NOTES FROM PRESERVATION
A Question For Selectors: 'Is Preservation Surreal?"
She tapped the flats of her feet rhythmically on the edge of the dance
floor; the red leather of shoes, dancing upon stiletto heels. To the ethere-
al hum of mechanical didgeridoo floating, troubled, upon an insistent
percussive new-wave beat, the motions made by her feet plumbed the
floor like boats upon rough seas.
Imagine, if you will, that life is like dancing in a pair of red stilettoes,
that history is-at once-aboriginal and sexy. I recall my mother cross-
ing new asphalt in red stilettoes from car to church doors one fine sum-
mer's Sunday. Like boats stranded at sea, her heals sunk into the pave-
ment. When I looked down, I noticed that other women's heels had
apparently been caught in and freed from this same tar pit. There-you-
have-it! Like fossilized foot steps preserved in a south-central African
dessert, cuneiform baked into clay. Dancing-in-red-stilettoes is the
record of a certain history, in this case "Marxist dialectic:" umpss have
represented the enslavement of women."
continued on next page 0
ut wait. What does this have to do with preservation?
There's an attitude that what we do in the Preservation Office IS preser-
vation, that preservation is mere binding, microfilming, photocopying,
and conservation. But, preservation is memory itself. To remember, to
recall and tell stories, history is preservation. Preservation Office staff
are just the "mechanics" of this memory. We lend memory continued
function only by binding, microfilming, etc. What purpose would there
be in any book, microfilm, data file, etc., if it could not be used and,
more importantly, if it were not used.
How is preservation like dancing in red stilettoes? If, to use the Marxist
rhetoric of repression, library materials capture information like stilet-
toes capture women, then preservation like dancing is what you make
of information. A report in the Cincinnati Commercial in the mid-1800s
noted the death of a female transient. Nothing was known about this
woman. Ostensibly, the report was printed in hopes of learning the
woman's identity. The woman had committed suicide, setting fire to
her undergarments. Aflame, it appeared as though the flames danced
in her high-heels, leaving-eventually-nothing but ashes in a deep
black shoe. This report is preserved in a conserved copy of the newspa-
per by the Cincinnati Historical Society, as well as in a microfilm copy
of the paper created by the Society.
Tragic, but who cares now? Items such as this are preserved for those
who may yet care or who may care tomorrow. It was the report of this
woman's death and the deaths of other transients that led to the founda-
tion of organizations similar to the YWCA and the YMCA in Cincinnati.
What we decide to remember or care about is decidedly personal. If, in
my case, I recall the obscure rather than the ordinary, I have to be ex-
cused.
Perhaps next month I can tempt a selector or two to fell us why she/he
decides to preserve something.
- Erich J. Kesse
== Message number 2 ==
Date: 31 May 1990, 08:06:57 EDT
From: ERIKESS at NERVM
To: .DBCUFLA
Subject: Barbara/Debbie: i .jletter Article", God forbid.
A QUESTION FOR SELECTORS: "IS PRESERVATION SURREAL?"
She tapped the flats of her feet rhythmically on the edge of the dance
floor the red leather of shoes, dancing upon stiletto heels. To the etherial
hum of mechanical didgeridoo floating, troubled, upon an insistant percussive
new-wave beat, the motions made by her feet plumbed the floor like boats upon
rough seas.
Imagine, if you will, that life is like dancing in a pair of red stilettoes,
that history is -- at once -- aboriginal and sexy. I recall my mother crossing
new asphalt in red stilettoes from car to church doors one fine summer's
Sunday. Like boats stranded at sea, her heals sunk into the pavement. When I
looked down, I noticed that other women's heels had apparently been caught in
and freed from this same tar pit. There-you-have-it! Like fossilized foot
steps preserved in a south-central African dessert, cuneiform baked into clay.
Life-like-dancinin-in-red-stilettoes is a record of a certain history, in this
case "Marxist dialectic": "Pumps have represented the enslavement of women."
MORE... NERVM
But, wait. What does this have to do with preservation.
There's an attitude that what we do in the Preservation Office IS
preservation, that preservation is mere binding; microfilming, photocopying.
and conservation. ...But, preservation is memory itself. To"remember, to
recall and tell stories, history is preservation. 'Preservation Office staff
are just the "mechanics" of this memory, We lend memory continued function
only by binding, microfilming, etc. What purpose- would there be in any book,
microfilm, data file, etc. if it could not be used and, more importantly, if
How is preservation like dancing in red stilettoes? If,;to use the Marxist
rhetoric of repression, library materials capture information like stilettoes c
capture women, then preservation like dancing is what YOU make of information.
A report in the Cincinnati COMMERCIAL in the mid-1800's noted the death of a
female transient. Nothing was known about this woman. Ostensibly, the report
was printed in hopes of learning the woman's identity. The woman had committed
suicide, setting fire to her undergarments. Aflame, it appeared as though the
flames danced in her high-heels, leaving -- eventually -- nothing but ashes in
a deep black shoe. This report is preserved in a conserved copy of the
newspaper held by-the Cincinnati Historical Society, as well as in a microfilm
copy of the paper created by the Society.
So what? Tragic, but who cares now? Items such as this are preserved for
those who.may yet care or whom may care tomorrow. Ti was the report of this
MORE... NERVM
woman's death and the deaths of other transients that led to the foundation of
organizations similar to the YWCA and the YMCA in Cincinnati. What we decide
to remember or care about is decidedly personal. If, in my case, I recall the
obscure rather than the ordinary, I have to be excused.
Perhaps, next month, I can tempt a selector or two to tell us why she/he
decides to preserve something.
Erich J. Kesse.
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