Managing Local Government Archives

by John H. Slate, Kaye Lanning Minchew

Overview

Here is a comprehensive, authoritative introduction to the elements of day-to-day operations of local government archives, with special emphasis on best practices and practical solutions and strategies for establishing and improving such things as storage, environmental control, staffing, and intellectual control. It includes a chapter on general consideration for preservation of electronic archival records.

Local government records are the records that most directly touch the lives of U. S. residents: deeds and property records, marriage licenses, school transcripts, law suits, and more, yet these records are often the most neglected records in the country. This guide is designed to appeal both to trained archivists as well as to those without formal training but find they are dealing with the administration of an archives program in a municipality, county, parish, township or borough, or a quasi-governmental entity such as a water district or a regional transportation authority.

Managing Local Government Archives describes and prescribes the essential elements and best practices of a local government archives program. It is intended to be both a text for classroom instruction and a self-help tool for both professional and paraprofessional archivists. It is also intended to be helpful to local governments considering the planning and implementation of a formal archives program. Coverage encompasses the various domains of archival enterprise as practiced in a local government setting:

• acquisition,
• appraisal,
• arrangement and description,
• preservation,
• access,
• relationship to the records management profession, and
• other topics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442263956
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/08/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Kaye Lanning Minchew served as Executive Director of the Troup County Historical Society in LaGrange, GA from 1985 until 2015. She oversaw operations of the Troup County Archives and Legacy Museum on Main. The University of Georgia press published her book, A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia in May, 2016. She is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and has degrees from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Chapel Hill.

John H. Slate, CA is city archivist for the City of Dallas, where he has been responsible for historic city government records in the Dallas Municipal Archives since 2000. He is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and possesses a BS from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, specializing in archival enterprise, from the same institution.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

1 A Short History of Local Government and Local Government Archives in the United States 1

2 Types of Local Government Archives 17

3 Local Government Archives and Records Management Programs 27

4 Establishing and Planning Local Government Archives Programs 43

5 Physical Considerations 53

6 Intellectual Considerations 77

7 Electronic Records in Local Government Archives 93

8 Local Government Archives Reference 105

9 Outreach and Exhibits 123

Appendix 1 Sample Legislative Document to Establish an Archives 141

Appendix 2 Sample Forms Common to Local Government Archives 149

Bibliography 155

Index 159

About the Authors 165

Editorial Reviews

Local government archival records document the histories of communities, their institutions, and their people. We need more strong archival programs to identify, organize, preserve, and make available these invaluable materials. In this book, two veteran local government archivists provide sage advice on how to organize and administer a successful archival program, secure needed support from the local government, and foster use of the archival records.

Bruce W. Dearstyne

The authors have successfully written a book that provides local government archives with a clear and easy-to-follow roadmap by explaining how and why these records need to be protected. The book also includes important topics such as caring for electronic records, outreach, and exhibits.... [T]he book is well-written and informative.... Managing Local Government Archives succeeds in giving readers a better understanding of the how and why local government records need to be preserved. The book could also be useful to smaller institutions as a basic how-to guide for working with archival collections.

NEA Newsletter

This is a book that has been needed for a long time and, according to the authors, is the first devoted to local government archives (hereafter LGA) management. The authors each have over 30 years of experience with local government archives and historical societies, and the book has been 10 years in the making. The result is a lean and carefully constructed book with much helpful information…. This book will be an excellent starting place for the people on the front lines and perhaps also for those who are considering a career in LGA management…. The authors have created a useful tool for a very large segment of the archival community, and they are to be commended.

Archival Issues

[The authors] have produced a publication that serves as a practical guide for almost anyone anywhere who has been tasked with the setting up and management of a local archives service…. This book is excellent at offering practical if succinct advice…. As a whole, this short book’s focus is clearly on public archives and records of local government. Its authors have produced an excellent overall guide which should assist anyone, wherever they are based, who has been placed in charge of such a service. The book is especially a useful first tool for those with little or no previous archival experience or training.

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

Local-government archives document life where we live it. Officials and custodians new to managing these essential records will find here a quick guide to best practice distilled from the authors’ six-plus decades of experience. Candid tips, examples from local-government archives around the country, a unique historical description of different record-keeping traditions that shape local-government archives, and sources for deeper study are blended together in this up-to-date introduction.

David B. Gracy II

Local-government archives document life where we live it. Officials and custodians new to managing these essential records will find here a quick guide to best practice distilled from the authors’ six-plus decades of experience. Candid tips, examples from local-government archives around the country, a unique historical description of different record-keeping traditions that shape local-government archives, and sources for deeper study are blended together in this up-to-date introduction.

David B. Gracy