Dust clouds of camels shall cover you: Covenant and the archival endeavor

Abstract

Archivists engage in a series of relationships with donors, users, colleagues, and others characterized by respect, reciprocity, obligation, and trust. This article argues that these relationships are covenantal in nature. While they inform the creation of professional associations and allow archivists to promote mutually defined ends, covenant is particularly powerful in the realm of interpersonal relations. There is no formal archival covenant; nevertheless, archivists can forge covenant by internalizing concepts that are integral to it: genuine encounter, sacred obligation, and piety of service. Employing these concepts, archivists situate themselves to act morally, ethically, and justly in pursuit of the archival endeavor. © Scott Cline.