by Mary B. Hansen
Technically, archival mysteries are not an official subgenre within mystery, crime fiction or thrillers. However, as an archivist who loves to search for information, no matter the subject, and as an author who loves to tell stories, combining archives and writing was a perfect fit for me. Searching archival records is like solving a mystery. You have an idea of what you are looking for, but then you find something that doesn’t fit and you have to dig deeper. Each record or photo or map or drawing is a piece of the larger story. Archives require context to make sense of them. A letter written in 1901 can be interesting to read, but without context like who wrote the letter, who it was sent to and why, meaning can be lost.
I am drawn to finding and uplifting the stories we have forgotten, hidden or lost. As a writer I tell stories rooted in the past and relevant for today. So often written records like correspondence or reports from 100 years ago are as pertinent today as they were long ago. I write to capture the excitement I feel when on the hunt for information and share that excitement with readers. The comment I get most from readers is that they did not know archives were so important and that they could access them.
Archives, whether from a historical society, a library special collection, a government institution or personal family papers, help create a link between people and our collective history. In terms of access, most archives and special collections have a website with information online about their collections and may also have an online database with digital materials available. There will be contact information either as an online form or an email for the archivist. I always say start with the archivist. There are more archives and special collections than most people know about, but there is not a single resource that lists them all. Archival documents are unique and so are the collections. I suggest starting a basic internet search with the subject matter and archives. For example, Chinese railroad labor AND archives, returns results from the National Parks Service, Standford University, and the Chinese Historical Society of America. All three of those websites will list additional resources and hopefully cite their archival sources.
A great guide to how to do archival research available online via the Society of American Archivists : https://files.archivists.org/pubs/UsingArchives/Using-Archives-Guide.pdf
Writing fiction makes that history more accessible to readers that might not read nonfiction nor consider themselves history buffs. While there are some wonderful novels that take place in archives or libraries, I wanted to write about the how people use archives and what the records can reveal about history and people. Maybe there will be other authors who will write their own archival mysteries in the future?
About Mary B. Hansen:
Mary B. Hansen is an author and archivist. Mary is a Certified Archivist with a Masters in Library and Information Science. She is currently focused on writing about archives rather than working in them. She lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.
For More Information:
Website: https://marybhansen.com/
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