On Wednesday, October 24th, the Washington Post published a story with the headline, “Materials Missing at Library of Congress.”  Like many readers, I dashed to my computer mouse, thinking that an Oceans 11 style heist had taken place in our nation’s capital.  Perhaps a robotic device remotely operated by terrorists had stolen Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence.  Or maybe a machine gun wielding Russian spy had lifted Alexander Graham Bell’s lab notebook. 

No such luck for excited museum geeks, lovers of action-adventure movies, or Washington Post beat writers hoping to sell more newspapers.  In fact, museums, libraries, and archives in the United States lose items in their collections on a regular basis.  Why?  The simple answer is that many of these institutions are grossly underfunded and understaffed.  The more frustrating answer for those of us who care deeply about these collections is that they are cared for by human beings who are capable of making mistakes.  Though certain members of congress would love to blame the incompetence of museum and library administrators, it is more likely that the incompetence of congressmen is to blame.

The congressional hearing which examined the results of the inventory at the Library of Congress, which examined books, monographs, and bound periodicals, noted that 17 percent of the materials requested could not be found.  Many in Congress would perhaps love to pin these results on poor management, holding the librarians themselves directly and fully accountable for the status of the collections.  Indeed, the Washington Post article notes that the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (Mich) said in a statement that the number of missing objects, “is unacceptable, and a clear indication that we must reassess how we manage this Nation’s priceless collection that exceeds 130 million items.”

Those working outside of museums, libraries, and archives, have been shocked at similar findings in the past.  In 1990, when the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) passed, it required that museums in the United States conduct an inventory of collections potentially falling under the guidelines of the law, which included sacred objects and human remains.  This was, however, essentially an unfunded mandate. Museums struggled to complete their inventories on time (many applied for extensions).  Upon the completion of these massive inventories, many learned for the first time what those working with collections already knew, a significant number of museum objects had gone missing. 

Often 100 years plus of poorly designed filing systems, constant movement of collections, and a trail of human errors had taken their toll on museum collections.  An intern in 1980 could place a Cheyenne necklace on the wrong shelf, and nobody would notice the error until a scholar twenty years later arrives at the museum to conduct a study on Cheyenne jewelry.  Perhaps the object was traded to another museum and the appropriate curator forgot (or neglected) to write it down.  These things happen, unfortunately.  Computer filing systems, even the most advanced, can point a librarian, archivist, or collections manager in the wrong direction if the original data is entered incorrectly in the first place.

Government officials need to understand the monumental task assigned to those caring for collections in museums, libraries and archives.  Collections managers, librarians, and archivists are often combating a long history of limited funds, in addition to a long history of human error and outmoded systems.  Before pinning the blame on the librarians and archivists who work at the Library of Congress, congressional officials themselves should examine their own record of caring for our nations’ heritage.