Diverse worlds and the collective archive at the University of Melbourne
A reflection based on a paper given at the Australian Society of Archivists National Conference, Melbourne, 26 September 2017
Abstract
In August 2016, a piece of graffiti appeared on the wall of the University of Melbourne Archives repository saying ‘Selected Archive Lies’. That it appeared on the day after I had talked to a large class of third-year history students seemed more than coincidental. After reading Michelle Caswell’s observation that historical scholars rarely understand the intellectual work of archivists, I had talked to the students on the themes of their course, weaving in archival ideas and mentioning appraisal and selection.1 Although I finished by explaining how to find material in our catalogue, it seems the idea of selection struck more of a chord and, I assume, resulted in the graffiti – much to the amusement of my colleagues.
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