The beauty of ARSC to me has always been the diverse backgrounds of its
members. I have gained as much from my interactions with curators,
collectors, engineers, and conservationists as I have from those with
fellow archivist-librarian members. As editor of the ARSC Newsletter, I
believe it is a forum for all members to share their news and opinions
about matters concerning the association. Because Kurt Nauck’s letter was
addressed as an ‘Open Letter to the ARSC Membership’ in regards to his
opinions on the Board’s recent statement on racism and police brutality, as
well as the Code of Conduct and Responding to Incidents drafts, I decided
to include it in the summer edition. Since I am a member of the ARSC
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and have taken part in the
editing of the Code of Conduct and Responding to Incidents drafts over the
past two years, I did not feel comfortable writing an impartial response
and chose to send the letter to the Executive Director, inviting him to
review it with our Board and Publications Committee Chair.


As Steve Ramm posted yesterday, there is a statement printed in every
newsletter that reads: “The opinions expressed in this publication are
solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view of
the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.” I have decided to include
that statement on any page with letters from members in the future, and
along with the Publications Chair, am working on a set of policies for the
publication of letters, which will be posted on the ARSC website.


Just because you have not experienced or witnessed an instance of abuse or
discrimination at an ARSC Conference, does not give you the right to
dismiss the experiences of others. I am well aware of the reputation ARSC
has within the archival community, which is why I am dedicated to improving
the Association in any way I can. I am extremely upset that even one member
has been hurt by Nauck’s words and applaud their bravery in coming forward
to express their feelings on the ARSC listserv. We are all living in
unprecedented times, and it takes a lot of energy to craft thoughtful
responses to a letter concerning deeply sensitive issues, so I appreciate
each and every post I am reading here and on social media platforms.


I, as an ARSC member, am currently working with others to draft a community
call to action. I strongly encourage all members to share their opinions
with others in the forum of their choosing – a telephone call, submitting
letters to the newsletter, posting on the listserv and social media
platforms, adding your name to the community call to action in the coming
weeks, whatever works best for you to continue the discussion in a positive
and productive manner.


Best,

Yuri Shimoda

On Sun, Jul 19, 2020 at 5:25 PM Corey Bailey <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> In the last newsletter, there was an open letter to the ARSC membership
> titled "Letters to the Editor" by Kurt Nauck.
>
> Anyone care to comment on that letter?
>
> ~CB
>
> Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
> www.baileyzone.net
>