Amista Mariana P. Lujan, Staff Writer
The archivist position has been vacant on our campus for the last seven years. However, for fiscal year 2023 Saint Martin’s filled this position with Mr. Rhian Peterman, who’s background in archival programming fulfilled the requirements needed to fill this position. Although, he was initially brought into the school as the Electronic Resources Librarian. During his interview, we got to know more about the revitalization of these archives and the importance of making these archives available for research for students and the community. An important question asked was “How far back are these archives that are being revitalized?’” to which he answered, “The current archives that are being revitalized date as far back as the late nineteenth century.” This means no specific record is left out as it makes the entire history of Saint Martin’s University as a whole available for use to those that have authorized access to it.
The role of archivist here on campus has not been filled for seven years, which implies that there are many records that have been left out of the available source material for students and other community members. This led to the question “How often do these records and information get revitalized?”, as students at Saint Martin’s University most courses rely on research and these sources to maintain that in essays the information is factual and can be cited properly. He responded in summary that because of the seven-year gap it is a work in progress to catch up with the information that was left out, as well as the importance of maintaining a constant flow of revitalizing the records. The projects he is currently working on were not explicitly said, as the main goal of the revitalization is to maintain a constant routine of updating and making all the records available, especially due to the major gap in time when the position of archivist was vacant. He allowed me to enter the archival room where he explained the process and the difficulties of working with old records, especially the rare articles that have been collected.
The process of revitalizing the archives looks at two factors which is divided by the physical aspect of the records and the identification/classification aspect to identify the sources of where they come from.
Photo by Amista Mariana P. Lujan
The interesting point in the interview was the long process of making these records available, as that was a constant topic in the responses mentioned by the archivist. The archives are constantly updated and there is no specified order or determining factor that picks and chooses what records are made available. Rather it is Mr. Rhian Peterman’s goal to make every resource about Saint Martin’s University available for researchers and students for present and future use. Mr. Rhian Peterman welcomes all students to reach out if they need assistance accessing the archives and is more than willing to answer more questions if there is any confusion surrounding what is available. His office is located on the main level of the O’Grady Library or you can email him through his SMU email: RPeterman@stmartin.edu.
The Belltower 