Free beer, and what else can we get you?: archives catering for the economic historian

Abstract

"... the collection started over 50 years ago by Noel Butlin,Professor of Economic History at the Australian National University from 1962 to 1986, to support his and his colleagues’ economic history research is now used more by researchers in other disciplines, and not just history and economics, but Aboriginal studies, anthropology, archaeology, art history, environmental studies, epidemiology, geography, international relations, law, linguistics, musicology, occupational health, political science, psychology and sociology ... A particular problem for archivists is taking a gamble on what might prove useful in the future – you have to sort and catalogue the material, house it in acid-free boxes, shelve it, and promote it, but what if having done all those things and having kept it for 50 years, nobody has ever used it? At what point do you decide not to persevere, though it is almost inevitable that the current fashion will wane and the records will be in demand again at some point? So let me leave you with that last question in particular: Are we collecting the right stuff? Or how can archives cater better for the economic historian?"