Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections

by Kate Theimer (Editor)

Overview

Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections explores how archivists and special collections librarians in organizations of different sizes and types have approached the challenges of collection, as well as exploring opportunities to acquire new kinds of materials and conduct thoughtful reappraisal.

The case studies featured are

1. “No Fame Required”: Collaboration, Community, and the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project
2. Placed Out: Providing a Home for the Records of the Children’s Aid Society and the Orphan Trains
3. “I Really Can’t Wait to Archive this Exchange”: Exploring Processing as Appraisal in the Tim Kaine Email Project
4. Hardware for SoftPoems: Appraisal and Acquisition of Vintage Computer Equipment
5. From Projects to Policy: The Evolution of a Systematic Reappraisal Program
6. Terabytes from Far-Off Lands: Acquiring Records of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program
7. So Much to Do, So Little Time: Prioritizing To Acquire Significant University Records
8. The Studio Theatre Archives: Staging an Embedded Appraisal
9. Making the Bulb Want to Change: Implementing an Active Electronic Records Appraisal and Acquisition Program
10. Weaving the Web of Influence: Maximizing Archival Appraisal and Acquisition through the Use of “Spider Advocates”
11. Reappraisal and Deaccessioning: Building for the Future by Removing Some of the Past
12. Tap into History: The Birth of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives

These case studies show a range of strategies and processes, but all were selected because they demonstrate ideas that could be transferred into many other settings. They can serve as models, sources of inspiration, or starting points for new discussions.

This volume will be useful to those working in archives and special collections as well as other cultural heritage organizations, and provides ideas ranging from those that require long-term planning and coordination to ones that could be more quickly implemented. The chapters also provide students and educators in archives, library, and public history graduate programs a resource for understanding the varieties of issues related to appraisal and acquisition and how they can be addressed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442238541
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/16/2015
Series:	Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Kate Theimer is the author of the popular blog ArchivesNext and a frequent writer, speaker and commentator on issues related to the future of archives. She is the editor of the Rowman & Littlefield series, Innovative Practices for Archives & Special Collections, in which volumes on management, description, outreach, and reference and access were published in 2014. She is also the author of Web 2.0 Tools and Strategies for Archives and Local History Collections and the editor of A Different Kind of Web: New Connections between Archives and Our Users, as well having contributed chapters to Many Happy Returns: Advocacy for Archives and Archivists, The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping, and the Encyclopedia of Archival Science. She has published articles in the American Archivist and the Journal of Digital Humanities.

Kate served on the Council of the Society of American Archivists from 2010 to 2013. Before starting her career as an independent writer and editor, she worked in the policy division of the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. She holds an MSI with a specialization in archives and records management from the University of Michigan and an MA in art history from the University of Maryland.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. “No Fame Required”: Collaboration, Community, and the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project Morna Gerrard, Georgia State University 2. Placed Out: Providing a Home for the Records of the Children’s Aid Society and the Orphan Trains Maurita Baldock, New-York Historical Society 3. “I Really Can’t Wait to Archive this Exchange”: Exploring Processing as Appraisal in the Tim Kaine Email Project Benjamin S. Bromley, Roger Christman, and Susan Gray Eakin Page, Library of Virginia 4. Hardware for SoftPoems: Appraisal and Acquisition of Vintage Computer Equipment Will Hansen and Matthew Farrell, Duke University 5. From Projects to Policy: The Evolution of a Systematic Reappraisal Program Tina Lloyd, Library and Archives Canada 6. Terabytes from Far-Off Lands: Acquiring Records of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Jane Gorjevsky and Dina Sokolova, Columbia University 7. So Much to Do, So Little Time: Prioritizing To Acquire Significant University Records Laura Uglean Jackson, University of Wyoming 8. The Studio Theatre Archives: Staging an Embedded Appraisal Leahkim A. Gannett, Vincent J. Novara, Kelly J. Smith, and Mary Crauderueff, University of Maryland 9. Making the Bulb Want to Change: Implementing an Active Electronic Records Appraisal and Acquisition Program Brad Houston, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 10. Weaving the Web of Influence: Maximizing Archival Appraisal and Acquisition through the Use of “Spider Advocates” Shelley Sweeney, University of Manitoba 11. Reappraisal and Deaccessioning: Building for the Future by Removing Some of the Past James Gerencser, Dickinson College 12. Tap into History: The Birth of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives Tiah Edmunson-Morton, Oregon State University About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Acquisition and appraisal are part of the art of being an archivist; a combination of theory and practice enhanced by intuition and a knowledge of human relationships. Kate Theimer’s volume offers the reader an opportunity to explore the technical complexity and creativity involved in the archival practice of determining what documentation and records will be preserved for the future.

Tanya Zanish-Belcher

This set of fresh and relevant case studies does more than highlight the authors' successes and challenges. They also provide significant insights into decision making and adapting to changing conditions. This collection is a timely resource for archivists, students, and archival educators.

Aaron Purcell

Collectively these notes from the field both reaffirm and challenge the way archivists think about appraisal. Practitioners will want to read about what colleagues are really doing. Theoreticians who read the book will sometimes have some explaining to do. The book is an important read for every thoughtful archivist.

Frank Boles

Anyone who works in archival appraisal and acquisition will benefit from reading the cases documented in this book. Theimer’s selections demonstrate how theories of appraisal and acquisition can be applied in real-world situations, within the practical constraints that archivists face in their daily jobs. Graduate students in library and public history programs would also benefit from a careful reading of this book, which illustrates the uniqueness and complexity of every archival appraisal and acquisition decision. As with Theimer’s other works and writings on archives, this volume addresses cutting-edge issues while offering practical advice.

Technical Services Quarterly

The consideration...of the value to the institution is valid and instructive and adds much to the piece as a whole. Indeed, this approach is both sympathetic and informed and adds much to the volume (and indeed series) as a whole.. . .Altogether, this is a very useful volume.

Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association

The consideration...of the value to the institution is valid and instructive and adds much to the piece as a whole. Indeed, this approach is both sympathetic and informed and adds much to the volume (and indeed series) as a whole. . . .Altogether, this is a very useful volume.

Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association