@Jeremy Smith, While I do share sympathies with the loss of cultural objects. I have to ask: ** was this really an archive or was it an institutional repository?** Preservation activities happen at both types of institutions, however institutional repositories are designed to further the good of their owning organization. In this case the owner was not an institution of government and was therefore not responsible to anyone but the owners of the company! (And if it was a publicly traded company then the fiduciary responsibility is not to the preservation of the materials, but the the financial well being of the shareholders.) While such a tragedy (as this fire) will certainly have a have an impact on US and global cultural heritage preservation, we need to be careful also to not leverage this situation to lobby for a restriction on the the freedoms that are common across the USA with regards to data management, and historical preservation of corporate property. We must remain aware that there are differing opinions about what is actually "public good", and also freedoms to enjoy the rights of ownership. I see a great need to endorse a certificate of "compliance with management best practices in the Preservation Industry". Let's also not forget that even though these objects were "archived", few of us or the general american public would have had the opportunity to listen or view them. These are not public treasures. The value of these objects are likely more valuable on an insurance policy than they ever were on a shelf from the perspective a company's asset books. - Hugh Paterson III On Thu, Jun 27, 2019 at 12:54 PM Jeremy Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > As I was reading this follow up article, I kept thinking: where are the > “good archivists”? Although I am not a member of ARSC, so I don’t have a > huge amount of leverage here, it seems to me that while the spotlight is on > this issue, it would really behoove the organization to take this > opportunity to make a public statement criticising UMG’s practices before > and after the fire and to illustrate best practices around the preservation > of our cultural music heritage. It seems that an opportunity to reach a > large mass audience with these issues will rarely come again. I’m sure Jody > Rosen, the author of these articles, would be responsive. > > Jeremy > > —————————————————— > Open Education & Research Services Librarian > Department Liaison for Communication & Journalism > University of Massachusetts Amherst > 154 Hicks Way > Amherst MA 01003 > 413.545.6729 > Schedule An Appointment<http://libcal.library.umass.edu/appointment/34397> > > Proud member of the Massachusetts Society of Professors< > http://umassmsp.org> (MSP/MTA/NEA), > the union representing faculty & librarians at UMass Amherst, > and supporting public education and labor movements everywhere > > > > On Jun 27, 2019, at 12:00 AM, ARSCLIST automatic digest system < > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2019 01:44:54 -0400 > From: Jeff Willens <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > Subject: New UMG fire follow up > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/magazine/universal-music-fire-bands-list-umg.html > > ------------------------------ > >