donors and to the records, and responding with care.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge & value of taking time<\/b><\/h5>\n

At the same time as they expressed its importance, participants discussed the challenges of being an engaged listener in their day-to-day work.<\/span><\/p>\n

When conversations turned toward actively listening to donor stories, a commonly identified challenge was justifying the time. Some participants recalled being invited over for meals, listening to stories about the records, and stories <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> about the records. As one archivist described:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d go through one box, maybe two [laughs]. She had a whole house of stuff. Like a whole house. And\u2026 she always baked us muffins, and we\u2019d sit there on her porch, and we\u2019d look at the daisies, and we\u2019d talk about stuff, and then\u2026 she wasn\u2019t even talking about [her records] anymore. She was now talking about her grandkids.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While there was a general appreciation of these experiences, some participants also talked about these types of donor interactions as separate from what would be seen as their typical responsibilities. One participant summed up: \u201cI was happy to listen to it all. But <\/span>I had to get back to work.<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another participant spoke about the difficulty of effectively communicating to employers that listening to stories was actually a valuable <\/span>part<\/span><\/i> of their work, explaining:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, let\u2019s say I spent, you know, a significant amount of time with three people, none of which we took their papers […] if we had, that would have been time well-spent […] because we didn\u2019t, that\u2019s not time well-spent. <\/span><\/i>It\u2019s not a measurable outcome<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nevertheless, during the interviews, participants collectively communicated a reciprocal value of taking time to listen\u2014a value that ultimately has beneficial outcomes for donors, institutions, and records professionals themselves:<\/span><\/p>\n

For donors, it can be meaningful to have someone pay attention to and witness their stories.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

For institutions, listening can result in stronger relationships with communities of donors and records users, as well as in more fulsome and accurate descriptions of records (and therefore, better access).<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

For records professionals themselves, interviewees described the heartfelt \u201cprivilege\u201d of being let into people\u2019s lives, the \u201csacred\u201d and sometimes \u201chealing\u201d nature of listening to personal stories, and the \u201cphilosophies of life\u201d that they learned from listening. For example, two participants explained:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[T]o me, story is sacred<\/span><\/i> and\u2026\u00a0 if it\u2019s\u2014 if you\u2019re telling a personal story or your family\u2019s story, nobody has exactly that story that you are telling. It\u2019s yours, and so you\u2019re sharing it with me. […] And then to see that as a sacred activity.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201c[W]hether it\u2019s work ethic or, you know, just taking time to look at a flower. Like, you know, I can\u2026 I can pinpoint specific donors and what they\u2019ve\u2014 just the philosophies of life that I\u2019ve been able to gain from them. That I\u2019ve, sort of, taken into myself.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The emotional weight of listening<\/b><\/h5>\n

Despite arguing for the value of taking time to listen, participants also revealed a more personal challenge: the emotional weight of listening.<\/span><\/p>\n

One archivist described themselves as a \u201c<\/span>sponge for all of these stories<\/b>\u201d and recognized that it could become difficult to hold all of the stories on their own. This sentiment was echoed by others: one participant described themselves as a \u201c<\/span>vessel<\/b>\u201d for memories, and another specifically described themselves as a \u201c<\/span>repository for knowing about everyone\u2019s awful sexual abuse stories<\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The general feeling was that this emotional weight of stories can make it difficult to carry them, but that the stories still deserved to be handled with care. As the one previously quoted participant explained, when a story is shared, we have a responsibility to <\/span>listen<\/b>, \u201c<\/span>hold on to it<\/b>,\u201d and <\/span>\u201cdon\u2019t drop it!<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting the story holders<\/b><\/h5>\n

Toward sustaining their roles as story holders, interviewees talked about the need for more support\u2014including strategies for self care, opportunities for discussing their experiences with other records professionals, and better preparation from their archival education programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Going back to the quotation from the beginning of the post, one interview takeaway is that \u201c[u]nderstanding how to listen is a huge skill to learn\u201d and a difficult skill to teach. As an interviewee explained, \u201cI think so much of that kind of thing comes with age and experience.\u201d Some participants who focused on the importance of listening felt that it is difficult to learn how to listen before it is required of you in a real-world setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, participants had ideas for ways that education programs could better prepare new professionals for their listening roles. Examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Turning to other fields, such as social work, for relevant training materials<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Incorporating theatre games that require active listening<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Teaching students to conduct oral history interviews<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Encouraging the development of self care strategies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Participants also agreed that it would be helpful for the profession as a whole to openly acknowledge that, as a records professional, you may become that \u201csponge\u201d or \u201cvessel\u201d or \u201crepository\u201d of stories\u2014and that such a role carries with it a certain emotional weight.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This acknowledgement was seen as essential, as participants described listening to stories as central to archival work.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In the words of one archivist:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201c[W]e are acknowledging the lives of people whose lives will not be acknowledged […] <\/span><\/i>So if their people bring something to us and tell us their story,<\/i><\/b> even if the thing is not something you\u2019d actually want, you know that\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    And in the words of another:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cYou need the story! You totally do.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

     <\/p>\n

    —<\/p>\n

    Note: This post is an adapted and expanded version of Elizabeth’s section of the conference presentation given by our research team at ACA 2021.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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