REPORT OF GRANT BARNES, SERVAS ARCHIVIST, TO THE 2009 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SERVAS INTERNATIONAL, MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA
September 5, 2009
To the National Groups:
The 2006 General Assembly elected me as S.I. Archivist to succeed Antonie Fried, who had kept the organization’s papers at her home in Germany and who desired to retire from the position. I was given the mandate to, first, transfer the archives from Antonie’s possession to the National Office of United States Servas, Inc. (“U.S. Servas”), in Arcata, California; second, to scan the minutes of past General Assemblies and upload them onto the Servas International website; and third, to negotiate with a prominent repository of peace and social justice-related materials to house the archives and make available to researchers, on a non-discriminatory basis, the archives. I am proud to report that each of these promises has been fulfilled.
In addition, U.S. Servas acquired the papers of Bob Luitweiler, one of the founders of Servas, originally called Peacebuilders, prior to his untimely death and sorted, catalogued and archived them according to professional standards. These documents helped Helga Smith and others prepare a documentary film on Bob’s ideals and life, and this documentary has been shown in several venues throughout the United States, and is available also in a shortened edition.
Good news! The Hoover Institution Library and Archives has agreed to maintain and house the Servas Archives. Servas retains copyright and full access to all the items in the archives. The Hoover Institution Library and Archives, located in Palo Alto, California, on the campus of Stanford University is one of the world’s most reputable archives with modern provision for document safety and security Our treasured archives will continue to be taken well care of, and we will be able to add to it over the next decades.
President Herbert Hoover, well-known for managing wide-spread humanitarian relief during the First World War, is honored with the name of the Institution, which he founded and supported. When the world was once again plunged into a cataclysmic war, Hoover proclaimed the mission of the Hoover Library: “Here are the documents which record the suffering, the self-denial, the heroic deeds of men. Surely from these records there can be help to mankind in its confusions and perplexities, and its yearnings for peace. . . . The purpose of this institution is to promote peace. Its records stand as a challenge to those who promote war.” (June 20, 1941, speech dedicating the library tower, which remains a landmark on the Stanford campus).
The Hoover is a repository of over 5000 collections, including the records of the International Rescue Committee (1946-1989); the American Friends Service Committee (beg. In 1940); the Social Protest Collection of the University of California, Berkeley (1943-1982); the Democracy and Unification in Korea Collection of the University of California, Los Angeles (1975-1990); the Ralph Bunche papers (1927-1971), as well even before the deposit of Servas International and U.S. Servas archives a home to collections relating to the history of Servas, specifically the papers of Harry Steinmetz (1917-1986), and the 20th Century Organizational Files, including papers relating to the United States Servas Committee, Inc., predecessor to U.S. Servas. An overview of the Hoover Library & Archives, a list of the categories of collections represented, and the Guide to Scholars about the Library and Archives, all available on-line at http://www.hoover.org/hila, are attached as part of this report.
Thanks to the attentive work of Judy Sears, our Office Administrator until July 2009, all the papers belong to Bob Luitweiler, were packed up and brought down from Bellingham, Washington, to the National Office in Arcata, California, where a young archivist – Sara Jarvi -- who had been trained at a Humboldt County museum, sorted the material, returned clearly personal and financial papers to Bob’s daughter, classified the documents, and inserted them into professional-standard clear envelopes and into appropriately labeled binders. Sarah was requested to identify key documents in Bob’s life, video tapes of Bob’s interviews with Servas Japan and other Servas-related memorabilia in support of a documentary film of Bob’s life, which was shown at the Annual Meeting of U.S. Servas in the Hudson River Valley, New York State, in September 2008 and elsewhere. Bob’s papers are now gifted to the Hoover for archival maintenance in perpetuity. All of us, and professional researchers, can visit the Archives and see the papers during regular business hours.
Over the course of the last three years, the minutes of the General Assemblies as far back as Antonie maintained them have been scanned and uploaded onto the website of Servas International, where any of us can see our history anywhere in the world there is an internet connection. So, see and get inspired by the historic words and work of Servas pioneers and founders at many General Assemblies since 1960 now in an online Archives on the volunteer and administration website. Just turn on your computer, go to your internet provider, and paste in the browser: http://www.servas.org/siexco/index.php/Archives#Servas_International_General_Assembly_Minutes. Additional documents of historical importance to Servas will continue to be uploaded onto the S.I. website.
On behalf of Servas, I have joined the no-cost ARCHIVES & ARCHIVISTS (A&A) LIS, which is sponsored by the Society of American Archivists. This broadcast e-mail list has been critical in getting the word about Servas out and has been a source of excellent suggestions for what kind of materials to use, which repositories are most closely linked to the mission of Servas, and help with individual problems that may surface.
Last year SIEXCO authorized $1500 for the transport of the archives from German to California, but careful comparative shopping and negotiation meant that we paid only US$852 for shipping, which the Treasurer reimbursed. SIEXCO authorized an additional US$1000 to complete scanning the remaining minutes, and we were able to accomplish this task for much less, hiring a work-study student whose salary is subsidized by federal grants. However, the receipt of Bob Luitweiler’s papers, which were not organized and had many non-Sevass materials interspersed required more extensive processing than the office staff could do or that an untrained intern could be trusted to do. U.S. Servas had to spend an additional $3265 for materials (binders and clear envelopes) as well as for a trained intern who worked for less than her usual rate. U.S. Servas will be applying for grants from other archives and foundations relating to the protection of non-profit, long-term organizational history but U.S. Servas would like to request that the General Assembly approve a one-time grant in the amount of US$3265 to reimburse U.S. Servas for its out-of-pocket expenses already incurred to complete the archival work.
Servas Travelers to the California (Palo Alto area) are invited to visit the Archives, research a particular topic and write an article for the Servas International Newsletter; feel free to either contact me through the U.S. Servas office or by personal e-mail at grant_barnes_jd82@post.harvard.edu.
Finally, for those who want to know why being an archivist is important, hear how Lisa H. Lewis, of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge described the duties to me: “Archivists bring the past to the present. They're records collectors and protectors, keepers of memory. They organize unique, historical materials, making them available for current and future research.”
In Servas,
Grant Barnes, S.I. Archivist, 2006-2009
