Archival Diasporas Understanding Dispersed Photographic Collections Ricky Punzalan

Archival Diasporas: Understanding Dispersed Photographic Collections Ricky Punzalan Assistant Professor University of Maryland College of Information Studies punzalan@umd. edu | www. rpunzalan. com SAA Research Forum New Orleans August 13, 2013

The Problem of Dispersed Collections ²Acknowledging complementary collections in finding aids ²Enlarging our notions of provenance, ownership, and custody ²Exploring the role of technical standards and tools in reconnecting and linking collections Bastian (2001/2006), Nesmith (2006), Wurl (2005), Hurley (2005), Pitti (1997)

“Standards such as Encoded Archival Description now offer the potential of virtually reuniting fragmented collections and relating distributed collections through the on-line linking of finding aids. ” Jeanette Allis Bastian, “A Question of Custody: The Colonial Archives of the United States Virgin Islands, ” American Archivist 64 (Spring/Summer 2001): p. 114.

Virtual Reunification ²“Allowing dispersed collections to be brought together” (Deegan and Tanner, 2002) ²A collaborative endeavor ²Harnesses the affordances of the digital Unsworth (2006), Austenfeld (2010), Lynch (2009), Deegan and Tanner (2002), and Shenton (2010)

Methodology A Case Study of Worcester’s Dispersed Ethnographic Images A Suitable candidate for reunification ² In 10 LAM institutions ² Research demand ² Efforts to consolidate since the 70’s ² In various stages of digitization ² Funding availability

Dean C. Worcester, 1866 -1924 1887 -1888 Visited the Philippines as a student 1890 -1893 Led a zoological expedition of the Islands 1899 -1901 Appointed to the Philippine Commission 1901 -1913 Appointed Secretary of the Interior of the Insular Government Several publications on Philippine Indigenous Groups 1898 The Philippine Islands and their People Notes on Some Primitive Philippine Tribes, National Geographic 1906 The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon, Philippine Journal of Science 1911 Field Sports Among the Wild Men of Northern Luzon, National Geographic 1912 Head-Hunters of Northern Luzon, National Geographic 1913 The Non-Christian Peoples of the Philippine Islands, National Geographic 1914 The Philippines Past and Present

Research Sites NATURAL HISTORY American Museum of Natural History Private Field Museum of Natural History Private ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum University (Private) Public U. Michigan Museum of Anthropology University (Public) U. Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology University (Private) ARCHIVES National Anthropological Archives U. Michigan Bentley Historical Library Public University (Public) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Newberry Library U. Michigan Special Collections Library Private University (Public)

Data Gathering Site Visits and Archival Research (Jul 2010 – May 2012) 10 Institutions - 9 on-site / 1 off-site - Chicago, New York, Boston, Ann Arbor, & D. C. • • Accession records Worcester photographs & indexes Worcester papers and manuscripts Published materials on Worcester and his photographs Semi-Structured Interviews (Nov 2011 – June 2012) 25 respondents - Heritage workers (19) - Researchers (2) - Funding admins. (4) • Interview transcripts • Field notes • Memos

Interview Participants (n=25) Stakeholder Group Heritage Professionals and Administrators from Owning Institutions (n=19) Funding Agency Representatives (n=4) Researchers (n=2) Job Description No. of Participants Archivists 10 Curators 6 Collections Managers 2 Librarian 1 Executive Director 1 Program Officers 3 Professor 1 Exhibit Intern 1

Dimensions of Dispersion

Dispersion – Geographic 1 -3 Ann Arbor, MI (UM: Bentley/Special Collections/UMMA) 4 -5 Chicago, IL (Field Museum/Newberry) 6 Suitland, MD (NAA) 7 Philadelphia, PA (UPenn Museum) 8 New York, NY (AMNH) 9 Cambridge, MA (Peabody Museum) 10 Cologne, Germany (R-Joest Museum)

Dispersion – Provenancial

Dispersion – Temporal

Dispersion - Material

Conclusions ²What does it mean to assemble the ‘whole’? ²What is the ‘object’ of reunification? ²If reunification is the solution, what is the problem?