Readers who follow me on Twitter will know I’m one of those people who sometimes makes up my own hashtags. Some of these include the word ‘archivist’. For example, I use #travellingarchivist when tweeting on the road. But the one with the most meaning to me is #punkarchivist.

First, to state the obvious, I like punk music. I’m not a die-hard obsessive punk fan, or a dedicated punk record collector, and I listen to lots of other types of music including some of the bloated dinosaur bands punk sought to unseat. But I love everything from the Velvets, MC5, Stooges and Dolls to Patti Smith and the Ramones, to Dead Kennedys, through to nineties riot grrrl; and the Pistols, the Clash and Siouxsie; and the Saints, Radio Birdman, the Hard-Ons and more.

I’m not an actual ‘punk archivist’ in the sense that I don’t (at this stage) actively work on punk archives and archival projects related to punk. (Job offers in this area are welcome.) I did start discussing a possible Australian Punk and Post-punk Archives Project with a couple of colleagues, but it’s on the back-burner at the moment due mostly to a lack of time.

But there’s another interpretation of the #punkarchivist tag.

In December 2010, Christine Kenneally wrote a piece for The Monthly titled ‘Archive This‘. The conclusion is a quote from Adrian Cunningham. He raised the idea of “a game-changer – an iconoclast who is not scared to have a go at sacred cows and upset the established order … It’s nice to think there may be a Johnny Rotten of archives out there, too.”

I’m not saying I’m that person, and I’m not sure Johnny Rotten is the best example, but I completely agree with the sentiment. The archival community needs game changers and iconoclasts. In some areas we need to directly challenge the established order and refuse to accept some practices and institutions as they currently stand. We need to show a willingness to adopt a DIY approach based on necessity; and we need to push ourselves forward, so we are seen and heard standing up for what we believe in (even those of us who consider ourselves introverts). Bring in the Clash or the Dead Kennedys and you get a strong sense of political and social justice. With Patti Smith comes a fusion of genres. With the Ramones at their best comes a stripped back, short, sharp shock. With riot grrrl comes a refusal to accept oppression based on gender, sexuality or class.

These qualities and attitudes are part of the reason I’m drawn to punk. I wonder, if we brought some of them into the archival world, what our profession might look like and where we might end up.