Preserving, Protecting, and Promoting Cultural
Archives Through Newsletters
Prepared for Archives of Winona
Prepared by Abigail Derkson, writing consultant
15 April 2014
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Abstract
Archives can be stereotyped as dusty rooms filled with books that no one reads. While archiving
has typically been a less revered and ignored profession, the importance of archives has only
increased in the new digital age. Archivists protect, preserve, and promote historical documents
both in print and digitally. Archivists promote the information they archive through social media
and newsletters. This report examines an archive’s promotional newsletter, the research done
both in this field and from an expert, and the types of problems an archive may have in
promotional newsletters. This report will then describe a possible solution to these problems.
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Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………… ..4
Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
Major Findings and Implications…………………………………………………………………………………..4
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ..5
Research Methods………………………………………………………………………………………………… ….6
Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6
Investigating the Problem……………………………………………………………………………………………6
Interviewing an Expert……………………………………………………………………………………………..6-7
Reviewing Literature………………………………………………………………………………………………..7-8
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………………………………10
References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11
Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………… .....12
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Executive Summary
Background
Archives of Winona is a new, up and coming archive that specializes in Winona’s rich cultural
history. Their director, John Smith, expressed concern that their museum may not promote
themselves in the best way possible to the public. Smith solicited my help in examining ways in
which the archive can best promote its material and purpose to the Winona community. He asked
me to investigate the ways a newsletter promotes an archive’s material, focusing particularly on
the newsletter’s overall style and content.
In my study I addressed these problems:
 Incorporating community culture
 Providing an accessible platform to share the newsletter
 Using a writing style accessible to all readers
The above problems present significant challenges to an archive’s ability to promote itself to the
general public. Many archives like Archives of Winona operate as a non-profit organization,
meaning that they rely on funding and donations to remain open and continue their work. For
archives it is important that the public be involved in and aware of the archive’s purpose and
material, which is demonstrated most clearly through a professional newsletter.
Major Findings and Implications
In my analysis, I examined the ways in which Archives of Winona can effectively create and
distribute a newsletter that presents their values and purpose to the Winona community. I
interviewed Michelle Verret Johnson, an expert digital archivist who has contributed to her
archive’s newsletter.
Based on my analysis, I recommend that Archives of Winona produce a multi-page
informational and promotional newsletter. The newsletter itself should incorporate professionals
within the archiving field, including archivists and researchers. The newsletter should promote
the community’s culture in a clear, concise way that is accessible to everyone who may be
interested.
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Introduction
Archives of Winona requested assistance in creating and distributing a public newsletter. To
better understand the archiving process, I conducted research into archives and interviewed an
expert in the field. This type of research helped me prepare my analysis of the problems an
archive deals with in archiving. In addition I drafted a recommendation that offers potential
solutions for the Archives of Winona.
The Purpose of Archives
An archive is an institution where historical documents and records are kept about an institution,
place, and/or group of people. The types of documents that archives contain are often primary
documents from a specific time period with a specific content. An archive’s collection can
include a print collection, a digital collection, or a combination of the two. Archives collect
information for public use.
The Problem at Archives of Winona
Because many archives are non-for-profit organizations, they rely on donations and outside
funding to remain open and active. An archive’s promotion of itself is as important as the
collection it maintains because without the funding an archive cannot continue its work.
Archives of Winona is a new archive that collects historical documents about the Winona area.
Since they are new and without sufficient funding, they plan to promote to the local community
but are unsure how to do this in an effective, persuasive manner. The main problems addressed
are how to:
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Incorporate community culture
Provide an accessible platform to share the newsletter
Use a writing style accessible to all readers
The Methods of Researching the Problems
To help Archives of Winona understand how to format a newsletter, I conducted research about
archives, their purpose and process, and their promotion of their collection. I consulted two
scholarly peer-reviewed articles from The American Archivist. These articles helped not only
understand the archive and its process but also what kinds of steps an archive will need to take in
promoting itself. In addition to consulting journal articles, I consulted an archivist expert who
specializes with cultural collections.
The Recommendation for the Problems
As a solution to the above problems, I recommend three actions that Archives of Winona can
take to produce an effective, persuasive public newsletter. These are:
 The contributors to the newsletter should be specialists, archivists, researchers, and other
members from the public interested in the collection.
 The newsletter should be published in a print and digital format so that it is accessible for
anyone who wishes to read it.
 The newsletter should be written in a clear, concise way free of complex technical jargon.
The rest of this paper will describe in detail the research methods, the results, the conclusions,
and the recommendations.
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Research Methods
To better understand Archives of Winona’s cultural and writing concerns, I performed the
following research.
1. I reviewed literature that describes the archive process. These articles are:
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Greene, Mark A. “The Power of Archives: Archivists’ Values and Value in the
Postmodern Age.” The American Archivist 72.1 (2009): 17-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April
2014.
Nesmith, Tom. “Seeing Archives: Postmodern and the Changing Intellectual Place of
Archives.” The American Archivist 65 (2002): 24-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April 2014.
2. I interviewed digital archivist Michelle Verret Johnson. Johnson previously served as
Director/Curator for the Acadian Memorial, a non-for-profit collection that honors the Acadian
heritage and Cajun people of Louisiana.
3. I examined the various elements that are used in writing a newsletter for public use. Also, I
examined various sample newsletters from the Acadian Memorial.
Results
Investigating the Problem
Since Archives of Winona is a developing collection, they do not currently have any sample
newsletters. I will use this report to assist them in fixing the problems they may face in
producing a newsletter, which will hopefully allow them to garner and keep public interest early.
Interviewing an Expert
To better understand archiving and various ways that institutions promote their collections, I
interviewed digital archivist Michelle Verret Johnson. Johnson previously worked as Director
and Curator for the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinsville, Louisiana. Johnson specializes in the
museum’s digital and print archive collection that focuses on the Acadian and Cajun heritage of
Louisiana peoples. As an archivist Johnson digitizes physical documents and updates digital
documents so they can be preserved.
The documents within the collection, according to Johnson, are maintained for public use. Other
individuals who primarily access the information include but are not limited to researchers,
journalists, city officials, local civic organizations, and curious people. Archivists must always
be aware of their various audiences when they create and distribute an informational and
promotional newsletter. This audience includes the above groups but the newsletter audience
also includes donators, supporters, and members for an archive.
Johnson had the following things to say about the creation and distribution of newsletters:
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The writing process is collaborative.
The newsletter’s content focuses on a section of the collection they have not covered. The
newsletter also includes coverage of upcoming events, potential additions to the
collection, articles by specialists and researchers, and various other contributions.
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The purpose of the newsletter is to reach out to the public, donators, and contributors to
gain attention and support.
The newsletter is quarterly in digital and print edition. A PDF version is available for the
public while the print edition is sent out to members, supporters, and donators of the
Memorial.
The newsletters serve as a validation and justification for the museum to remain open and
active.
Reviewing Literature
To learn more about the archive process and purpose, I reviewed two pieces of literature from
The American Archivists journal. These articles are:
1. Greene, Mark A. “The Power of Archives: Archivists’ Values and Value in the Postmodern
Age.” The American Archivist 72.1 (2009): 17-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April 2014.
Greene argues that the reason archives have limited recognition and power is because many have
a weak sense of their identity. Green argues that the key to creating identity is to identify the
archive’s values, or what the archive stands for. Greene finds fault in archives in that they “tend
to focus too much on [their] processes and not enough on their purpose” (18). To define their
values and purpose, Greene suggests that archives can gain power and recognition by
“[internalizing] that strength and be able to communicate it to others” (20). An archive’s power
is grounded in its values. He articulates ten archival values:
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Professionalism
Collectivity
Activism
Selection
Preservation
Democracy
Service
Diversity
Use and Access
(and) History
Greene describes each of these values and their importance in detail. Out of all of these, Greene
articulates, Use and Access is one of the most important values an archive holds (34). According
to Greene, “a statement of values tells us more about who we are as a profession and speaks not
only to ourselves but to our resource allocators and users” (38-9). Greene argues that an archive
can become more powerful, visible, and valuable if it first recognizes, establishes, and promotes
its own values.
2. Nesmith, Tom. “Seeing Archives: Postmodern and the Changing Intellectual Place of
Archives.” The American Archivist 65 (2002): 24-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April 2014.
Nesmith takes a postmodern approach to archives and their collection. He argues that a
postmodern view of communication shows how archivists can act as mediators or constructors of
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knowledge (26). Archiving is typically an invisible profession, but this postmodern outlook
suggests it should become more widespread and popular as it serves to reproduce and influence
history. Traditionally most archivists have viewed their work as passive, unobtrusive recorders of
history (28). Nesmith argues “archivists shape what may be known from archival materials. As
these context themselves change, they change the records by altering how they are viewed, and
thus also what ‘event’ may be known with them” (31). Archivists influence realty by not only
preserving history but also, in the process, indicating what needs to be preserved (32).
Nesmith explains the way in which an archive promoting its material is helpful to preserving and
shaping a historical record. He says, “Archivists even promote these changes in meaning when
they tell new generations of sponsors and users of archives about the evolving relevance of the
records to different times and issues” (35). What an archivist chooses to preserve shows what the
archive values and deems important for the public record, and an archivist needs to promote this
so that the public is more aware of the archive’s collection and purpose.
Nesmith concludes the article by reinforcing the importance of archives and recognizing their
purpose and collection: “Seeing archives…means seeing archivists anew – as visible, active,
agents in the construction of this history and the societal knowledge it shapes” (41).
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Conclusions
I believe that Archives of Winona can adapt the example set by the Acadian Memorial and
Greene and Nesmith’s articles to create and distribute its own newsletter that is informative,
promotional, and persuasive for all audiences.
An archive’s collection means very little if the archive cannot sustain and continue adding
material to its collection. Moreover, an archive’s purpose – preserving historical documents for
the public’s use – loses its importance if the public is unaware of the type of collection the
archive has or why the collection is important to preserving the cultural history of a diverse
community.
I agree with Greene’s assertion that the first thing an archive must do before promoting its
material is first understanding the archive’s values. The most important values that an archive
holds and needs to identify is its Use and Access and its History. These two values directly relate
to the purpose and promotion of an archive and its collection. Furthermore, I agree with
Nesmith’s assertion that archivists need to take an active role in their content and its promotion.
Formulating an effective, informative newsletter is integral to a archive’s success. A newsletter
is a way for an archive to articulate the types of documents it preserves and is a way for the
archive to promote itself to the public. Without a proper platform for promoting itself, an archive
may struggle to find the funding and support it needs to continue its work.
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Recommendation
I recommend three actions that Archives of Winona can take to produce an effective, persuasive
public newsletter. These are:



The contributors to the newsletter should be specialists, archivists, researchers, and other
members from the public interested in the collection.
The newsletter should be published in a print and digital format so that it is accessible for
anyone who wishes to read it.
The newsletter should be written in a clear, concise way free of complex technical jargon.
To ensure that the content of the newsletter is accurate and represents the interests and the values
of the archive, it is important the contributing writers be professionals from their respective
fields. Contributing writers should have an excellent grasp of the content they write about but
also the importance of the content.
To ensure that the newsletter is accessible, I recommend that the archive produce both a print
version of the newsletter as well as a digital version of the newsletter. Following the Acadian
Memorial’s format, it is important that members and supporters of the archive receive a copy but
the digital copy ensures that everyone in the public has access to the collection’s values and
purpose.
Finally, a newsletter needs to be written in a clear, concise way free of complex technical jargon.
To best promote an archive, it is important that the newsletter use language that the general
public can understand. An editor can help ensure that the language is clear and concise. In
regards to the cultural importance of an archive, the newsletter’s content should reflect the
culture of community.
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References
Greene, Mark A. “The Power of Archives: Archivists’ Values and Value in the Postmodern
Age.” The American Archivist 72.1 (2009): 17-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April 2014.
Nesmith, Tom. “Seeing Archives: Postmodern and the Changing Intellectual Place of Archives.”
The American Archivist 65 (2002): 24-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 April 2014.
Verret Johnson, Michelle. Personal Interview. 31 March 2014.
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Appendices
I. Interview Questions
1. Could you describe your experience/history in the area of digital archiving?
a. Have there been certain technologies or platforms that have helped make digital
archiving a faster or easier experience (both for the archivist and the audience)?
2. How has archiving evolved with new digital technology?
3. What types of material are archived?
4. What types of writing have you produced?
a. What kinds of promotional writing have you produced as a digital archivist?
b. What kinds of informational writing have you produced as a digital archivist?
5. In terms of what types of writing has been produced, what is the writing process like?
a. Is it collaborative? More individualized?
b. Who is responsible for proofreading of the writing?
6. Also, how is the writing distributed? Is it via paper format (ie: brochures, newsletters,
flyers) or digitally (ie: email, a website, etc)?
7. Does the medium used alter the writing style or content?
8. Along the same lines, does the medium used (brochures, newsletters, flyers, email, or a
website) alter the audience that is being reached?
9. What are two or three kinds of audience for which this promotional/informational
material is written?
10. Technology has made it easier for people to have greater access to online collections.
Does this change what is archived or how it is archived digitally?
11. How (in your opinion) has digital technology changed the way people can access
information (more specifically along the lines or archived material)?
12. Copyright can be a grey area. How is copyright dealt with in digital archiving?
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