David Staniunas

@boxreceiver

archivist at PresbyHistory, menasky-adjacent, obligated to say positions are mine, not PC(USA)'s

285 Following500 Followers1,358 Posts

Bluesky

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David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 3d

First 5 cubic feet of today described and on the shelf

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 3d

Good morning 📦 🗃

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 12d

The University of Toronto set up a "sceret" response network to pro-PS protests in April 2024; much of that work was done in Teams chat; and on May 29, 2024, UoT created a 30-day retention period for Teams chat

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 13d

Correspondence belongs to the recipient, and the recipient of any unsolicited package can refuse delivery or destroy it 📦🗃️

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 13d

Tell me more about what you mean by "Skills: Discretion" (I know what you mean of course -- you're limiting your hiring to someone upper-class)

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 16d

In passing I told somebody at Montreat that I had been up Lookout Mountain, and they said "Oh you're ours now!" -- I did not know that was part of the deal Something we did not put in Acquisitions & Appraisal: the work of building relationships can include going up a mountain

Me looking tired and confused on a mountain

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 17d

And today, got to speak to about a dozen clerks, admins, and interested parties at the Presbyterian Heritage Center at Montreat

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 17d

Went to worship at Dulatown PC Lenoir NC. Their old brick building (1950s) replaced a 1920s wood plank building, and prior to that, according to church members, the residents worshiped in a brush arbor

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 18d

And walked up to see Calvary PC Asheville, up at the top of a hill overlooking downtown, rebuilt with help from the PCUSA Board of Missions for Freedmen in 1926

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· 18d

Spent much of the day with the Central region of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, some 80 people gathered at Greenway PC Lenoir NC. You love to see the PC(USA) flag on display

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jul 13

Oh no kidding

Widget named "visually similar by AI" at bottom of display for a page from a history of the world from Timurid Afghanistan, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. All the images are pages from books

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jul 10

Oh simply grand good for them en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian...

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jul 10

"The province of Gilan has apparently turned Bolshevik" exceptional

Rolla Hoffman of Mashhad, writing in October 1920

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jul 2

I do not think that archives should try to push unwanted collections into the hands of their peers at other archives. If it's not nutritious to you, what makes you think it's good for me

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jul 2

I have questions for the commissioner who proposed this language

After a number of amendments failed to pass, including an attempt to include our call for a full trade embargo on Israel using language from RIW-05 and an amendment steeped in Christian Zionism that attempted to tell the church that they would be cursed if they "curse Israel", an amendment was proposed by commissioner Elizabeth Wiley to add a point to the overture that states, the PC(USA) will "condemn unequivocally the Israeli military's targeting of Palestinian children in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank."

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 25

Today, 10 Muharram, millions commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, some, historically by self-flagellation In this late 1910s early 20s photo the mission doctor Rolla Hoffman calls the mourners "The old Ashura head cutters" digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/39...

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 25

I guess it's good this is a paid job?

The collection consists of over 1,000 items, including vintage photos, posters, autographs, musical equipment, ephemera and personal effects of blues musicians. The owner of the collection is utilizing a collections management software platform to photograph, annotate and itemize each item to build a database. The eventual goal is to provide online access to the database, using functionalities of the collections management software program. While this is a paid temporary position, the job could serve as a graduate program capstone project f

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 20

School in the Nabatieh UNRWA camp, 1960s digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/48...

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 17

Immensely gratified to see the first little bit of the personal papers of Pat Hoffman, a Presbyterian ruling elder and staffer of the National Farmworker Ministry from about 1970 to 1990 📦🗃

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 16

One kind of extra thing I do occasionally is when a volume of minutes has a real compromised binding I sandwich it between sheets of acid free cardboard

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 12

The house that invented the Method, and serves the US's largest Somali diaspora population, shows 8 Somali-related archival collections, which includes 2 packets of letters of one US soldier deployed to Somalia in the 1990s

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 6

Anyway I might have my culprit. A recent box or two has been addressed to "Special Collections Curator" (not a title my shop has) I'm going to start an SEO-spam site that is about throwing Uncle's things into the trash, just to get on a level playing field

Step 3: Determine if the Work has Archival Value
If his research and essays are extensive, do not throw them away just yet. They might belong in an archive.
• Look for a natural home: Did he graduate from or teach at a specific university? Was his research focused on a local town, a specific historical event, or a specialized scientific field?
• Contact institutions: Reach out to university libraries, local historical societies, or specialized museums. Ask for the Archivist or Special Collections Curator.
• What to tell them: Briefly describe who your uncle was, the scope of his papers (e.g., "three boxes of research notes on 1950s architecture"), and ask if they would be interested in a donation.
⚠️ A Note on Copyright: As executor, you need to determine who inherits the intellectual property (IP) rights to his unpublished essays and research. Check the will. If the will doesn't specify, the IP usually passes to his residuary beneficiaries. If you donate the papers to an archive, the family can choose to retain the copyright or transfer it to the institution.

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 6

The sources for Geminis advice on handling personal records is good sounding but kind of gobbledygook. Possibly reflective of everybody citing Greene and Meissner for every little thing? Why are you talking about folders bruv

. Appraising and Navigating "Private Archives"
Personal items like unpublished essays, correspondence, and diaries are treated by institutions as "private archives" (Harlan, 1929). When evaluating these materials for donation, repositories must navigate complex ethical boundaries, balances of public access, and the privacy rights of third parties mentioned within those personal letters (Hamer, n.d.; Harlan, 1929). Curators use professional frameworks to review large collections efficiently, separating historically rich professional manuscripts from redundant or un-foldered everyday materials (Bachli, 0; Greene & Meissner, 2005).

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 6

After that I asked for the sources used, and they're not made up, but not directly responsive

Academic and Professional Framework
1. Fiduciary Duties and Legal/Financial Separation
As an executor, your primary legal duty is to wind down the decedent's affairs, settle estate liabilities, and protect assets for the designated beneficiaries (Weisbord, n.d.). Isolating the financial and legal paperwork from personal effects is required because an executor faces strict personal liability if estate assets or necessary legal proofs are mismanaged or neglected (Weisbord, n.d.).

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 5

A perfect example of the kind of collection that clogs our processes. An old Bible, clippings and postcards, collected about a guy. None of his writing or creative work. No indication about what makes him unique. Some photographs though

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 2

Appraisal should not have to happen on the file level

In addition to learning about the unique challenges of born-digital archives, the Intern will study and utilize fundamental archival principles of appraisal, provenance and original order, authenticity, preservation and reliability, and legal issues related to copyright, privacy and access. Under the supervision of staff, the Intern will:

Appraise and review digital files for archival value in accordance with SCUA’s collecting policy and curatorial guidance.
Perform forensic review of digital files for bit-level integrity, technical metadata, sensitivity, and personally identifiable information.
Troubleshoot, research, and solve technical issues to ensure that necessary content, metadata, and functionality of the digital files is preserved.

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· Jun 1

Former director of the archives, Bill Miller, expressing disgust at (and learning it's not his job to police) pamphlets put out at General Assembly by Presbyterians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns

Blessed Pride to all who celebrate. Miller's interview: Speaker 2: [00:22:13] I was in charge of the exhibits at General assembly. And I remember one of the booths that the gay lesbian group had at the assembly. And I saw, I would check at nights and so forth to make sure things were okay when everyone had gone. I remember stopping at their table and I just was totally disgusted with some of the material they had. That was there for distribution, not under the counter, just there for distribution reading material. I raised this concern with the stated clerk I mentioned I was on the senior staff and I remember his telling me that's the church's job to decide what is distributed and what isn't distributed at General Assembly. But, and he was right, you know, it was just a personal opinion, [00:23:25][72.0]

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· May 31

Thanks to everybody in the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey for having me in your midst today

Outgoing Moderator Rhonda giving a word, inside colonial style sanctuary, white and pale blue, with US and Xtian flags

Out front of First Presbyterian Church Springfield, with statue and video board

Graveyard of First PC on a cartoonishly beautiful day

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· May 28

Church World Service newsletter, 1949 "Save Protestant DPs". Has a special focus on displaced Protestants in Ukraine

David Staniunas@boxreceiver· May 27

25 minutes later, book wrap (I'm slow)