The Portland State University Lost & Found Network is a (non)system of lost & found sites across the campus of Portland State University. Over the course of three weeks in February–March 2019, self-designated finders-in-residence Morgan Ann Marshall and Zach Whitworth conducted a survey of various sites, attempting to understand the operations and general guidelines of the network. The term "network" is used in this case to recognize the interconnectedness of otherwise separate systems through shared policies, efforts, and links to similar end locations.
Due to the sheer size of campus and a limited timeframe, attention was primarily focused on central departments and buildings along the South Park Blocks (core area of PSU campus in downtown Portland).
This paper document was printed for Close Encounters of the Academic Kind, a group exhibition at the School of Art + Design's MK Gallery. It features a full "initial report on existing systems and values," reflecting on each encounter with the stewards of lost & found sites. The text provides an overview of how the sites operate individually as well as the ethical positions of their stewards. The document also includes a graphic "map" of the network, depicting a web of connections between the sites and several outstanding items held by them at the time of the survey. The map was originally painted as a mural in the MK Gallery for the exhibition and scaled down for this printed version.
Surveyed sites, in no particular order:
First floor OIT Lab, Cramer Hall
Re-Use Room, Cramer Hall
Information Center, Smith Memorial Student Union
Office of Information Technology, Smith Memorial Student Union basement
Circulation Desk, Branford Price Millar Library
First floor OIT Lab, Branford Price Millar Library
School of Architecture office, Shattuck Hall
First floor Architecture Digital Lab, Shattuck Hall
School of Art + Design office, Art Building
RAD Lab, Art Building Annex
Campus Public Safety Office
Supply Studio, Science and Education Center
- Z.W.
