 Archives are a different beast from the expectation of neutrality as seen in most other professions. Archives actually function better by accepting information on different viewpoints, politics, and affiliation. Information given this way and added to archives can bring context to behaviors past and present, the current ideology of different groups, trends within the community/it's people, as well as help inform the future.

University of South Carolina

The Library and Information Science field, particularly that of archives, extoll the virtue of the Archival Neutrality ethical mandate. The expectation is that by keeping archives and the information environment that there would be no problems. In a work environment and in public it is usually professionally frowned upon to let people know your political leanings, viewpoints, and affiliations. That should be true for most professions and work environments based on standards.

Archival Neutrality: Expectation

Gililand, Anne(2011). Neutrality, social justice, and the obligations of archival education and educators in the twenty-first century. Archival Science 11, 193-209. DOI 10.1007/s10502-011-9147-0
Full version: file:///C:/Users/mcelr/OneDrive/Archival%20Neutrality.pdf

The Question of Archival Neutrality: Practicality or Cowardice? Citation 

An argument can be made that the practice of archival neutrality could be seen as a form of gatekeeping if not outright censorship and/or discrimination. Archival Neutrality portends to keep the archives as apolitical despite the fact that most information in archives have a certain viewpoint to them. Patrons and consumers of archival information as well as there keepers all have different perspectives/viewpoints. Does that mean archivists have an obligation to deny or not accept information counter to archival neutrality norms? It should not.

Learn Before

Related