Alchemist Magpies Collecting Archivists and Their Critics

16 September 2008

Michael Piggott

Are archivists complicit in helping the victors write history, privileging some voices and silencing others? Are they alchemists transforming ‘turds and sticks' into the gold of societal heritage? Or are they just born collectors lucky enough to be paid to indulge their personal antiquarian passions? In this lecture, Michael Piggott reviews some recent criticisms of collecting archives and archivists, drawing on the theoretical literature, personal and professional experiences, and knowledge of Australia's two largest university collecting archives: the Noel Butlin Archives Centre at ANU and the University of Melbourne Archives.

Broad Topics: Arts and Social Sciences

Sub-topics: Librarianship & Curatorship

Areas: University

Michael Piggott is Manager, Cultural Collections Group and University Archivist at the University of Melbourne, where he has worked since 1998. Previously he worked in the National Library, the Australian War Memorial and the National Archives of Australia. He has postgraduate qualifications in librarianship, archives and history, and has been involved with the Australian Society of Archivists since its formation in 1975. His edited publications include Archives: Recordkeeping in Society and The Records Continuum: Ian Maclean and Australian Archives First Fifty Years. He is a member of the Public Records Advisory Council (Vic) and an honorary research fellow at the Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics, Monash University.