Birmingham archivist retiring from library after 30 years on the job

APPRECIATE WHAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH HERE FOR THREE DECADES. JIM BAGGETT HAS BEEN AN ARCHIVIST WITH THE BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY HELPING PRESERVE THE CITY’S HISTORY. NOW HE’S STEPPING AWAY TO REST AND MAYBE FIND A NEW HOBBY. SO IN HIS LAST INTERVIEW BEFORE RETIREMENT, HE SAT DOWN WITH WVTM THIRTEEN’S JARVIS ROBERTSON TO TALK ABOUT A STORIED CAREER. I’VE BEEN HERE 30.5 YEARS. THOSE ARE THE LAST JIM BAGGETT STARTED AT THE BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE EARLY 90S. HIS CAREER BRINGS A CERTAIN FASCINATION FOR HISTORY, INCLUDING THE GOOD AND BAD. OUR HISTORY HAS INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, AND I’VE ALWAYS LOVED HISTORIC THINGS, DOCUMENTS, PLACES, ARTIFACTS. SO THIS WAS REALLY AN IDEAL FIT FOR ME. I GOT TO SPEND MY LIFE DOING SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOYED DOING THE TASK OF ARCHIVING WASN’T ALWAYS THE EASIEST, BUT IT’S SOMETHING HE TOOK PRIDE IN. YOU COLLECT MATERIAL, YOU PRESERVE IT. YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT’S KEPT IN A GOOD ENVIRONMENT. SO IT’S IT’S A NEVER ENDING RESPONSIBILITY. THE LIBRARY STARTED ITS ARCHIVE DEPARTMENT IN 1976 AND LATER BEGAN PRESERVING THE CITY’S HISTORY IN THE 80. DO YOU EVER FEEL OVERWHELMED OR DID YOU EVER FEEL OVERWHELMED AND LOOKING AT ALL THE ARCHIVES EVERY SINGLE DAY WE PROBABLY HAVE 30 MILLION DOCUMENTS HERE. WE HAVE A MILLION PHOTOGRAPHS AND AND THERE WAS NO ARCHIVES ON THE PLANET THAT HAS ENOUGH STAFF THERE ARE MANY BOOKS AND FOLDERS LARGE AND SMALL BOOKS, ALL OFFERING A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST. SO THIS IS ONE OF THE JAIL DOCKETS FROM OUR COLLECTION. BUT THIS ONE COMES FROM THE SPRING OF 1963, WHICH WAS THE TIME OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATIONS IN BIRMINGHAM, WHICH SHOWS THE MOMENT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AND RALPH ABERNATHY WERE ARRESTED IN BIRMINGHAM. THEY ALL WAS $300, BUT STILL, THE 60 YEAR OLD HISTORIAN MAKES AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY FROM TIME TO TIME. I’M SURPRISED ALL THE TIME DOWN HERE. THERE’S I’VE BEEN HERE 30 YEARS. I HAVEN’T SEEN EVERYTHING HERE. BAGGETT HAS HAD AN UP CLOSE SEAT TO WHAT THESE FILES HAVE BIRTHED. I’M TOLD RESEARCHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SPENT TIME AMONG THESE ARCHIVE. THESE 500 BOOKS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED USING THIS COLLECTION. FIVE PULITZER PRIZES, OSCARS AND EMMYS HAVE ALSO BEEN AWARDED. BIRMINGHAM IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE AN ARCHIVES LIKE THIS. HE’S MADE SOME NOTABLE HISTORIANS. AND REVEREND FRED SHUTTLESWORTH. SPIKE LEE SPENT TIME WITH US WHEN HE WAS DOING THE DOCUMENTARY FOR LITTLE GIRLS. SO EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE BUILDING WAS VERY JEALOUS OF US FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. THEY’RE ALTHOUGH BAGGETT IS STEPPING AWAY, THIS CITY, THIS LIBRARY WILL REMAIN A GATEKEEPER FOR THE THINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE. THE ARCHIVES IS GOING TO BE IN GOOD HANDS. AND I’M NOT I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT AT ALL. JARVIS ROBERTSON, WVTM 13. LIKE YOU JUST MENTIONED, HARD TO BELIEVE HE’S BEEN THERE THAT LONG AND HASN’T REALLY SEEN EVERYTHING. I GUESS THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW THERE IS SO MUCH HISTORY, RIGHT? AND JUST HOW FASCINATING OF A CAREER TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF HAVE A FIRST HAND SEAT OF THAT AND KIND OF LOOK THROUGH ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE STORED AND SAFE FOR FUTURES