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If you have any material worth archiving, please contact Carmen!

John.

 

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" Carmen Lee " <carmenandcat

" John Wedderburn " <john

Friday, May 09, 2003 1:11 AM

Fw: Home /Archive for Asian animal materials

 

I had a very productive, informative, friendly and honest talk with the

curator of the Tom Regan Animal Rights Archive in the library of the North

Carolina State University. She explained to me this Archive's mission and

plans, and I am impressed. I have also checked their technical skills at

cataloguing their materials (catalogues are available online) and find

everything done very professionally. I have actually been in touch with

them for some time before the Archive finally became official in 2002.

 

Tom Regan should be thanked for establishing this Archive inside his

university's library. I have long hoped (and fervently prayed) that a

university would be willing to invest in building an animal protection

collection - no mean commitment because of the time and expenses involved,

that is why although libraries do acknowledge the importance of this social

/ethical issue, none has been willing to build a special archive for it.

 

Even though it is called " Tom Regan " and " Animal Rights " , in real life,

Regan does not have control over the materials added to the archive, and it

is not only concerned with " rights " - it is interested in anything related

to animal protection, from SPCAs to wildlife; in fact they are going to

publish a statement clarifying the term " animal rights " in the name of the

archive. They are also actively looking for new materials and collections,

including those *outside America*.

 

If you yourself or you know individuals who have animal stuff that they no

longer need, I urge you to seriously consider donating them to NCSU. It is

really not a complicated process and I am here to help as much as I can. Of

course the donor will have to spend a little time answering some questions I

or NCSU ask, arrange for shipping etc., but the effort will be really worth

it. I know that everyone is very busy, and it may seem impossible to spare

half a day out. But this little time spent will mean that all the struggles

and hard work the donors and other animal activists have done in their

lifetime will be made available for study in the next 50 100, 150 years,

will be there to stand tall and proud as witness and evidence of valiant

efforts to help animals, of the sufferings animals endured, of the changes

made and not made. I am not exaggerating by saying that these materials

honestly give animals and their advocates a poweful voice and presence in

society. Surely, this is something worth spending a few hours or even a few

days!

 

Please ask anyone you think may be interested in donating their (or their

group's) materials to contact me. I will act as the honest broker and

answer their questions objectively. If I do not think it is appropriate for

them to donate to NCSU, I will say so. Correspondence, newsletters, videos,

just about anything is fine. Size or time period does not matter either.

 

By the way, apart from shipping cost, I don't think there is any other

expenses involved. People can also donate in installments, at a rate or

timetable that is convenient to them: no need to fear that they have to face

that impossible task of tidying their impossible-to-tidy files all in one

go! Sensitive materials can be closed for a number of years or restricted

to users approved by the donors.

 

Personally, with my own vested interest in Asian animals, I am eager to get

Asian materials represented in this animal archive. That is why I am

appealing to you to get in touch with potential donors of materials and to

spread the word.

 

One last word: NCSU is the *only* place with a dedicated animal

rights/protection archive *in the world*. I do trust that they will do as

good a job as they can and will give all the materials they receive proper

professional treatment and keep them in perpetuity.

 

Carmen.