Friends often ask me what I actually do all day as a Diplom archivist. My answer is that the archive is the university's memory - this is where information is stored for eternity. We archivists are therefore responsible for history. History that is mostly captured on paper, but also on photos, films and digital data carriers. In a nutshell, we are the contact point for university documents that are no longer needed but are still important.
We mainly archive files, posters and images. We currently have around 3,000 individual items in our collection. Not very many, considering that there are around 70 Divisions, Schools, Institutes and other facilities with cellars full of files at our university alone. According to archive law, they are obliged to hand over their documents to us. It is then our responsibility to check the "archival value" of the documents - i.e. whether they are of historical value and relate to the university - and then to take them over.
Our archive was only founded five years ago. We are a team of three, and I have been part of it for a year. I really enjoy my job, which is mainly due to the daily detective work. We meticulously track down small and big stories from the past. For example, who was the first foreign student at the university? Why did Loki Schmidt plant a tree on campus? What other names were being talked about for our university during its founding phase?
Of course, there are also routines. We sift through and evaluate, record and "de-ice" the documents - in other words, we remove paper clips, staples and transparencies from the paper. Then we transfer the material into archive boxes and store it in our storage room. In general, it's the great variety that I like so much about the job. In my previous academic appointments, I often had to specialise. In Oldenburg, I can cover the entire spectrum and do real pioneering work. Our door is open to everyone: Scientists, Oldenburg citizens, university members and alumni.
What does the future hold? More of the past, that's for sure. And new tasks and challenges for us. For example, preserving the legacy of our university's first generation of professors. And, of course, digitalisation, which is revolutionising our field of work.
Written by Volker Sandmann