Notes on Readings – Introduction



I have to admit that I became immersed in reading about archives – too immersed really and so it was hard to retrace my steps back to the present. Pre-internet I would have read much less I think, having to buy books or access them through the library. Now I can access information, including archives, at my fingertips and I am overwhelmed with the plethora of information available n the Internet.  Just as Erik Kessels  represented the avalanche of photographs uploaded to Flickr during 24 hours, interdisciplinary artist Michael Mandiberg  represented the immensity of information contained on online Wikipedia.  His work “traces the lines of political and symbolic power online, working on the internet in order to comment on and or intercede in the real and poetic flows of information”. Mandiberg wrote software that analyses the content of the English-language Wikipedia database and relayed this to print. This resulted in 7600 volumes which were then uploaded to for print on demand. There was an Exhibition at Denny Gallery , comprising a performance of the upload to and an exhibition of  a selection of volumes from the project.

the point was made that once a volume is printed it is already out of date because the contents of Wikipedia are constantly revised and updated

Even so, when the word ‘archives’ is mentioned, my immediate thoughts are of long dusty corridors; layers of shelves with dusty old papyrus scrolls and manuscripts.  I imagine long-held secrets hidden away from view and known to only a few. Knowledge is power and power is knowledge. My romantic vision due to so many books and films, such as the Name of the Rose etc. History can teach us so much and we hang on to its evidence even though we don’t seem to put the learning into practice. When I was at school history was all about Kings Queens and battles fought. I accepted this as facts not realising then that history books are interpretations of facts, in fact they may sometimes owe more to fantasy.  It was only after I left school and studied social and economic history that I learned more about the how and why events happened as they did and learned to look for the bias and the context of the writer.

I have in mind a particular topic for my Assignment and so I’ve attempted to focus my summary notes on what might be pertinent to this, sometimes successful and sometimes less so. I’ll return to this when I reflect on the completed Assignment.







  1. Having so much info so readily available is tricky. It’s too easy to gorge without ever taking in a full meal (a whole book that contains an overarching theme and/or analysis) I rely too much on easily digestible articles and become distracted when reading a book so it takes longer!


    1. It’s the easily digestible aspect that’s the most difficult. I usually read fast and scan pages so that the words just slip into my mind. However, a lot of course reading is so dense/complex that I’m finding I read much slower and am even speaking the words inwardly to myself instead of scanning. It’s a relief to read novels now!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. The flow of information is as useful as overwhelming. The thing is to find the golden mean. Read what is good and don’t get distracted, but I find the last thing hard sometimes.


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