Revised, April 19, 2004 Archival exchange program "I think it is only right for me to stir up your memory of these matters as long as I am still alive. I know I shall soon put off this mortal body, as our Lord Jesus has plainly told me. I will do my best, then, to provide a way for you to remember these matters at all times after my death." II Peter, 1:13-15 The preserving and passing along of authentic and reliable documents that contain the testimony of the previous generation is an important service that Christians can do for their brothers and sister in Christ. The story of the church's past - the story of sin and weakness and falling away as well as testimonies of faith and the evidences of God's grace, mercy and power in the life of His people - is an important means for the encouragement, training and warning of today's Christians. All over the world, Christians are attempting to preserve and make available documents that tell a part of the story of the Church, whether it be the story of their congregation or of their tradition or of Christianity in their country or region. Often this great work is done under conditions of great difficulty and hardship, with few resources and subject to discouragement. It is our desire at the Billy Graham Center Archives to be of some use to our brethren in this service of memory. For Christian archives in other parts of the world who feel that they might benefit, we would like to suggest a staff exchange program. Under this program, a staff member from a non-United States Christian archives would come to the Billy Graham Center Archives in Wheaton, Illinois, USA for a time period of, depending on the desires and constraints on the visiting archivist of perhaps three to five months. During that time they would work with the staff. During different weeks, individual members of the staff would demonstrate for the visiting archivist in the BGC Archive's philosophy and method in the following areas:
Every week with visiting archivist will be doing practical work in one of the above areas, as well as having a weekly session with one of the professional archives to discuss what they are doing and how it might or might not apply to the visiting archivist's own archives. If appropriate and desired by the visitor, during his or her stay, the BGC staff will work with the visiting archivist to prepare draft statements for possible use in his/her home archives of such documents as a mission statement, a collecting policy, an access policy, a ten year plan. The visit archivist would also process at least one collection and conduct one oral history interview. If at all possible, this interview would be one relevant to the visiting archivist's own institution and collecting policy. If not, it would be an interview for the BGC Archives. We believe the benefit from this program is not so much from the formal knowledge that is shared. After all, the visiting archivists will be people who already have some archival experience or at least archival training. Rather it is the chance to become part of another Christian archives and learn the how and why of the way they approach their tasks. Most archivists work in shops with no other staff or only one or two. This exchange program would offer an archivist a change to work with others dedicated to the preservation and use of the documents of Christian history. He/she would have a chance to see in detail how another archives does it work. Of course, it might be that he/she does not find everything or even much of the BGC Archives procedures to be relevant to his/her own situation, but to see how we deal with various archival problems might suggest to our guest new approaches in his or her own situation that would be productive. Additional possible components to an exchange. Formal academic classes in archival management. Dominican University in Forest Park (about ten miles from Wheaton) offers courses in archival management. If it was desired, the visiting archivist could spend one day a week taking a course in archives for academic credit and the other four days working at the BGC Archives. This program would be especially recommended for any archivist with no formal training and less than six months experience. Visit from BGC Archives staff member If it would be helpful, after the visiting archivist returns home, a member of the BGC Archives staff could visit his/her archives (perhaps for ten days or two weeks or some similar time period) to be part of that archives staff for a brief time. In the pilot program, Paul Ericksen visited Hong Kong Baptist University and besides helping with the development of the Archives of Christianity in China at that institutions also led two seminars on oral history and starting a congregational archives for the Hong Kong community. The BGC Archives would cover the cost of the BGC Archives staff member salary, the rest of the travel and other expenses would be the responsibility of the institution being visited. Requirements The aim of this program is to assist in the development of Christian archives. Therefore this exchange program is only open to Christian institutions which are dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ. This might include the archives of denominations, universities and seminaries, evangelistic ministries, etc. The visiting archivist's institutions would need to pay all his or her expenses, including food, housing, travel to and from America and the leasing of a car, which will be essential. The BGC Archives staff would help the visiting archivist find housing in the Wheaton area. The archivist who will be visiting the BGC Archives will need to be a committed Christian and one who is promises to stay with his or her own archives for at least two years after the visit to the BGC archives, so that whatever benefits he/she derives from the experience can be passed on to other staff. The visiting archivist should have at least a year's experience in archival administration or formal archival training. Anyone without this preparation should plan to attend the Dominican course (or a similar archival course in Chicago area if they are aware of one). The visit archivist will be called on to share his/her Christian experience and professional expertise with other staff at the Billy Graham center and Wheaton College. We want the entire college community to be able to benefit from his/her presence and to learn something of the experience of the Christian community in the visiting archivist's country. The archives of the visiting archivist must be open to the general public. Procedure It is anticipated that the BGC Archives will be able to offer an exchange program every two or three years. Any archivist interested in participating in this program should send a letter to the Director of the BGC Archives, giving their personal testimony, explaining what they would like to accomplish during the exchange and how they believe their own archives will benefit. |