The documentation of tragedy in the archives: exploring the records of the campus shooting on Northern Illinois University, collective memory, and the archivist

Archivists play a pivotal role in documenting collective memory through the records they preserve. With this responsibility, it is necessary for the profession to be active in their duties if they wish to preserve a more encompassing memory of an event, and is especially true in emotionally delicate, tragic situations. This paper explores collective memory in its relation to tragedy, and its effects on the archivist. It then looks at the archival collection of the campus shooting that took place at Northern Illinois University in early 2008. Through interviews and studying the records of the collection, it is shown how the numerous aspects of collective memory were handled by the archival staff