Yesterday an article in the USA Today online edition referred to a man who collected child pornography as an “archivist”. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/11/child-exploitation-dark-web-prisoner/22100993/ (note: content is challenging to read).

Dean DeBolt posted information on this to the Archives and Archivists listserv, and several members urged a response from SAA. After quickly seeking advice on this, I prepared a brief letter to the editor focusing on what an archivist is and appropriate use of the term. It was an opportunity to point out (in less than 180 words) what defines an archivist–and that is much more than being a “collector” of anything however laudable or objectionable.

I’ve submitted the letter, and am not sanguine about whether it will be published. I also posted it in the “comments” section on the article, and it is showing up on Facebook comments. For the future, perhaps having something on this order that has been discussed and developed with more time and attention would be a good thing to have in our “toolkit”. Meanwhile, if you have other comments or thoughts, let me know. Here is the brief statement I submitted: