Archives and time travel in the popular imagination

CHICAGO — The fascination with time travel and its consistent popularity within the science fiction genre is deeply rooted in science fiction writers’ and readers’ passion for history and, by extension, for libraries and other kinds of archives. However, time travel, archives, and history intersect in the public imagination in ways that don’t always match the reality of archival work. Published by ALA Editions in collaboration with the Society of American Archivists (SAA) as part of their Archival Futures series, “The Infinite Loop: Archives and Time Travel in the Popular Imagination” engages archivists and devotees of science fiction alike by exploring common tropes within the genre—and common assumptions in the archival profession—and providing context. Presenting a book that can serve as a teaching text, readers’ advisory guide, and thought-provoking page turner, Lynne M. Thomas and Katy Rawdon:

• explore dozens of novels, short stories, movies, and TV series (particularly Doctor Who), spotlighting different science fictional approaches to writing about time travel while pointing out how archives and archivists are represented in different time travel stories;
• examine how various cultures and societies view and understand time differently, using works such as Octavia Butler’s ”Kindred,” Toshikazo Kawaguchi’s ”Before the Coffee Gets Cold,” and Rivers Solomon’s ”An Unkindness of Ghosts” to show how differences in temporal perception affect the presentation of time travel in their works;
• look at stereotypes, outdated views, and biases depicted within time travel depictions of archives, comparing these portrayals with real-world archives and historical records;
• discuss ways in which understanding time travel fiction can help archivists improve their relationships with the public and encourage more accurate fictional depictions of their work; and
• connect the concepts in their book to cultural heritage practices that encourage critical thinking about archivists' roles in documenting our times.

Examination copies are available for instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use.

Thomas, a twelve-time Hugo Award-winner, is the Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously served as the Head of Distinctive Collections and Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. She is the co-author of “Special Collections 2.0” and the co-editor of “New Directions for Special Collections: An Anthology of Practice,” both with Beth Whittaker. She also co-edited the Hugo Award-winning “Chicks Dig Time Lords” with Tara O'Shea and contributes to the Verity! "Doctor Who" Podcast.

Rawdon is the Coordinator of Technical Services for the Special Collections Research Center at Temple University. She worked previously as the Director of Archives, Libraries, and Special Collections at the Barnes Foundation. She co-authored the chapter "What's in a Name? Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia and the Impact of Names and Name Authorities in Archival Description" in “Ethical Questions in Name Authority Control” and the Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia Anti-Racist Description Resources (2019), and contributed to the Best Practices for Queer Metadata (2024) as part of the Queer Metadata Collective. She is also a published author of romance novels (as Katy James) and poetry.

Founded in 1936, the Society of American Archivists (SAA) is North America's oldest and largest national professional association dedicated to the needs and interests of archives and archivists. SAA represents more than 6,200 professional archivists employed by governments, universities, businesses, libraries, and historical organizations nationally.

Edited by Bethany Anderson and Amy Cooper Cary, Archival Futures is a book series, published jointly by the Society of American Archivists and the American Library Association, that critically engages issues related to archives as—and for—the public good. This series explores professional values and current innovations in archival and library practice, while engaging in provocative discussion about the significance of archival work to the general public. The previous volumes in the series are “A Matter of Facts: The Value of Evidence in an Information Age,” by Laura A. Millar, and “Decolonial Archival Futures,” by Krista McCracken and Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey.

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