Gerard M. Emanuel

The problems and challenges of archival resources in the Virgin Islands are similar to those experienced in other developing areas throughout the world. One common problem is the low priority placed on archives by government officials and by societies in general. This prevents proper development and maintenance of archival materials. Of course, people recognize the importance of preserving information for educational or other developmental purposes. However, several reasons exist for the lower priority attached to preserving local archival information.

A general reason for the above situation is that with "progress" and "development," a few issues have forced themselves at the forefront of the minds of both decision-makers as well as on populations in general. Among these are the increase in violent crime, a decrease in the quality and affordability of health care and severe unemployment. In non self-governing territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, an additional factor lurks behind the scene. This is the lingering constitutional, institutional and psychological impacts from centuries of domination by colonial powers.

Wilfred I. Smith, Dominion Archivist in Canada, provides ten additional reasons for the low priority given to archival institutions in developing countries. Most of those he lists are thoroughly familiar to those of us who have engaged in some form of research. However, one we often overlook is the expense and difficulty associated with preservation efforts in a tropical climate.

Mr. Smith's article also implies that governments have difficulty associating the preservation of archival material with their need for economic, educational and other national developmental initiatives. These problems are not unlike those we experienced in trying to convince people in these islands of the importance and relevance of political status.

Similarly, archivists and record management officers experience difficulty in convincing legislatures or executive branch officials of the importance and relevance of appropriate management of archival materials in the enhancement of government efficiency, effectiveness and decision making.

Fourteen years ago when I worked as records management officer for the Florence Williams Public Library, I wrote a letter to my supervisor detailing the need to develop better coordination among the agencies which housed archival materials both within and outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The letter also requested funds to identify, photograph and return the documents housed in the Royal Archives in Copenhagen, Denmark. At that time they were becoming badly deteriorated and their preservation was not considered a priority by the Danish government. The Danish government's interest at that time was on historic coins.

Additionally, the letter requested the purchase of preservation supplies to retard the damage occurring to government documents already stored in the Library. Nothing resulted from these requests. Several years afterwards when former Ambassador Terence Todman was serving in Denmark, we met to discuss what could be done to bring home the documents on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nothing ever materialized.

I have been out of touch with the archivists in Copenhagen for several years and have no information on the existence or condition of these materials. However, it is clear that time is definitely of essence if we intend to preserve a sizable chunk of our heritage.

Archival material also exists in several colleges universities, churches, libraries and other institutions throughout Europe and the United States. For example, a recent conversation with historian George Tyson, revealed that the English archives have information on a classic event in V.I. history - the "firebun" of 1878.

Mr. Tyson has also given me the names and addresses of several institutions in Spain, France, England and Holland which may contain archival information on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Specific Challenges Related to Archival Resources in the Virgin Islands

There are several challenges that face us regarding the identification, storage, preservation, organization, development and general management of archival materials. Obtaining financial resources does not head the list as might be assumed. The principal challenge is changing the mindset of persons who have the power to effect change. Second, those of us who are already convinced must do a better job of persuading our community not only of the importance but the relevance of these efforts in allowing our leaders to more systematically, efficiently and effectively address and redress the problems with which we are confronted. For example, socio-economic data needs to be developed and stored in a more accessible manner so that decision makers can use it in their calculations. The numerous masters' theses and doctoral dissertations prepared about the U.S. Virgin Islands available throughout the United States and the rest of the world must be accessible either electronically or physically. Oral histories need to be compiled, cataloged, transcribed and utilized more frequently in our schools. Government agencies need to prepare annual reports on a more consistent basis and circulate them to public libraries.

More training needs to be provided for person handling archival materials. We need to affiliate ourselves with organizations such as the Caribbean Archives Association, the Society of American Archivists and the International Council on Archives. We also need to more fully employ the resources of UNESCO and other international agencies which could provide technical and other types of assistance to us. A team of librarians, historians and other scholars needs to be created to conduct an inventory of materials here in our community, in the rest of the Caribbean, in the United States, in Europe and in Africa. Simultaneously another group, or members of the same group need to start looking for a private location to house materials.

One could go on enumerating the myriad of challenges which confront us but some concrete action has to be undertaken or else all of this will remain academic.

When we focus our minds on resolving the challenges confronting us regarding archival resources and actually DO something about it, we can only succeed. However, if we never DO something we can only fail.

References

Smith, Wilfred I. Archives in Developing Countries: A Contribution to National Development. 1971.

"Cost Effective Management of Archives"

"Planning for the Development of Archives"

"Archives in Development"

(Materials circulated at the Caribbean Archives Association Seminar on Archival Development and Managment, November 11-156, 1984, V.I. Hotel, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands)

QUESTIONS

1. According to the author, how is the problem of the Virgin Islands in the matter of archives similar to that of developing countries?

2. Name two issues associated with development and modernization that are cited by the author as likely to overshadow archival issues.

3. From a constitutional perspective, how does the author characterize the Virgin Islands?

4. Does the author attempt to link present day societal problems in the Virgin Islands to the islands' colonial status?

5. Mr. Emmanuel cites a non-Caribbean writer who in turn notes at least one obstacle to archival preservation over which we have little control. What is it?

6. In the absence of a commitment by the Government to any major action with respect to the archival material in the Royal Archives in Copenhagen, what did the author recommend might be done by the Government as a stopgap, at considerably lesser expense?

7. Besides the Royal Archives in Denmark, name three other places (including countries) where significant collections of archival material are likely to be located, according to the author and his sources!

ACTION QUESTIONS:

1. How do neglect of V.I. archival resources and inaccessibility to them impact negatively on public policy making? Name two measures you could take to promote solutions to such neglect and its ramifications!

2. Do you believe there are ways the computer could be used to promote accessibility to the data bases scattered in libraries world wide? How?

3. Are oral histories of any importance to the issues of archival preservation? What methods and techniques suggested by Schraeder in his piece on field methods will be most important in this area of archival preservation? Do you know of any special language or communicative skills that will be needed for this phase of cultural research. Are these skills significantly different from those used when the original archival material in Copenhagen was collected? Explain your answers!

4. According to Mr. Emmanuel, what kinds of international link-ups are likely to yield good results?

5. The author offers a kind of action plan, involving several kinds of experts and agencies. Could you draft application forms for persons seeking two of these jobs, or seeking to be assistants to two of these experts?