Touchstone Feb 2005

Junk Mail Challenges Church Archivists

By Yvonne Wilkie

My attention has once again been drawn to the amount of ‘religious junk mail' that Ministers and Session Clerks receive each month. Glossy publications that offer members of our various faith communities the opportunities to participate in and support numerous aid organisations; competing Bible Societies requesting funds; the offer of theological courses from somewhat obscure ‘Bible Colleges'; programmes offering an individual or congregation a means to a fuller sense of the spiritual, to note just some of this mail. Some Clerks diligently record and retain all this mail within their files while others choose not to remove it from the envelope but do feel obliged to forward it to the Archives.

The proliferation of this type of mail is a conundrum to the Archivist and it begs a number of sociological and theological questions. As an Archivist, however, I must assess what is to be retained for posterity. How does this type of mail contribute to the heritage of the Presbyterian Church or congregation and ‘its living active' presence now and in the future? Does it reflect the culture of this congregation? Is the material held elsewhere in the collection? Can the Presbyterian Archives afford to house this vast mountain of material? Will future researchers be able to locate the material in other Archives? Is there a ‘religious' or stewardship responsibility to retain it?

These and similar questions are presently challenging both researchers and Archivists from two differing and possibly polarising positions. For some researchers the questions suggest a form of control of information that they consider intrusive to researching the ‘true' story. For an Archivist the questions are an essential part of an Institution's Collection Policy. Criteria is required for what to retain due to the genre of material being gathered, issues of space and the ability of the Institution to fully resource its Archives project. In this era of information technology with its ‘mass production, consumer culture' infinite hyperspace, and increasing individualism, archivists must now step outside their understanding of the traditional proven official historical resource to consider the diverse archival and historical resources.

The interpretation of what is ‘junk' mail or of historical significant differs from one congregation to another. One parish collection that arrived in the Archives had for five years presumably considered all PCANZ mailing as irrelevant, including the Church newspapers and General Assembly Reports and Proceedings, for none of it had been opened. Does the Presbyterian Archivist therefore open it and include in the collection just because it is mail from the national church?

Appraising what should be retained from the increasing amount of mail that is received can no longer fall within a standardised records management programme. An Archivist can offer guidelines but will be unable to suggest destroying correspondence from this para-church organisation or this aid organisation.

What becomes a record of historical significance for a congregation to retain will reflect its heritage as well as its culture and mission activities. If the para-church and religious ‘junk' mail contributes to the development and mission of the congregation it is an important resource to be retained. Where it is peripheral to the congregation's mission activity it can be destroyed.

With the increasing amount of information presbyteries, congregations, and ministers are receiving there is a demand for some assistance in what to retain for posterity and what and when tto dispose of records. The Archives Office has compiled a Records Management and Retention Schedule that will take away some of the pressure from Clerks and Ministers in their decision as what should be retained in reflecting the heritage of the Church. Please contact the Presbyterian Archives for further information.

© PCANZ Archives 2005

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