Bart Demuynck Archives Charles-Louis Carton (Spermalie, Snaggaardstraat 9 8000 Bruges) Archives Public Welfare Bruges (Prof. Dr.

Sebrechtsstraat 1 8000 Bruges) Mail : bart.demuynck@ocmw-brugge.be

The thin line between removal, dispersion and conservation of an important historical collection of books, educational tools and (inter)national correspondence: the archives Charles-Louis Carton in the Center for Support Spermalie Bruges (De Kade vzw)(Belgium) Charles-Louis Carton (1802-1863) In 1836, Charles-Louis Carton, a Belgian priest, founded a Deaf Institute in Bruges and a religious congregation (the Sisters of the Childhood of Mary) which served as the employees and direction. From 1837 on, after a voyage to the Deaf and Blind Institutes in England, the institute in Bruges also provides in the education of Blind pupils. Carton sends a lot of educational tools and books for the Blind in early (pre-braille) English alphabets for the blind. The institute in Bruges even takes up out of religious reasons the challenge of educating a Deaf-Blind youngster (Anna Timmerman) from 1837 on. In 1840, Carton is in the opportunity to buy the former convent of Spermalie from which he receives the medieval archives and the religious congregation takes over the name Spermalie. In here is started with a boarding-school for girls of the upper classes and a nurseryschool for children of the lower classes. Charles-Louis Carton was an interesting player in the contemporaneous Blind education in Belgium and even international because of the international contacts he had with other teachers of the blind, the fact he published a journal which circulated (inter)nationally and several books about Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind education. In here he discussed the problems, prejudices and possibilities of this kind of special education. During his life he collected a 2000 books and journals on the very early days of Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind education. From 1839 on, he was by far the most important Belgian representative of this kind of education. He played a specific role in the summarization and circulation of the contemporary international knowledge of the existing Blind alphabets, the educational tools which were used in these schools and the role of these educational projects regarding the latter integration/normalization of Blinds in society afterwards. He also stressed that the information he collected and the books he wrote should be kept carefully in the institute and that this information should be open to the public. Until the 1960s this was gathered in a little museum in the institute in Bruges. The situation of the archives anno 2004 In 2004, after the archives had a long sleep in cellars and cupboards, three volunteers which had no connection with the institute and a member of the religious congregation, gave new life to this archives. They started with the classification and the making of inventories and catalogues to open to the public the archives of the Deaf and Blind Institution in Bruges. These archives, under the new name archives Charles-Louis Carton, are centered around the 1

pedagogical library of Carton. In 2004 there was little known about the content. The information which wasnt available anymore in these archives was gathered again by information in other archives. The last two years these archives are menaced because of the lack of interest of the managing board and the lack of grants to safeguard them in a lasting way (even if they are run at a voluntary base). Also there is a lack of a convenient space for these archives. The changing of the target-group of the institution to pupils with autism makes this situation even more critical. The contents of the archives Ch.-L. Carton The 19th century special pedagogic library of Charles-Louis Carton contains 2000 books on Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind education, biographies of the Deaf and the Blind and books on deafness, blindness and deaf-blindness (1502-1955); (inter)national journals of institutes and reports of (inter)national meetings of the teachers of the Deaf and the Blind. The language used in the books in the library is mainly French (57%), but also books in English (21%), Dutch (7%), German (6%), Latin (4,5%), Spanish (3%), Italian (1,5%) and some in other languages (Russian, Japanese, Hungarian, Danish, All these books are on the subject of the Deaf(-ness) (91%), the Blind (8,6%) or the Deaf-Blind (0,4%). Also the still existing part of the international correspondence of Charles-Louis Carton is safeguarded for future generations. The archives Ch.-L. Carton consist of several parts: The educational archives contain the lists of pupils (1860-1960) (with sometimes medical, social and administrative information), the specific tools which were used to make this education possible, the diaries and diplomas of the Sisters of the Childhood of Mary, photographs, post-cards, information regarding other religious and non-religious employees of the institute, annual reports and accountancies (1836-1930). The archives of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Childhood of Mary contain data regarding the financial situation of the institute and festivities but also photographs and correspondence. The archives of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Childhood of Mary (1878-1947) contain the rests of their library with religious books which were printed and bound in their printing-office. These brothers provided in the training as printer and bookbinder. The archives Karel Snauwaert contain the correspondence and journals of the catholic Belgian organization for the Deaf Navekados. The staff of the archives Ch.-L. Carton The archives Ch.-L. Carton are run on a voluntary base. The archives are open to the public and the pupils of the institute. Due to the lasting non-interest of the managing-board, trials to gain control on the activities in the archives, the old age of some volunteers (1 volunteer and the sister died meanwhile), the fact that the inventories were completed and the lack of perspectives regarding the future, this voluntary staff fell apart around 2011. Also a feeling of enduring opposition existed by these volunteers because the official history of the institute (written in the 1960s and 1980s) sometimes was in contradiction with data found in these and other archives. Because of this one volunteer was no more willing to participate. The official history of the institute was also largely hagiographic, deeply influenced by present-day goals of the institute and its successors and sketches a mere exclusive positive image of the institute. At this moment Im the only volunteer lasting and my mission is to keep the archives public for questions 2

regarding scientific research. After making an appointment these archives can be visited, because Im also busy engaging myself more and more in the archives of the Public Welfare in Bruges (which date back to 1180 and is still very complete). Since the end of 2012, the displayed archives Ch.-L. Carton are in a state of disorder because works on the removal of asbestos have been carried out in the institute. I hesitate to stop my voluntary engagement in the archives Carton because of all the reasons mentioned, but I kept postponing until now this decision maybe against my better judgment - as long there is no prospect on the future of these archives. The visitors of the archives Ch.-L. Carton and the activities to the outer world The visitors of these archives are mostly situated in the scientific pedagogical field, i.e. university- and high school- students and publicists on the history of the Deaf and/or the Blind. We receive a variety of questions on topics regarding Deaf and Blind education (e.g. physical education for the Blind pupils in Spermalie before WWI), the scientific sources used by Ch.-L. Carton, congresses and meetings of the teachers of the Blind in the 19 th century, and so on. Also, depending on the interest of the teacher, we sometimes are visited by classgroups of Deaf or Blind pupils, who want to learn something about the history of the education of the Deaf and the Blind, about famous Blind teachers (e.g. V. Hay, L. Braille, ), about famous students such as the Deaf-Blind A. Timmerman or about the history of the alphabets for the Blind all over the world. We also cooperated in specific Heritage Days, in which we tried to highlight the history of Deaf, Blind and Deaf-Blind education. During these days we received a lot of interested visitors and positive commentaries because these topics are still largely unknown by the general public because of the closeness of the institutes. Is it easy for blind people and people with visual impairments to access the archives Ch.-L. Carton? All the catalogues are accessible on the intranet of the Institute. These can easily made accessible for people with visionary impairments. But there is the last two years no computer anymore present in the archives Ch.-L. Carton, because this costs apparent too much. I still consider this as just practical problems which can be fixed easily by goodwill in the institute which is equipped for the education of blind pupils and pupils with visionary impairments. However, the books and journals of the historic library and all other written and printed documents are not yet scanned on the computer and therefore its not possible to convert them regarding accessibility. The multiplicity of educational tools regarding the education of the pupils are of course accessible to everybody. Dependent on the questions asked, we try to provide an answer. Until now, we didnt have the visit of researchers with visual impairments. The situation of the archives anno 2013 The managing-board of the institute never showed any interest in the archives Ch.-L. Carton, they were never any part of the institute and they were conserved by the Sisters. Therefore the archives Ch.-L. Carton never had any financial resources. Small expenses were paid by the congregation but proposals regarding conservation and acclimatization were seen as too costly and needless. The Sisters are getting older and are at rest. They casted off all their functions in the institute and handed them over to non-religious managers. The reason why 3

the managing-board is not interested in the archives is that theyre busy with the short-time future of the institute. The past they consider as not theirs They say that issues that happened in the past could weaken their position in the present. Proposals to supply the archives with a more convenient place were casted off with arguments that the archives weight too much and the fundaments of the institute cant carry them or that the space is more needed for art-projects or cookery-classes for the pupils. Proposals regarding a more convenient system of conservation (e.g. free of acids, less moisture, ) are seen as too costly and not necessary because the archives are already preserved such a long time and still existing. Besides these argumentations there were in Belgium never provided financial grants by legislation to conserve valuable archives in the context of institutes. By a strict integrational approach regarding the pupils which used to be segregated in an separate educational system and at the moment have to find their place in regular schools, the institutes themselves even have little perspectives for the future. What does the future hold in stock? Some people (in the past) connected to the Deaf and Blind Institute and the religious congregation- say they are looking for the future of the archives Ch.-L. Carton. This means their aim is to corporate these archives within the structure of the library of the institute and they are looking for the needed financial resources to safeguard this inheritance. Because they dont feel the need to draw me in this process its not totally clear for me in which direction this discussion evolves. I even ask myself if something really is happening. One option is to keep the archives in the institute (with attention to proper conservation) and this can be in a combination with the more modern library in the institute. Another option is to cast off these archives (elimination) and hopefully hand them over to an organization specialized in safeguarding heritance. A third option is to disperse the archives (e.g. the library of Ch.-L. Carton in a heritage-library, the archives of the religious congregation in ecclesiastical archives and the educational tools in a museum regarding the history of (regular) education). All these options could mean the death-blow of these archives because in the case of the first option the institute will show even less interest in this heritance by the change in target-group to pupils with autism. In the case of the last options, I think these archives will be sleeping in other cellars with no connection to the institute anymore and researchers will find more difficult the way to these archives. A final option is to start up a cooperation (national or international) with other institutes to found a museum regarding the educational project in the institutes. But the number of the Deaf and the Blind is too small to survive on the entrance-fee of visitors and governmental funding is more and more based on reaching the majority of the tax-payers.