An archivist has two main goals. “One is preservation,” said Paschild. “Everything is moved into acidfree boxes and acid-free folders. If the staples are rusty, we remove them. Fragile materials are put into supporting Mylar. We also have secure storage and, to the best of our ability, climate control.” The other goal: putting things into logical order so when someone looks for something, the archivist can find it. That can be a challenge. (See box below.) Organizing the files is critical to supporting reference and research. The inquiries are quite diverse, from someone who wanted to know who taught Music 260 in fall 1972 to a movie costume designer who needed background on how Portland college students dressed in the ’70s to an inquiry on PSU cheerleading squads from the World Cheerleading Hall of Fame. Losing history before it can reach the archives is always a danger, Paschild said. When offices are relocated, stuff is tossed out. When retrenchment hits, and departments and programs are cut or restructured, things tend to go missing. Another danger is workload: when people are overworked and understaffed, “it’s hard to get people focused on working with the archives because they have so much to do. The question that always comes up is, Who’s going to do it?” Paschild holds M.L.I.S. and M.A. degrees from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from the University of Oregon. What you can do University Archivist Cris Paschild offered some concrete suggestions for RAPS members who are interested in helping preserve Portland State’s history. Volunteer in your department on a history project. “You’re the experts in the work your department does and did, and how it evolved to where it is,” she said. “Because faculty and staff might feel overwhelmed, if you were to come in, there’s the possibility of getting some work done.” Get people to tell their life histories of what they did at PSU. “Those are valuable historical artifacts,” Paschild said. And, she pointed out, you should think about telling your own story. Consider donating material you have to the archives. “People sometimes think what they have has no historical meaning, but a lot of times it does. I encourage you not to just assume that the archives would not be interested.” You can contact Paschild at 503-725-9883 or by e-mail at paschild@pdx.edu. Archivist . . . continued from page 1 When University Archivist Cris Paschild spoke to RAPS on March 19, she provided a vivid example of the challenges that Portland State’s haphazard record-keeping has created. “There are four or five boxes labeled President’s Office, but the date span is all over the place,” she explained. “If you’re looking for a paper for a specific president, it’s really unclear where to start looking. You want things to be organized in a logical fashion that reflects the structure of the university.” Making sense of a really big mess CURRENT STRUCTURE Box 127-133President’s Office 1969-73 Box 134President’s Office: office files, 1970-76 Box 135President’s Office: misc. reports and files, 1957-72 Box 141-143, 145President’s Office, files, 1970-74 Box 142President’s Office: Park Blocks Riots, May 1970 Box 144VP for Administration: office files, 1969-73 Box 146-148Dean of Undergraduate Studies: office files, 1971-72 PREFERRED STRUCTURE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Office of the President John Francis Cramer, 1955-1959 Accreditation Committee Correspondence Inauguration Program Planning Special Events Speeches Subject Files University Policies Branford P. Millar, 1959-1968
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