Some of you know that I worked as a archives consultant this summer at the MSPCA-Angell in Jamaica Plain. This evening there was an electrical fire that destroyed about half of the archives there. No one (neither man nor beast) was injured (thank goodness) but that’s a really big chunk of history gone in only a few minutes. The MSPCA-Angell archives and special collections are important because they document not only one of the oldest animal-related organizations in the country, but also the social reform movement of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

I’m pretty sick with grief over the loss, and yes, I know, it’s just paper (and film), but the history… all that evidence. It’s just gone. They’re trying to salvage some of the items and create a list of things that were destroyed. While I worked there, I conducted a survey of the collections, including a map indicating where in the rooms items were stored. I hope this information proves useful to them in their salvage efforts. I just feel so helpless otherwise. I tend to get attached to collections I work on, but this one was really important to me. Both because of the nature of the collection itself, and because this was the first job where I really got to test my archives skills.

I think I’ll phone tomorrow to see how they’re getting on. The people with whom I was in contact during my time there were all very enthusiastic about the archives project (as well as my efforts, which was rather gratifying), so I’m sure they’re pretty devastated over the loss.