The Pulteney StreetSurvey
IN THE INFORMATION AGE
The future is fragile, and how it plays out depends in part on how each one of us responds to the information we receive — how we critically think about and organize it, and what actions we take based on what we know and share. Working with electronic records, I’m constantly aware of how easily they can be altered, corrupted or lost along the way if we aren’t careful. In that sense, libraries and archives serve even more important functions in the “internet age.” It is vital to learn how to identify trusted resources, and to trust the custodians of archival and library holdings. They teach us how to evaluate sources and filter information, so we can engage with the past, present and future in a critically-minded and responsible way. One of the most treasured gifts from my years at William Smith was deepening and applying my critical thinking skills — not so much so that I could be a better historian or archivist, but a better citizen of the world.
Rachel Sutcliffe ’02 is an accessioning archivist in the Electronic Records Division of the National Archives and Records Administration, and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus. (The views expressed above are her own and not those of NARA or UMGC.)