An Archivist's Tale

Bogdan Florin Popovici, Head of the Brsov County Archives, discusses his almost accidental start in the school of archival science (which was part of the police academy), how the National Archives of Romania functions, working for a great archivist, and the “truth” of archives.

Gabriella Ivacs, Head of the Archives and Records Management Section of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, discusses her work for the agency, the Roma of Europe, the EU's GDPR, and how archives compensate for lost cultural heritage.

Andy Potter, Electronic Records Policy Analyst for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, tells us about his passion for audio, and his work managing records, working with government agencies, and (soon) helping set records policies for the federal government.

John Slate, City Archivist for the City of Dallas, spins a tale of being caught in the web of archives before his thirteenth birthday, and how he returns to the source of that capture in his first professional job. He ends up in Dallas, providing essential information for the city, its citizens, and users from anywhere else—all while protecting the assets of the city using the city's archival assets.

Joseph Coen, Archivist at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, talks about his beginnings as an archivist working in local government, his professional work in that community, and how he came to work for the diocese, where he has served many researchers and worked to document the diversity of Catholicism in his diverse diocese.

Chela Scott Weber and Mark Matienzo, archivists married to each other, recount their origins as archivists and a couple. They also discuss their deep and various archival careers and how archivists can create their collective destiny.

Polina Ilieva, Head of Archives and Special Collections at the University of California San Francisco, tells us how she moved to the U.S. and became an archivist. She also explains how she documents her university as well as the history of medicine and the histories of patients, while also maintaining the Industry Documents Library, consisting of documents created by industries that influence public health.

Kate Goad, the Assistant Librarian at the four-year-old Letterform Archives, discusses her work in a private special collections focusing on books, posters, and other printed material, but also holding archival materials, all documenting the richness of typographical design.

Margery Sly, Director of Special Collections at Temple University, talks to us about her broad and diverse career as an archivist, some of her wide-ranging work for the Society of American Archivists, and the huge collection of archives, manuscripts, and rare books Special Collections manages, even as they prepare for a huge move.

George Blood, President of George Blood LP, reveals how a beginning in music turned him into someone intent on preserving audio-visual records for the future. George discusses his company's small beginnings, its recent move into a large new space outside Philadelphia, the 152 audio-visual formats they can convert, their constant search for old av equipment—and the five Emmy awards he has received for his audio production work.