American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice
American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice
edited by Randall C. Jimerson
Society of American Archivists, 2000 eISBN: 978-1-931666-99-2
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Twenty-eight essays represent significant recent American writings on archives and the role of archivists in modern society. These articles provide important perspectives both on basic elements of archival practice and on fundamental principles in archival theory and methodology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface . . ..v
Introduction: American Archivists and the Search for Professional Identity Randall C. Jimerson . . . 1
Part One: Understanding Archives and Archivists
1 “Dear Mary Jane”: Some Reflections on Being an Archivist, John A. Fleckner . . . 21 2 To Remember and Forget: Archives, Memory, and Culture, Kenneth E. Foote . . . 29 3 The Symbolic Significance of Archives, James M. O’Toole . . .47 4 “Mind and Sight”: Visual Literacy and the Archivist, Elisabeth Kaplan and Jeffrey Mifflin . . . 73
Part Two: Archival History 5 Liberty, Equality, Posterity?: Some Archival Lessons: From the Case of the French Revolution, Judith M. Panitch . . 101 6 The Provenance of a Profession: The Permanence of the Public Archives and Historical Manuscripts Traditions in American Archival History, Luke J. Gilliland-Swetland . . . 123 7 The Blessings of Providence on an Association of Archivists, J. Frank Cook . . . 143
Part Three: Selection and Documentation 8 At the “rim of creative dissatisfaction”: Archivists and Acquisition Development, Timothy L. Ericson . . . 177 9 Who Controls the Past, Helen Willa Samuels . . . 193 10 The Documentation Strategy and Archival Appraisal Principles: A Different Perspective, Richard J. Cox . . . 211
Part Four: Appraisal 11 On the Idea of Uniqueness, James M. O’Toole . . . 245 12 Exploring the Black Box: The Appraisal of University Administrative Records, Frank Boles and Julia Marks Young . . . 279 13 “The Surest Proof”: A Utilitarian Approach to Appraisal, Mark Greene . . . 301
Part Five: Arrangement and Description 14 The Power of the Principle of Provenance, David A. Bearman and Richard H. Lytle . . . 345 15 Description and Reference in the Age of Automation, Avra Michelson . . . 361 16 Descriptive Practices for Electronic Records: Deciding What Is Essential and Imagining What Is Possible, Margaret Hedstrom . . . 381 17 Encoded Archival Description: The Development of an Encoding Standard for Archival Finding Aids, Daniel V. Pitti . . . 395
Part Six: Reference and Use of Archives 18 In the Eye of the Beholder: Archives Administration from the User’s Point of View, Elsie Freeman Finch . . .417 19 Facts and Frameworks: An Approach to Studying the Users of Archives, Paul Conway . . . 433 20 Understanding Administrative Use and Users in University Archives, Elizabeth Yakel and Laura L. Bost Hensey . 449
Part Seven: Preservation 21 On the Idea of Permanence, James M. O’Toole . . . 475 22 Archival Preservation Practice in a Nationwide Context, Paul Conway . . . 495 23 Preservation Re-Recording of Audio Recordings in Archives: Problems, Priorities, Technologies, and Recommendations, Christopher Ann Paton . . . 519
Part Eight: Electronic Records 24 Reinventing Archives for Electronic Records: Alternative Service Delivery Options, David A. Bearman and Margaret Hedstrom . . . 549 25 Schellenberg in Cyberspace, Linda J. Henry . . . 569 26 Digital Communications: Documentary Opportunities Not to Be Missed, Anne Gilliland-Swetland . . . 589
Part Nine: Management 27 Redefining Archival Identity: Meeting User Needs in the Information Society, Randall C. Jimerson . . . 607 28 Keepers, Users, and Funders: Building an Awareness of Archival Value, John J. Grabowski . . . 619
Contributors . . . 631 Index . . . 639
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