Well hello readers! My apologies for not posting last week! I kinda fell into a slight depression of sorts. I started feeling very overwhelmed with my internship, classes, and work. This was also amplified by the fact that one of my roommates is moving out which means my rent is increasing. Needless to say I had a slight panic attack. Oh and it did not help that I started an entry for last week, and my phone wiped it! Alas, my sap story is over, let me fill you all in on what I've been up to!
So last week was a pretty eventful week. I sent the board my report on how much it would cost to rehouse the Arbogast collection. It was approved, and the supplies were ordered. They even shipped surprisingly fast! They shipped on Monday the 11th and were there yesterday when I was processing the Bruce Ground collection!
This week I started the processing of the Bruce Ground collection. Bruce Ground was the owner and operator of Out and About Books and Gifts off of Mills Avenue in the ViMi district of Orlando. His collection is very unique, in that it is not just a bunch of files and correspondence. His collection is a myriad of things. There are books, posters, photos, scripts, invoices, etc. I must say though the most haunting thing I found in his collection was a binder of medical records. I found this to be quite odd until I started flipping through it. As I flipped through it, I soon came to realize the significance of this binder. It became clear when I reached a portion of notebook paper that had a daily log of medicine. It was essentially the chronicle of one living with AIDS. I literally got goosebumps browsing through it. It was.... so haunting. As I proceeded deeper into the collection I came across another binder, but this one was filled with documents pertaining to a discrimination lawsuit. I opened this binder and realized that this was a discrimination lawsuit filed by the same person who had AIDS. He had informed his employer that he had AIDS and was thus fired soon after.
Upon reflection about these two items I realized how significant they could be to a researcher If one wanted to know what it was like living with AIDS in the mid 1990s, they can go through the medical records of one who did. Furthermore if a researcher wanted to know what the attitude of the general public towards those living with AIDS was, one can look at the binder with the documents pertaining to the discrimination lawsuit filed against his employer. Information like this is incredibly valuable to not only researchers, but to everyone. It helps bring an awareness to the general populace about HIV/AIDS. Hopefully with such an awareness, people will be encouraged to practice safe sex, and get tested regularly.
Now, you may have been wondering why I did not produce a name with this case. It is simply because I do not feel entirely comfortable posting a name. That is until I have a conversation with Bruce Ground (the creator of the collection) and the museum. This is something that actually came up in my meeting with Dr. Beiler yesterday, and that is the issue of Access vs. Censorship. Ultimately what it boils down to is, museums need to have a policy regarding issues of censorship. They must decide what they display, and how to display it. I met with my acting supervisor from the museum, Alan, yesterday (Thursday 2-14). Alan is a lawyer and informed me of some things regarding censorship. He told me that when it comes to documents pertaining to people, if it is a document spouting negative remarks towards an individual, then you would censor that persons name (the one receiving the negative remarks). Unless, that person is a public figure, then you would not censor their name. That being said, for now out of respect for the individual, and those close to him, I will keep the name anonymous until I know further details, and hear otherwise.
I think that about sums it up! I need to revise my finding aid, present that to Dr. Beiler on Tuesday, and do a quick overview of what all I have in the RICHES office. After that, I will return the Bruce Ground collection to the archives (storage unit). I will then start processing The Center collection on Thursday. That collection will probably take the most amount of time, because it is in about 6-8 boxes!
Until next time,
-Kyle the intern
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