bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Records: Who Should Collect and Maintain Them?
Authors: Hefner Loretta
Published: October 2015

This article addresses the many challenges the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), the nation's oldest scientific laboratory, faces in maintaining its records. One of the most serious problems is the number of archival repositories which collect LBL records. The author discusses what the implications are for LBL and the archival profession in having institutional records alienated, and what safeguards are in place to protect the identification and integrity of federal records, but how those safeguards fall short of the objective in actual practice. Lastly, this article discusses one possible model for LBL to work with other archival repositories, as they build special collections which include federal records of post-World War II science.
Archival Oneness in the Midst of Diversity: A Personal Perspective
Authors: Wallot Jean-Pierre
Published: October 2015

Archival traditions and practices, together with each archivist's particular situation, not only vary greatly around the world, but within countries and types of institutions within those countries as well. These diverse traditions provide only a limited basis for shared identities between archivists, but they are ultimately linked by the common practice of each archivist of adapting universal archival principles to fit his or her institution's own circumstances. The International Council on Archives provides a forum to encourage international cooperation among archivists and opportunities for those in similar institutions and regions to strengthen their common identities and associations with each other, and to share their approaches to common issues and goals. Several factors account for the advancement of the ICA's goals and for the limitation of its achievements as well. Overall, however, underlying both the similar and diverse ways of dealing with archival issues is the role of archives to provide evidence of the cultural context of societies. The solutions to the challenges facing archivists today should not divide us along theoretical lines, but strive to enable all archivists to work together in fulfilling this cultural role.
Is There Room for Archives in the Postmodern World?
Authors: Heald Carolyn
Published: October 2015

This extended think-piece begins by exploring the late twentieth-century philosophical trend of postmodernism, and what its fragmented, decontextualized world-view means for archives. Such a position, as taken up by some historians, posits the absence of coherence, the death of grand historical narratives, and the supremacy of relativity. Consideration of the postmodern serves as a jumping-off point for an exploration of the nature of records, and the mission of the archival profession to furnish an understanding of the documentary evidence of past societies. The discussion leads full circle to situating archivists within their own (postmodern) society and explores how current trends in appraisal and description reflect present societal concerns. Ultimately, the article concludes that there is room for archives and archivists in the postmodern world, and that archivists, with their unique perspective on reading/deconstructing the documentary traces of society, are ideally suited to make sense of it.
The Importance of Construction Documents to Restoration Architects
Authors: Carey Alice
Published: October 2015

The needs of preservation architects for archival architectural records are opposite the needs of historians. While the historian may be more interested in earlier drafts and design concepts for a building, most important to the preservationist is not what might have been, but what actually is. While it is usually not possible to retain all the architectural records for a building, it is possible to distinguish the types of records most useful to preservation architects. The various documents related to a building's construction are reviewed for their value to preservation architects.
The Stanley Milgram Papers: A Case Study on Appraisal of and Access to Confidential Data Files
Authors: Kaplan Diane
Published: October 2015

Decisions regarding the appraisal of confidential records, as well as the establishment of access policies for researchers, are difficult questions that archives must occasionally confront. In such situations, it is necessary to balance the confidentiality and privacy rights of the subjects of the records with the needs of serious researchers. This case study describes one institution's attempt to appraise the confidential data files from a landmark experiment in social psychology. The article further considers ways to protect the privacy of the experiment's subjects while still making the information in the data files available for research.
Redefining the Role of College and University Archives in the Information Age
Authors: Brown William , Yakel Elizabeth
Published: October 2015

Academic administrators rely on archival records for a variety of administrative, legal, financial, and historical reasons. In fact, the primary mission of many college and university archives is to manage these non-current records. In an era of increasing fiscal constraint and limited resources, accurate analysis of the use of archival information by university administrators is crucial to the development of successful, responsive archival programs. The authors believe the administrative use of archival records is an understudied aspect of archival administration. This study examines the information environment on modern campuses, explores the evolving roles of traditional and emerging information sites, examines the information use patterns of academic administrators, and proposes methods for improved information service in the modern academic environment.
Contemporary Archival Appraisal Methods and Preservation Decision-Making
Authors: Walters Tyler
Published: October 2015

Archival administrators are beginning the search for administrative tools that rationalize difficult preservation priority decision-making processes. Some are suggesting that the new appraisal literature be evaluated for its application to preservation selection. This article reviews the literature covering archival appraisal's role in the process of selection for preservation in archives, and addresses recent efforts to create archival preservation assessment and selection tools. It also provides overviews of some modern appraisal models which are intended for collections and preservation archivists who are working with selection-for-preservation issues. The author suggests that archivists need to concern themselves less with implementing preservation selection tools. They must concentrate first on understanding the values that make archival records significant, and then rationalize their preservation selection decision-making processes. Then, and only then, should the decisions' hierarchy and flow be incorporated into a preservation assessment and selection tool that is adaptable to individual archival institutions, yet consistent enough to yield comparable data.
A Critical Analysis of Intrinsic Value
Authors: McRanor Shauna
Published: October 2015

Intrinsic value was established in the early 1980s as a criterion of appraisal to identify those documents to be retained in their original form. Although perpetuated as an "objective" concept and a new appraisal standard for a particular class of documents, it becomes apparent through critical analysis that its application ascribes value to documents in much the same way as any other value in the traditional "taxonomy." What follows is an evaluation of the definition of intrinsic value, the criteria by which it is to be assigned, and its invocation in the appraisal process.
"Some Things We Have Learned...": Managing Advertising Archives for Business and Non-Business Users
Authors: Gartrell Ellen
Published: October 2015

This essay reviews the experiences of Duke University's Special Collections Library in building major collections of advertising agency and trade organization archives. Duke has acquired extensive records of several still-existing agencies and organizations and has agreed contractually to service the collections for the records creators' business needs as well as to make large parts of the collections available for academic and general users. The author describes the agreements made with donors, the experiences of an out-of-house repository trying to build the collections, the management of a fee-based information service for business users, and outreach to the scholarly community. The efforts at Duke have been extremely successful, but not without pitfalls and opportunities to "learn the hard way".
Archival Brinkmanship: Downsizing, Outsourcing, and the Records of Corporate America
Authors: Fogerty James
Published: October 2015

Mergers, restructurings, and consolidations have always been part of American business. There has never been a time since the rise of the modern corporation when companies have not bought other companies, restructured their operations, entered new businesses, and consolidated, sold, or spun off operations. In addition to these realities, the terms downsizing and outsourcing—and all that they portend for employees—have become bywords as business—and not only business—seeks to wring more productivity from the workforce. These trends have inevitably affected corporate records. Archives and records management units have been closed and records destroyed or transferred to warehouses, while the rate of establishment and growth of in-house corporate archives has diminished greatly. If one believes that the records of business are an integral part of American history, and that the place of corporations in that history needs to be documented and accessible, then the fate of those business records and the archives themselves is a matter of some importance. This essay explores the progression of events in the past twenty years, and reviews both the expected and the unexpected results that downsizing and outsourcing have actually produced for archives.
State Archives in 1997: Diverse Conditions, Common Directions
Authors: Walch Victoria
Published: October 2015

In the nearly one hundred years since the first state archives was established, all states have designated a repository for their archival records and most have instituted records management. Organizational structures, resources, and programs vary greatly, but state archivists and records administrators have developed common principles and share innovations through organizations that enhance their ability to cooperate and communicate, particularly the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Priorities and challenges facing these programs include asserting archival concerns as information-related policies and regulations evolve, developing programs for managing and preserving electronic records, and using information technologies to improve access to records.
Information Technology, Records, and State Archives
Authors: Turnbaugh Roy
Published: October 2015

This article discusses the impact of information technology on state archival programs. It argues that the context in which these programs function is critical to understanding and directing them, maintains that the World Wide Web confers enormous benefit on state archives with little expense, finds the direction of current electronic records theory unsatisfactory, and proposes using information technology to succeed and even prosper in an era of anti-government sentiment.
Crossing Boundaries: Intergovernmental Records Cooperation, 1987-1997
Authors: Allen Marie
Published: October 2015

In the Information Age, traditional organizational and geographical barriers are falling. While overlapping jurisdictions and historical accidents occasionally led to the scattering and fragmentation of documentation in the past, modern federalism has accelerated and systematized problems with decentralization and fragmentation of government records in the United States. During the past decade, federal, state, and local government archivists and records managers have worked together on pilot projects to address problems with historic and modern records fragmentation. These projects offer new approaches and experiences in the documentation of intergovernmental records and the development of a national perspective on the management of government records in the twenty-first century.
The South Carolina Archives: A Decade of Change and Program Development
Authors: Tryon Roy
Published: October 2015

This article traces the development of the archival program at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) since the mid-1980s. Like most other state archives, the SCDAH has had to deal with some major organizational and resource changes in the past decade. Among the topics and issues addressed are: the impact of increasing state fiscal constraints, strategic planning and Total Quality Management, information technology and electronic records, federal grants, and the opportunities for statewide archival involvement through the State Historical Records Advisory Board. The article concludes with consideration of the prospects for further and potentially far-reaching changes in the program relating to the construction of the South Carolina History Center which is scheduled to open in the spring of 1998.
Encoded Archival Description: The Development of an Encoding Standard for Archival Finding Aids
Authors: Pitti Daniel
Published: October 2015

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is nearing completion and formal release as a standard. EAD attempts to overcome obstacles to intellectual access for geographically distributed primary resources by providing a standard encoding structure for archival finding aids. EAD is the most recent in a line of similar efforts to address universal intellectual access to such data, and like its predecessors, EAD applies emerging technology to the problem. The technology underlying EAD is Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). This article reviews the background of EAD and the contributions of archivists in both large and small repositories to its development.
Encoded Archival Description: A Structural Overview
Authors: Ruth Janice
Published: October 2015

Encoded Archival Description (EAD), the SGML Document Type Definition (DTD) for archival finding aids, has been under development for more than three years. Although it has been significantly improved during that time by feedback from early implementers and by new insights from its developers, much of EAD's basic structure dates from the design team's first meeting in July 1995 at the Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During that week-long gathering, the EAD design team articulated its observations about traditional archival finding aids, established design goals and principles, and created the framework for the current version 1.0 DTD structure. This article examines the basic steps in building an SGML DTD and provides a structural analysis of EAD's high-level elements in light of the developers' early design goals and decisions.
Implementing Encoded Archival Description: An Overview of Administrative and Technical Considerations
Authors: Fox Michael
Published: October 2015

The implementation of Encoded Archival Description involves the same programmatic and administrative concerns encountered when undertaking any new initiative. To be successful, EAD must fit within the institution's budget, priorities, and strategic vision; benefits must be carefully weighed against costs. Administrators need to understand the implications of initial and ongoing staff costs, outsourcing possibilities, the role of consortial initiatives, training requirements, workflow management, hardware and software requirements and costs, and technical support needs as they select from among several options for creating and publishing EAD-encoded finding aids.
Developing a Cooperative Intra-institutional Approach to EAD Implementation: The Harvard/Radcliffe Digital Finding Aids Project
Authors: Morris Leslie
Published: October 2015

The Harvard/Radcliffe Digital Finding Aids Project (DFAP) was established in 1995 to explore options for making finding aids available remotely over the Internet. This paper reports on why SGML/EAD became the delivery medium of choice; the process of selection of SGML authoring software; the ongoing development of cross-Harvard standards and guidelines for application of EAD; plans for cross-repository indexing and development of a search engine; and implementation challenges faced by the eight Harvard/Radcliffe repositories participating in the project. Also discussed are the development of an EAD template for future Houghton Library finding aids and problems with retrospective conversion of existing finding aids.
EAD and the Small Repository
Authors: Dow Elizabeth
Published: October 2015

Impressed by the potential EAD offers for intellectual access to manuscript collections via publication of their finding aids on the World Wide Web, the University of Vermont Libraries supported Special Collections in accumulating the tools and knowledge needed to convert printed inventories to Web-publishable documents. Staffed by one faculty member and two undergraduate students, all on a part-time basis, and with support from the library's systems staff, the EAD Project published its first inventory in March 1997. The project raised many questions, such as what constitutes accurate and appropriate use of EAD markup, what are the differences between publishing on paper and publishing the same information electronically, how to handle vocabulary control, and what is the most appropriate technology for electronic access to a variety of finding aid formats.
Doing What's Possible with What We've Got: Using the World Wide Web to Integrate Archival Functions
Authors: Piché Jean-Stéphen
Published: October 2015

This article explores one way of presenting archival information using the World Wide Web. It shows how different kinds of archival descriptive information resting in electronic formats in various legacy systems can be integrated and presented in a single view/window using flexible, simple information technology tools. It also presents to archivists the advantages of accessing integrated archival information on more than one archival function to enhance the archivist's conceptual knowledge of the record and records creators.
CSS Alabama Digital Collection: A Special Collections Digitization Project
Authors: Watson Andrea , Graham P.
Published: October 2015

In today's high-tech information environment, archivists and special collections librarians can use technology to enable the informational contents of rare and unique materials to transcend their physical boundaries. To explore this possibility, a team in the William Stanley Hoole Special Collections Library at the University of Alabama sought to create access via the Internet to a small set of the Hoole Library's materials relevant to the famous Confederate raider, the CSS Alabama. The creation of the CSS Alabama Digital Collection served as a learning experience for the staff in the digital imaging of a wide variety of special collections materials and resulted in an electronic learning resource for students of all ages. To date, the website has logged over three thousand hits and has evoked highly positive responses from users, proving that the World Wide Web is an effective access medium for special collections materials.
Information Resource Management in the Electronic Workplace: A Personal Perspective on "Archives in the Information Society"
Authors: Kesner Richard
Published: October 2015

This article examines the general direction of information resource management (IRM) and computer technology applications as they influence the workplace. The author briefly explores the environmental characteristics of this new setting, including the influence of the World Wide Web, changes in information network design, and the emergence and widespread use of dynamically created, distributed, and employed information resources. He establishes this frame of reference to assess the implications of these changes for the roles and responsibilities of the archivist, and then considers the skills required on the part of the archivist to service the IRM needs of the highly automated organization and its constituency of so-called "knowledge workers."
Preservation Re-Recording of Audio Recordings in Archives: Problems, Priorities, Technologies, and Recommendations
Authors: Paton Christopher
Published: October 2015

This article offers a context for examining archival audio holdings, determining preservation needs and priorities, and planning audio re-recording (reformatting) projects. It addresses such issues as identification of the most vulnerable recording types, the meaning of "preservation re-recording," and the skills, equipment, and personnel that are necessary for working with older recordings. The information provided is drawn in part from the experiences of archivists at Georgia State University during an in-house archival audio re-recording project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Developing a Strategy for Managing Electronic Records—The Findings of the Indiana University Electronic Records Project
Authors: Bantin Philip
Published: October 2015

From June 1995 through December 1997, staff from the Indiana University Archives and University Information Technology Services undertook and completed an electronic records project partially funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, designed to implement and test the "Functional Requirements for Evidence in Recordkeeping" model developed at the University of Pittsburgh. In this article, the findings of the IU project are reviewed in the context of several questions project personnel addressed during the project, including 1) Does the Pitt model ask the right questions? 2) What set of activities are required to use and implement the model? 3) What are the costs associated with implementing the model? and 4) What types of skills are required to apply the methodology.
Schellenberg in Cyberspace
Authors: Henry Linda
Published: October 2015

In the last few years, advocates of the ideas of David Bearman have written that archivists need a "new paradigm" for electronic records. The new ideas would change or overturn traditional archival theory and practice, as represented by T.R. Schellenberg and the first writers about electronic records. This article discusses several of the new ideas and the differences between traditional archival writers and those who support a new paradigm for electronic records.
"Commendatory Letters": An Archival Reading of the Venerable Bede
Authors: O'Toole James
Published: October 2015

This essay explores the role of writing, records, and documents as depicted in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, a landmark of western historiography completed by the Venerable Bede in the year 731. Bede's purpose was to narrate the early history of Christianity in Britain, but he also made numerous references to writing and the role of documents in human affairs. Because he was preparing his history at a time when writing itself was a relatively unusual phenomenon, Bede offers a singular view of such larger questions as the uses of literacy and documentation, the shifting dynamics among different forms of communication, and the larger cultural meanings in records beyond the information they contain. A study of these forces at work in Bede's time gives contemporary archivists a perspective on the revolutionary changes in the technology and the uses of records in our own age.
Diplomatics: Modern Archival Method or Medieval Artifact
Authors: Storch Susan
Published: October 2015

This case study applies the principles of General Diplomatics and the analysis of Special Diplomatics to modern documents at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Special Collections and University Archives and the University of Massachusetts Archives. The information obtained from the application of diplomatics was then compared to information gleaned from administrative sources, such as procedural manuals, to determine if diplomatics revealed sufficient new information about the files to justify such a detailed analysis of records. This case study revealed that the use of Special Diplomatics is not justified, but that the principles of General Diplomatics could be very useful to the modern archivist.
Abstractions of Justice: The Library of Congress's Great Manuscripts Robbery, 1896-1897
Authors: Purcell Aaron
Published: October 2015

In the fall of 1897, the Library of Congress opened the Thomas Jefferson Building and left behind an unfortunate chapter in its history. During the spring of that year two employees were brought to trial and lightly punished for stealing rare materials from the Library, then located in the United States Capitol. Fred Shelley's 1948 American Archivist article discusses this incident, but is incomplete in both content and sources. This essay fully describes the events surrounding the Library of Congress's first major recorded theft of materials and reviews the present status of security at the Library. In the process, this article also discusses general security concerns for modern libraries and archives.
The Impact of Grantsmaking: An Evaluation of Archival and Records Management Programs at the Local Level
Authors: Weinberg David
Published: October 2015

This study examines the effectiveness of local government programs created or revitalized with funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. With the multitude of local government archival and records management programs throughout the United States, this assessment is undertaken to help evaluate why some programs survive and thrive, while others wither and cease functioning. By examining evidence of program activity, this study reports on the number of local government programs that make a contribution to their governments (warranting ongoing general fund appropriations) and those that do not and whose programs end when grant monies expire. This study concludes by suggesting how local government archives and records administrators can leverage support from their governments and alternatives for federal funding agencies to appropriate funds that will deliver the greatest impact to local governments nationwide.
Insights from the Outside: The NHPRC Records Program at Twenty-Five
Authors: McCarthy Paul
Published: October 2015

The three articles on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission by Frank Burke, Richard Cameron, and Ann Newhall present different views of the history and activities of the NHPRC. Taken together, however, they provide a detailed look at the history of the Commission's records program and the challenges and opportunities it faces in the new millennium. Much has been achieved with relatively little funding in the past twenty-five years, and this is attributable to the talents and energies of the key players during this time. This record of accomplishment should give the archival profession hope that greater things can be achieved in the next quarter century and beyond.
The Beginnings of the NHPRC Records Program
Authors: Burke Frank
Published: October 2015

In 1974, federal legislation enlarged the scope and function of the National Historical Publications Commission (NHPC) by providing authority for the Commission to support archival projects in public and private institutions. The first six years of the newly formed National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) were devoted to the development of state structures to assist in the program's implementation, and national priorities that could address questions of documentary preservation and enhanced researcher use. The debates within the Commission and among archivists nationwide during the startup period centered on three questions: how much appropriated funding would be provided to the Commission for grants?; what role should the states play in shaping and implementing the program?; and what priorities should be established in order to advance the solution to national research needs? The staff, the Commission members, the Archivist of the United States, the state archivists, and the professional archival organizations all became important contributors to the initiation of the first national effort to improve archival processes and the condition of documentary resources in the United States.
We Are What We Collect, We Collect What We Are: Archives and the Construction of Identity
Authors: Kaplan Elisabeth
Published: October 2015

This essay considers the role of archives and archivists against a backdrop of the contemporary debate on identity, illustrated by research on the establishment and early years of the oldest extant ethnic historical society in the United States—the American Jewish Historical Society—and the construction of American/Jewish identities. Recent intellectual debate has examined questions of national, ethnic, gender, class, and community identities, of individual and group identity, and of the formation of identity. A spectrum of positions has emerged from this debate. On one end, identity is viewed as "real," intrinsic to individuals and communities or even biologically based. On the other, identity is conceived of as social fiction, constructed culturally for political and historical reasons. On the whole, serious scholars have rejected the former view. Archivists should be cognizant of this fact because they are major players in the business of identity politics, whether they are conscious of it or not. Archivists appraise, collect, and preserve the props with which notions of identity are built. In turn, notions of identity are confirmed and justified as historical documents validate their authority.
Official Publications at Texas A&M University: A Case Study in Cataloging Archival Material
Authors: Russell Beth , Hutchison Robin
Published: October 2015

Institutional reorganization and staffing changes at Texas A&M University's Gushing Library, which houses the university's archives, made necessary the cataloging of a substantial number of publications produced by different university agencies and departments, publications which had previously been largely inaccessible. The authors designed and implemented a plan to catalog thousands of pamphlets, reports, newsletters, conference proceedings and other material; a project that resulted in increased exposure and usage. This article outlines the development and ongoing refinement of the project. Undertaken in a cooperative spirit aimed at creating an integrated catalog of information resources, this project illustrates ways in which local practices can be improved through the use of technology.
Collaborative Research Models: A Review of Australian Initiatives
Authors: McKemmish Sue
Published: October 2015

In recent years the Australian recordkeeping community has been involved in a range of research and development projects. Much of the research undertaken has been collaborative, with academic and industry partners, researchers, and practitioners pooling their expertise and experience to address a research agenda which largely grew out of the professional challenges associated with managing electronic records in networked environments. The nurturing of collaborative research and development initiatives has been a key strategy of the record-keeping community in its efforts to develop policies, standards, systems, and tools for electronic recordkeeping. Increasingly, this collaborative research is becoming more international and multidisciplinary in nature. This article reviews a number of these recent Australian collaborative research initiatives and explores their links to recordkeeping education programs.
Archival Research: A "New" Issue for Graduate Education
Authors: Gilliland-Swetland Anne
Published: October 2015

To date, debate over graduate archival education has centered on the need for, and the nature of, the professional knowledge base to be imparted through master's education. A new emphasis on the acquisition of research skills and the conduct of research within graduate archival education at the master's and doctoral levels significantly extends this debate. Drawing on the experiences of the Archives and Preservation Management specialization at UCLA, this paper discusses issues associated with integrating research requirements and opportunities at master's and doctoral levels in graduate archival education. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for increased pluralism in archival education.
The Society of American Archivists and Graduate Archival Education: A Sneak Preview of Future Directions
Authors: Duranti Luciana
Published: October 2015

The Society of American Archivists' approach to graduate archival education has changed in recent years. Guidelines for education have evolved to the point where the 1994 guidelines endorse master's programs in archival education. The SAA Strategic Plan offers strong support for graduate archival education and research, including archival education at the doctoral level. The 1994 guidelines will now be revised in light of the changes in graduate programs and archival work since they were written.
Voices From Vietnam: Building a Collection from a Controversial War
Authors: Stevens Michael
Published: October 2015

The Voices from Vietnam Project at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin resulted in the creation of a substantial body of Vietnam War-era materials. The society acquired 137 collections from the state's Vietnam veterans as a result of a book publishing project. The article discusses obstacles in acquiring Vietnam War collections and ways of overcoming them. Issues include the relationships between donors and staff, the emotional value of the originals, and the importance of the media in project promotion. By providing potential donors with tangible evidence of how researchers use archival materials, the book project demonstrated to donors that their own writings were a part of history.
Testing Our Truths: Delineating the Parameters of the Authentic Archival Electronic Record
Authors: Gilliland-Swetland Anne
Published: October 2015

Based on the work of the first phase of the International Research on Permanent Authentic Electronic Record Project (InterPARES 1), this paper argues that emerging considerations specific to electronic records necessitate that the archival community delineate mechanisms for establishing, maintaining, and certifying the authenticity of preserved and reference copies of electronic records. The paper reviews how the InterPARES 1 Project identified such mechanisms through the conduct of a series of case studies of electronic information and record-keeping systems. The paper places a discussion of the case study data collection, analysis, and outcomes in the context of the quest and rationale for effective methods and a research design that would allow InterPARES researchers to discern the parameters of the electronic record and what supports a presumption of its authenticity.
Colophons and Annotations: New Directions for the Finding Aid
Authors: Light Michelle , Hyry Tom
Published: October 2015

The authors argue that finding aids present only singular perspectives of the collections they describe and fail to represent the impact of archivists' work on records and subsequentreinterpretations of collections by archivists and researchers. The authors place these criticisms within the burgeoning postmodern discourse in archival studies and make two concrete suggestions for finding aids that would allow practicing archivists to acknowledge the inherent subjectivity of archival work and to incorporate multiple perspectives into the description of records.
Off the Wall and into a Drawer: Managing a Research Collection of Political Posters
Authors: Tschabrun Susan
Published: October 2015

Scholars exploit an ever-expanding corpus of evidence in their research, including materials that have fallen traditionally outside the purview of most repositories' collecting policies. This article examines political posters as an example of this useful but undercollected class of materials, from the vantage point of their research value and the challenges they pose to institutions that collect them. Such challenges include the nontraditional production and distribution modes that make acquisition of political posters difficult; the lack of consensus on cataloging methods; the preservation problems arising from the political poster's function to communicate quickly but ephemerally in public spaces; and the technical and copy-right issues associated with digitization. Solutions are proposed in each of these areas in an effort to identify best practices and enable institutions to assist scholars with adequate collections to meet the needs of evolving research agendas.
Title Company v. County Recorder: A Case Study in Open Records Litigation, 1874-1918
Authors: Cox Dwayne
Published: October 2015

The common-law tradition inherited by the United States restricted access to public records to those with a direct and tangible interest in the information, such as parties to a lawsuit. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, state appellate courts ruled in a series of cases that revolutionized legal thought on this subject. By the end of World War I, these tribunals increasingly assumed that citizenship itself provided sufficient justification for access to public records. Abstractors and insurers of real estate titles, whose interests were commercial, led the assault upon the common-law tradition that had imposed the more restrictive standard. Suits initiated by those concerned with the misuse of public funds and honest elections played a relatively small role in bringing about this change. The story of this landmark litigation between title abstract companies and local government officials again demonstrates that custody of public records carries with it risks and responsibilities all too familiar to modern archivists.
Diaries, On-line Diaries, and the Future Loss to Archives; or, Blogs and the Blogging Bloggers Who Blog Them
Authors: O'Sullivan Catherine
Published: October 2015

This paper examines the archival potential of blogs, a popular form of electronic record in which personal accounts and commentaries are entered regularly in an on-line journal. A historical survey of the diary—the blog's paper-based antecedent—suggests how the two records are alike and where they diverge, taking into account their evidential values, their seemingly contradictory public and private qualities, and their very diverse physical natures. The paper discusses the role that traditional archives should play in preserving blogs, while considering the implications that their loss would have for our cultural memory, and offering some suggestions for ensuring their preservation.
Picking Our Text: Archival Description, Authenticity, and the Archivist as Editor
Authors: MacNeil Heather
Published: October 2015

A number of recent archival initiatives have asserted a relationship between archival description and authenticity. This article establishes a preliminary foundation for understanding the nature of that relationship by reviewing the literature relating to archival description and authenticity, comparing the authenticating function of archival description with that of textual criticism, and identifying three lines of research inquiry that present themselves in light of that comparison.
Public Memory Meets Archival Memory: The Interpretation of Williamsburg's Secretary's Office
Authors: Cox Richard
Published: October 2015

One of the restored buildings in the Colonial Williamsburg historic site is the Secretary's Office, built in 1747-48, the oldest public records structure in the English-speaking colonies. Probably few archivists and other records professionals know that the antecedents of their profession are well represented in such a popular tourist attraction. This essay considers three lessons for archivists in their quest for greater public understanding and support, drawing on how this old public records structure has been interpreted. First, the essay suggests that the story of the Secretary's Office is not well known by archivists and those interested in the history of efforts to preserve our documentary heritage. Second, the essay recounts the story of the failure by America's premier and pioneering historic site to interpret fully the legacy of the public records office. Finally, the essay indicates that the lack of interpretation represents a lost opportunity to promote public understanding of what records represent, why archives are important, and the work of archivists.
The Forbidden Files: Creation and Use of Surveillance Files Against the Independence Movement in Puerto Rico
Authors: Blanco-Rivera Joel
Published: October 2015

The discovery in 1987 that the Puerto Rican police had maintained thousands of secret files on alleged subversives opened up a dark part of the history of the island. After a brief review of the political status of Puerto Rico under rule by the United States, this article discusses the secret surveillance files, their creation and maintenance, and what happened to the files after they were discovered. It also considers some of the archival issues involved in the proper management of these very sensitive and political records.
Digital Preservation Education: Educating or Networking?
Authors: Duff Wendy , Marshall Amy , Limkilde Carrie , van Ballegooie Marlene
Published: October 2015

Digital preservation training, especially continuing education, is now recognized as an essential component of an archivist's education. This paper reports on a research project that evaluated the effectiveness of continuing education experiences for increasing participants' skills in digital preservation and their ability to implement these skills in their repositories. The research project studied the impact of four workshops and five seminars in an international setting sponsored by the Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network (ERPANET). The study findings indicate that the participants viewed the training events as successful, but that very few participants were able to implement the skills once they returned to their work environments. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of these kinds of training events and looks carefully at how they can be realistically measured.
Political Democracy and Archival Development in the Management of Presidential Records in the Republic of Korea
Authors: Lee Kyong
Published: October 2015

This article reviews the modern history of presidential records management in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Each of the different phases of archival development in presidential records management was triggered by democratic developments in the country's political system, which illustrates the close relationship between political structure and public archives in modern Korea. To examine this relationship, this study investigates the history of presidential records in Korea during three eras: the era of the absence of public records under authoritarian regimes (1948-1993), the era of the establishment of the basic principle for managing presidential records under two civilian administrations (1993-2003), and the era of new prospects for public archives under a new government (2003-present). This historical approach emphasizes that democratic entities are necessary to set up and manage an archival system for presidential records and to ensure public access to these records.
Embracing the Power of Archives
Authors: Jimerson Randall
Published: October 2015

In my dream I am entering a temple. Its ornate facCade and tall spires give me hope. I will find enlightenment here. I push open the massive door and enter. The door clangs shut behind me. I am in a dimly lit room with high windows that prevent the sunlight from reaching me. Despite the heat outside it is cool here. A security guard approaches. The temple has become a prison.

The guard tells me to surrender my pens and put my briefcase in a locker. I sit at a table. Guards and security cameras watch me constantly to prevent escape or theft. I realize that I am hungry. A young woman hands me a menu. The prison is now a restaurant.

"What do you want?" the waitress asks. The menu she hands me does not list food items, only the names of food creators—General Mills, Vlasic Foods International, Kraft Foods, Hormel. "May I suggest something local?" She pulls down a menu for Touch of the Bayou, Inc. It lists a series of categories, including the Bayou Magic brand. "Bring me some Bayou Magic, please," I politely request.

Soon a cart arrives laden with several boxes. My food must be inside. I open one box at a time—correspondence, reports, financial ledgers. In the last box are recipes. Gumbo. Crawfish étouffé. Jambalaya.

The waitress recommends Gumbo. She brings me a box filled with okra, cayenne peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other primary sources of nutrition. After all this, I still have to cook my own meal.
Using GIS to Manage Philadelphia's Archival Photographs
Authors: Boyer Deborah , Cheetham Robert , Johnson Mary
Published: October 2015

The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has captured photographs of city building projects and other government activities for more than 140 years. These photographs are now maintained in the City Archives by the Philadelphia Department of Records. Although many of the photographs were originally taken for risk management purposes, the passage of time has made them an invaluable source of reference into the city's rich past. To make these historic photographs more accessible to the general public, the Department of Records implemented the geographically searchable PhillyHistory.org website in 2005, thus providing new opportunities for education and access.
Valuing the American Archivist: An Interpretation of SAA's First Readership Survey
Authors: Fear Kathleen , Conway Paul
Published: October 2015

The American Archivist Editorial Board administered a Web-based survey to 6,000 Society of American Archivists members and affiliates. The survey was open for response for 45 days during April and May 2010. Respondents expressed overall satisfaction with the American Archivist. Print remains the publishing vehicle of choice. Reading the American Archivist varies in priority. Three major issues emerge from the data analysis. First is the apparent contradiction between generally high overall satisfaction with the American Archivist and significant variation in the perception of the value of its individual components. Second is whether the journal should focus primarily on matters of practice or on scholarly or theoretical explorations of archival principles. The third issue is the relationship of the print and online versions of the journal.
Archival Theory and Digital Historiography: Selection, Search, and Metadata as Archival Processes for Assessing Historical Contextualization
Authors: Sternfeld Joshua
Published: October 2015

Digital history, a field within the digital humanities, has challenged the disciplinary boundary that in recent decades has come to separate the work of historians and archivists. A new theory and methodology that draws from both disciplines can create a shared vocabulary for the production, use, and evaluation of digital historical representations, a broad term that encompasses an array of products such as archives, databases, geospatial visualizations, and mobile applications. This article argues that archival theory, when combined with historiography and technical or computational standards, contributes to a new theory called digital historiography. Digital historiography is defined as the interdisciplinary study of the interaction of digital technology with historical practice. Three archival processes—selection, search, and the application of metadata—form the theory's foundation for determining a digital historical representation's contextualization, which may aid in assessing its trustworthiness and effectiveness to communicate historical knowledge.