Archival Phoenixes

A few weeks ago we discussed disaster planning and response in archival settings. At the same time, wildfires raged across the Pacific Northwest, including California, and more specifically the Fountaingrove headquarters of Keysight Technologies, a derivative of PC manufacturer Hewlett-Packard. The Tubbs fire in northern California burned across 36,807 acres of land, destroying thousands of buildings, killing at least 22 people, and in the process destroyed irreplaceable documents pertaining to the rise of Hewlett-Packard in the early years of the Silicon Valley. The documents were estimated as being worth up to two million dollars in 2005 and were previously held in flame retardant vaults. Karen Lewis, a former HP staff archivist helped put together the collection in 1988 and felt the destruction could have been prevented, but above all, mourned the loss of documents relating to the electronics industry’s history as early as 1939. Jeff Weber, a spokesman for Keysight Technologies, stated that appropriate measures were taken to protect the materials, but that the firestorm thwarted any such efforts. He also asserted that a large section of the collection remains in HP’s possession. An update on October 30th further explained that while Keysight Technology was saddened by the loss of these significant documents, they “met and exceeded the strictest standards for archival protection.”[1]

In discussing disaster planning and response in archival settings in class, we discussed fire alarm and suppression systems, but the question remains, what are we to do when the forces of nature overwhelm our “strictest standards [of] archival protection”? Ideally disaster plans and an archives location are sufficient in limiting the impact of disasters like hurricanes, and plans are in place to aid cleanup efforts afterwards. But still, when states like California face their worst wildfires to date, and Florida, Texas, and other states in the southeast face their worst hurricanes to date, protecting one’s archive’s collections can seem a herculean task. Ideally an archives can protect and keep their original documents if nothing else, but Hewlett-Packard may have a point in backing up their collections with digital copies of their documents at several of their archival locations, even if irreplaceable documents in their Fountainhead archives were lost. Perhaps, then, part of a disaster plan in regions like these is to not only identify which materials are the top priority to save, but ensuring a digital copy of those materials can live on elsewhere in a worst-case scenario.  Given the increased presence and severity of natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires due to climate change, perhaps digitizing our archival priorities could similarly increase the possibility of digital archival phoenixes rising from the ashes of tragedies like those in northern California.


[1] Tom McKay, “The California Wildfires Burned Down Irreplaceable Documents on Silicon Valley History [Updated],” Gizmodo, October 29, 2017. https://gizmodo.com/the-california-wildfires-burned-down-irreplaceable-docu-1819955915. (Accessed 11/2/17).