Controversial Collections and Open Access

In 1997, The University of Michigan accessioned the personal papers of Theodore Kaczynski, a man more commonly known as the Unabomber.  Between 1978 and 1996, Kaczynski was responsible for committing multiple acts of domestic terrorism involving the mailing and placement of bombs that led to three deaths and at least twenty-six injuries (The Federal Bureau of Investigation).  Kaczynski’s papers became part of the Labadie Collection after the collection’s Assistant Curator, Julie Herrada, contacted Kaczynski requesting the materials.  The Labadie Collection is no stranger to controversial material.  As a collection, it has “made it its mission to document the radical and social protest movements in American history” (Devlin 127).  The collection is comprised of materials documenting antiwar, sexual freedom, feminist, transgender and anarchist movements (to name a few).  Because Kaczynski’s bombings, terrible as they were, were carried out due to his anarchist beliefs, the materials squarely fit within the scope of the Labadie Collection (Devlin). 

The acquisition of these materials sparked a media storm which brought to the forefront a number of ethical issues regarding controversial acquisitions, including censorship, right to access and sensitivity.  Though the Kaczynski papers do not contain any photographs or other images, the greater Labadie Collection does, and the experience of the University of Michigan in dealing with the Unabomber backlash highlights issues that face archivists of all kinds and of all types of materials (including photographs).  The lessons that can be taken from the Kaczynski papers can and should be used by photographic archivists when dealing with sensitive, controversial or graphic materials. 

A great deal of research on this subject seems to suggest that archivists will sometimes shy away from acquiring and providing access to materials that are considered particularly controversial due to “lack of knowledge… [or] the fear of being tainted with the brush of controversy” (Lamoree 149).  The Labadie Collection obviously does not shy away from controversial material.  Further, they are a prime example of how archival institutions should go about acquiring and providing access to such materials.  According to the Museums, Libraries, Archives (MLA) Council’s Guidance on the Management of Controversial Material in Public Libraries, “in the interest of intellectual freedom, material should not be rejected solely because it is considered controversial” (MLA 10).  Though the MLA is based in the United Kingdom, they are correct when they state that, when considering accessioning controversial materials (including photographs), archives should always consider the materials in reference to their collection policy.  In fact, most research on this topic argue that an explicit collection policy is the best way to justify the accession of such material.  The Labadie Collection’s policy involves collecting “retrospective as well as contemporary materials that document activists and radical movements throughout the world” (Herrada).  The photographs contained in the collection reflect this policy. The Labadie Collection contain over 1,000 images that are available to view online. While most are not particularly graphic, a great many of them could be considered “disturbing” or “insensitive.”  Some of the collection's photographs have some restrictions placed on them (mostly limiting the size of the image you can view and the availability of a downloadable copy).  However, the user is still able to view the full record and thumbnail versions of the restricted photographs.  It appears that most of the restrictions are due to copyright issues (i.e. the photographer's wishes) rather than because they are particularly obscene.  

 Another ethical issues that photographic archivists may face in dealing with controversial materials is the need to adequately explain to the public the institution's reasoning for acquiring the photographs and other controversial material.  In the case of the Unabomber materials, the University of sometimes struggled to clearly explain that their interest in the materials was not supporting or condoning Kaczynski's killings or other violent acts, but rather were interested in his writings as a form of "social protest" (Devlin 128). Julie Herrada attempted to emphasize that it was the archivists' responsibility to document all society and not just that which is bright and sunshiny.  History is not always what we want it to be.  This should not dictate whether or not it gets preserved and made available to the public at large. 

Another issue that archivists must consider when acquiring and making accessible controversial materials is that of privacy.  In the case of Central Michigan State's Clarke Historical Library acquiring Ku Klux Klan membership records, CMU had their attorney investigate the records and determine if there was any potential risk to individuals' privacy.  Finding no such risk, the Clarke Historical Library proceeded with the acquisition (Boles 59). The issue of privacy is one that photographic archivists will have to deal with on a continuous basis.  It would not behoove an archive to acquire a collection with so many privacy restrictions as to make the collection unusable.  However, a small amount of privacy restrictions are likely acceptable depending on the number of such restrictions compared to the collection as a whole.  Such restrictions could possibly account for some of the restrictions on the Labadie Collection photographs.  

A possible issue could be that the general public do not fully understand the role of archives.  Many of them likely feel that archives only hold geneological records and famous historical documents such as Thomas Jefferson's papers. Why would anyone want to keep the Unabomber's manifesto? Why do we need photographs of war protests or KKK rallies? What possible historical value could materials such as these have?  The point is that we don't always know.  It is not the archivists' job to cast judgment or make arbitrary decisions about acquisitions.  

I believe that the issue of censorship in photographic archives boils down to one thing: the Code of Ethics for Archivists.  The SAA Code of Ethics states that, "recognizing that use is the fundamental reason for keeping archives, archivists actively promote open and equitable access to the records in their care within the context of their institutions' missions and their intended use groups. [Archivists] minimize restrictions and maximize ease of access" (Society of American Archivists). It is our responsibility as archivists to acquire, preserve and provide access to archival materials.  Photographs, as a potent visual record of our past, are no exception.  While there are some case-by-case situations in which photographs can justifiably be restricted (i.e. privacy), on the whole, photographs should be accessible to the public. Again, the best way to justify the acquisition of controversial photographs is to have a clear collection policy, just as the Labadie Collection does.  The existence of their clearly stated collection policy is how they were able to justify the acquisition of the Unabomber's personal papers.  

Works Cited

Boles, Frank. "'Just a Bunch of Bigots': A Case Study in the Acquisition of Controversial Material." Archival Issues 19 (1994): 53-65. 

Devlin, Nora. “The Ethics of Archiving ‘Murderabilia’: The Papers of Ted Kazynski.” Journal of Information Ethics 19 (2010): 126-140.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation. “FBI 100: The Unabomber.” Last modified April 24, 2008.   http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/april/unabomber_042408

Lamoree, Karen M. “Documenting the Difficult or Collecting the Controversial.” Archival Issues 20 (1995): 149-153.

Museums, Libraries, Archives Council. Guidance on the Management of Controversial Material in Public Libraries. London: 2007. 

Society of American Archivists. "Code of Ethics for Archivists." Last modified January 2012. http://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics