Harpercraft Exams: Archives Exam

The questions:

• Question 1: When indexing an archive, in what order do you list the topics?
• Question 2: When copying archives, do you correct historical inaccuracies?
• Question 3: How are important hides best protected?
• Question 4: What is the best way to deal with important hides that will need to be frequently accessed?.
• Questions 5: The principle that archives of a given records creator must not be intermingled with those of other records creators is called: A) Provenance B) Continuous custody C) Evidential Value D) Original Order

Or check out the subtotals for this section.

Question 1: When indexing an archive, in what order do you list the topics? [4 points possible]

Answer: Alphabetical

Ellena: Alphabetical order. [4 points]
Zanadia: You list the topics in order according to date. [0 points]
Arialla: Alphabetical [4 points]
Sapphira: I would say Alphabetical. [4 points]
Saundethen: chronological [0 points]
Usha: Alphabetical [4 points]
Kandar: According to Page Number. [0 points]
Azalea: My best guess would be alphabetically [4 points]
Kellira: alphabetically [4 points]
Loeree: Alphabetical order for Topics (By date for periodicals in side each aphabatized sub catagory. like 'Ista Hold Cook's reports'." [4 points]
Reeba: "Oldest to youngest? [0 points]
Taliana: Alphabetical. [4 points]
Will: Alphabetical? [4 points]
Kestria: Indices are listed in alphabetical order by topic. [4 points]
Oriana: Alphabetical [4 points]
Rain: Alphabetical? [4 points]
Ambar: chronological order, alphabetical order, or Robert's rules of order. [4 points]
Khayet: Alphebeticaly [4 points]
Kitessa: Chronological. [0 points]
Laurenlee: Alphabetical? [4 points]

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Question 2: When copying archives, do you correct historical inaccuracies? [4 points possible]

Answer: No.

Ellena: No. [4 points]
Zanadia: No, because they should be copied exactly as you found them. [4 points]
Arialla: No, you copy them as it. A note in the margin to denote the inaccuracies would be acceptable. [4 points]
Sapphira: Well, yes and no. For Moreta's Ride teaching ballad, she was actually on Hoth but the harpers have put her on her own gold Orlith, and that wouldn't have been corrected. It would make sense to correct historical inaccuracies for some things, but for things like Moreta, it might be best to leave it. [0 points]
Saundethen: Yes [0 points]
Usha: No, leave them and make a footnote. [4 points]
Torlan: No, you don't. You copy what is written on the hide, not what you think "should have been" on it. Also, it is preferable to preserve the original authors words, even if inaccurate. [4 points]
Kandar: No [4 points]
Kellira: no [4 points]
Loeree: No. To copy is to copy, not to correct. If the errors are glaring, seek someone in authority and ask. But other than that /copy it precicely/. The person you are copying it for, could want the flaws as part of a comparison, or some other such project. [4 points]
Reeba: "When archiving, you are recording people's accounts of the time. Even if someone says something that is inaccurate you do not 'correct' it. You may put out a separate notation indicating what you have observed first hand or you may make note a reference indicating the correction. You do not rewrite another persons testimony or previously recorded records. [4 points]
Taliana: No. Historical inaccuracies reflect current thinking at the time the original was made; a true copy includes them. A new document correcting such inaccuracies may be created, but archival records must remain as they themselves were created. [4 points]
Will: No. Copy them as they were written. [4 points]
Kestria: No. An archive, or record, or manuscript must be copied in its entirety, mistakes and all, whether those mistakes be spelling or historical inaccuracies. The entire goal of copying archives is to maintain the original. While another, original document can be written wherein the mistakes of the other archive are mentioned and corrected, copies must remain as accurate and as true to the original as possible, otherwise reliability can be called into question. [4 points]
Oriana: No. However, it would be helpful to create a separate record and index it appropriately which documents the inaccuracies and corrects them. It is important both to preserve knowledge and to preserve the original documents, as there are times when mistakes will be informative about the time period in which they were made. Original documents should not be altered -- this is what footnotes and endnotes and second editions are for. [4 points]
Rain: No. [4 points]
Ambar: no Archives should be kept as they are. You might want to, however, make an addition to the archives, pointing out the flaw and stating the correct. [4 points]
Khayet: No, your copying a document, not re-writing it. [4 points]
Kitessa: Er.....no? [4 points]
Laurenlee: I'd say no...and yes, b/c isn't the inaccuracy historical? [4 points]

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Question 3: How are important hides best protected? [4 points possible]

Answer: They should be copied, then stored in an area which is cool but not cold, dry, and dim. Avoid extremes.

Ellena: Keep them in a place that is as dark & airtight as possible. [3 points]
Zanadia: Important hides are best protected stored away and covered. [2 points]
Arialla: Keep them in wax sealed tubes. [3 points]
Sapphira: Keep them out of moist areas and in dry places where they don't have much contact with light, wind or other harsh elements. [3 points]
Saundethen: In a dry, cool storage area [3 points]
Kandar: Making multiple copies of an important hide and filing away the originol is the first step in preserving the knowledge on the hide. In the preservation of the hide itself, it should always be kept away from damp and humid conditions and be oiled from time to time. You should watch out for any insects that would burrow into it and keep it relatively clean. Placing it between two planes of glass (as the Charter is) or waxing it upon a slate also helps to seal it off from the environment. Despite all of these measures, a hide is perishable, so the best way to ensure it's protection is to make sure that if it ever seems to call a recopying of the text, it should be done. [4 points]
Loeree: They are coated in a thick, clear resin, which hardens to protect the ink, then filed carefully where they can be protected. [3 points]
Reeba: "Oiled and stored in dry caves? [1 points]
Taliana: By protecting them from damp, insects, and excesses of temperature. [3 points]
Kestria: Several methods can be employed to protect important, rare, or old hides. First, hides should be stored in tubes and housed in an environment that is constant, cool and dry. Variations in temperature and humidity can promote the growth of mold which can damage hides. The tubes protect the hides from sunlight which causes fading. Indelible, fade resistent inks should be used when creating originals. Careful, accurate copies are also a means of preserving precious documents, however care must be taken not to damage the original and once an accurate copy is made, future copies should be made from the accurate copy with the original only being used rarely. Care should also be taken to handle the hide with one's bare hands as little as possible as acid from the human body is detrimental to hide, causing it to be eaten away, albeit slowly. [4 points]
Oriana: They should be stored in a controlled environment, away from excessive dampness, excessive dryness, or excessive heat. The less fluctuation in external conditions, the better. [3 points]
Rain: Some kind of oil I thought, and no I'm not crossing dragon hides with Harper archive hides. [1 points]
Ambar: they are either treated specially for endurance or just copied onto paper (bendarek's leaves) [3 points]
Khayet: In a cool, dry, dark room, between plates of glass. [3 points]
Kitessa: Um...by sticking a a proddy green rider with a perchance for biting people in front of the hides. That should do it. [1 points]
Laurenlee: Rolled them up? [0 points]

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Question 4: What is the best way to deal with important hides that will need to be frequently accessed? [4 points possible]

Answer: Make several copies; allow the copies to be accessed.

Ellena: Make several copies. [4 points]
Zanadia: The best way is to set them out where they can be accessed, but not handled as much. [1 points]
Arialla: *grins* Put them in a sheet protector. Actually, I don't know this one, but I'd guess they'd be kept in a protective frame of some sort, so that they did not have to be rolled and unrolled and handled a lot. [3 points]
Sapphira: Keep them in a dry and dark place so they last longer, but also have them copied frequently that way they remain easily readable would be my guess. [3 points]
Saundethen: Keep them under glass? Um... [2 points]
Kandar: The originol should be filed safely away and kept away from human contact (other then that neccassery for its upkeep) after it is copied many times, and these copies waxed upon a slate. These slates can then be put to multiple uses: A few can actualy take the place of the hide on the shelf, and the most can be distributed in various locations and chained to immovable objects, so that they can be readily obtained by anyone, but they can't be run off with. [4 points]
Loeree: Have the shelf/cabinet containing them placed prominatly, easily accessable, and have the hides well organized in a logical easily seen system. Also have multiple copies of such documents incase accidents or sheer old age should damage the original. [3 points]
Reeba: "Make a copy and store the master. [4 points]
Taliana: Make several /accurate/ copies. Store the original in a safe place; loan out the copies. That way, the original doesn't get over-handled, and the handling is spread out over the several copies. [4 points]
Kestria: Important, frequently accessed hides should be copied. If the hide is deemed to be that important that it will be frequently accessed, then it would be beneficial to have one accurate copy in each Hold, Hall and Weyr with the original being housed at the main archives. Should any of the 'branch' copies become worn or lost or damaged, then new copies can be made from the original by a trusted archivist. It is important that the original /not/ be the one that is accessed frequently as this could lead to damage and thus, the loss of that important information. [4 points]
Oriana: Recopy them! Create a number of copies for everyday use, and store the original safely as above. When the copies begin to wear out, make more. That's what apprentices are for. ;) [4 points]
Rain: File them in easy to remember/reach/access places, or possibly put them on a table in the middle of the room so that you don't have to get them down every time you turn around. [0 points]
Ambar: make a marker in the archive with a label so that it can be easily seen. [0 points]
Khayet: For them to be carefully bound in a book, the book kept in a cool, dry dark room upright on a shelf with other such volumes. [1 points]
Kitessa: I reckon you'd stick a guard on post whilst someone accesses the hide. A proddy, biting green rider might not be a good idea (unless you really want the person to hurry). [1 points]
Laurenlee: Carefully. *grin* [1 points]

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Question 5: The principle that archives of a given records creator must not be intermingled with those of other records creators is called: A) Provenance B) Continuous custody C) Evidential Value D) Original Order [4 points possible]

A) Provenance

Ellena: A) Provenance [4 points]
Zanadia: D) Original Order [0 points]
Arialla: Provenance [4 points]
Sapphira: I guess A) Provenance [4 points]
Saundethen: A) Provenance [4 points]
Usha: A [4 points]
Kellira: d [0 points]
Reeba: B [0 points]
Taliana: A (I think; not sure) [4 points]
Kestria: Uh, since I made this question, obviously I know the answer is provenance. For Pernese purposes, this means that any records created by the Lord Holder of Ista must be kept together, regardless of their subject matter. If the Lord Holder of Ista wrote it, then provenance states that those records must be kept together, even if one document is entirely about Ista Weyr. There's nothing preventing the 'card catalogue' or index, having a pointer to that document under the Ista Weyr subject however. ;) Archives require much more indexing and cross referencing than regular non-fiction materials one finds in today's libraries and this is true even with present day Archives. Probably be/cause/ of rules such as provenance. (I've been meaning to address the idea of multiple copies that came up in Torlan's exam -- the Archives would only have probably two copies. The main, original copy would be put away and preserved, and the first copy used as the 'borrowing' copy. Copies would likely be sent to the relative areas -- in Torlan's exam case that would be Smith Hall and Lemos Hold, but there wouldn't be copies made for each subject area of the Archives (Smith Hall and Lemos). That's what the index or 'card catalogue' is for. There'd be references or cards pointing to that particular document, but the hide itself would likely be 'shelved' under the main subject, which to me would be something like Inventions -- Smith, with cards or indexes for author and the other, relative subjects. And that's my quick lesson in cataloguing non-fiction. ;) Sorry, just had to get it in somewhere. And yes, lesson plan for archives lesson is on its way. Can we say probably on cataloguing?) ;) [4 points]
Oriana: Okay, Kestria told me the answer -- I had it wrong (B), but I maintain that this is a trick question since there's no internal or external reference to the archives-specific meaning of provenance ("common origin", according to Kestria. _Now_ she tells me. ;)). Looking the word up in the dictionary gives a different meaning, really the converse of the archival definition. Rather than referring to a group of items having the same origin, it is defined as "the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature." As few enough of us have dictionaries (I *love* www.m-w.com) and fewer still have any archival references, I argue that the question and answer are invalid for an examination of this scope and level. *grin* [0 points]
Rain: Hmm, I've never heard of Provenance. Providence, yes, but not Provenance. Evidential Value sounds like an accounting term. (I should know, I just finished Accounting One in high school, received a high A grade), and Original Order sounds either too easy or just plain wrong. I'll go with B) Continuous Custody. [0 points]
Ambar: E) All of the above. Actually, I'll say C, because of the C theorem. On any multiple choice test, the answer is most likely to be C. [1 points]
Khayet: A.) Provenance [4 points]
Kitessa: Hmmm...err....ah....A) Provenance? [4 points]
Laurenlee: D. Original Order [0 points]

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Subtotals:

Azalea: 4
Saundethen: 9
Zanadia: 7
Ellena: 19
Torlan: 4
Reeba: 9
Sapphira: 17
Usha: 12
Kandar: 12
Arialla: 18
Kellira: 8
Loeree: 14
Oriana: 15
Taliana: 19
Kestria: 20
Rain: 9
Ambar: 12
Khayet: 16
Kitessa: 10
Will: 8
Laurenlee: 9

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