Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts

Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts

Author: Cheryl Oestreicher

Publisher:

Published: 2023-03-31

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780838939635

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Access and reference services are central to engaging with historical resources. As more people encounter archives for scholarly and avocational research, as part of creative pursuits, or to exercise their rights as citizens to access records, the possibilities for how collections are used will continue to evolve. Archivists need to be familiar with who their users are, understand why they're using archival collections, and engage in outreach so that they can provide excellent reference services. Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts outlines the various components of: providing physical, intellectual, and virtual access, acquiring reference knowledge and skills, navigating legal regulations and ethics, and designing use policies and effective outreach. Cheryl Oestreicher contextualizes how all of these components fit within other archival functions and offers strategies and detailed practices for creating comprehensive reference programs that archivists can adapt for any type of institution. Both new and experienced archivists will find Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts a solid foundation on which to add their own ideas for how to bring people into the archives as well as bring archives to the people. Readers are encouraged to examine these concepts and practices in conversation with others and to consider how archivists can continue to advance reference and access.


Archives

Archives

Author: Laura Millar

Publisher: Facet Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1856046737

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Whether an institution has a collections orientation or whether it is primarily responsible for managing institutional archives in conjunction with an organizational records management programme, those responsible for its archives and records management need specialist advice and practical guidance in the successful establishment and operation of an archival facility built on sound principles. This authoritative handbook, written by an archival professional with over 25 years' experience, offers just that. Addressing the contextual, strategic and operational issues associated with archives, the text covers everything the archivist needs to know: establishing principles, policies and procedures; managing day-to-day operations; caring for different types of archival materials; enhancing outreach and public access; and ensuring the growth and sustainability of the institution and its services. The key chapters are: What are archives? Archival institutions: creatures of history and culture Archival service: a matter of trust Protecting archives Provenance, original order and respect des fonds Appraising and acquiring archives Arranging and describing archives Making archives available The challenge of digital archives. The final section of the book offers a glossary of terms and a wide range of specialist information including comprehensive lists of recommended further reading, national institutions, professional bodies and other sources of advice. Readership: This book is essential reading for anyone involved in managing archives. Its straightforward and approachable language ensures that fundamental principles and practices are outlined clearly for novice archivists and non-specialists; experienced professionals will also find the work of immense value in validating or updating their understanding of archival operations. The issues addressed are relevant to archival practice internationally, particularly in English-speaking countries, and concepts in place in different parts of the world are examined in order to provide a global context.


What are Archives?

What are Archives?

Author: Dr Louise Craven

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2012-10-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1409485846

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This collection of essays breaks new ground in archival studies in the UK where professional archival texts have traditionally concentrated on the how, not the why, of archival work. Studies of the theoretical role of, for example, the archive and the text or the archive and political power, have meanwhile been undertaken in other academic disciplines where there is an established forum for the discussion of related issues. This book invites the archivist to join that arena of debate, whilst appealing to all those interested in archives from other disciplines; the authors encourage archivists to step away from the practicalities of keeping archives to consider what it is they actually do in the cultural context of the early 21st century. The wider context of technological innovation and the internet form the backdrop to this collection. The book explores change and continuity in the archival paradigm, the textual nature of archives and asks if views of manuscripts and personal papers are changing; it looks at specific developments in community archives, at concepts of identity and culture in archives and it presents the fruits of innovative studies of users of archives. Taken together, these essays, written by leading experts in the field, provide a new understanding of the role of the archive today.


The Story Behind the Book

The Story Behind the Book

Author: Laura Millar

Publisher: Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780973872743

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In this practical, informative, entertaining book, Laura Millar, a prominent Canadian archival consultant, inspires everyone involved in writing and publishing to value their paper and digital records and to preserve them for posterity. Millar explains what archives are, how they work, and why they matter. She presents clear explanations and step-by-step instructions on how to archive work, and she shares engaging examples of the lengths to which archives will go to acquire literary documents. Millar argues persuasively and charmingly that the ultimate value of archives lies not in the information they contain but in the sense of identity we create by preserving them, as well as in the knowledge and wisdom we gain from using them. The reader need only open this book and begin reading to agree with Millar that "there are no limits to the value of historical records."


Manuscripts and Archives

Manuscripts and Archives

Author: Alessandro Bausi

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-02-19

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 3110541572

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Archives are considered to be collections of administrative, legal, commercial and other records or the actual place where they are located. They have become ubiquitous in the modern world, but emerged not much later than the invention of writing. Following Foucault, who first used the word archive in a metaphorical sense as "the general system of the formation and transformation of statements" in his "Archaeology of Knowledge" (1969), postmodern theorists have tried to exploit the potential of this concept and initiated the "archival turn". In recent years, however, archives have attracted the attention of anthropologists and historians of different denominations regarding them as historical objects and "grounding" them again in real institutions. The papers in this volume explore the complex topic of the archive in a historical, systematic and comparative context and view it in the broader context of manuscript cultures by addressing questions like how, by whom and for which purpose were archival records produced, and if they differ from literary manuscripts regarding materials, formats, and producers (scribes).


Archives and Human Rights

Archives and Human Rights

Author: Jens Boel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-02-09

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0429620144

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Why and how can records serve as evidence of human rights violations, in particular crimes against humanity, and help the fight against impunity? Archives and Human Rights shows the close relationship between archives and human rights and discusses the emergence, at the international level, of the principles of the right to truth, justice and reparation. Through a historical overview and topical case studies from different regions of the world the book discusses how records can concretely support these principles. The current examples also demonstrate how the perception of the role of the archivist has undergone a metamorphosis in recent decades, towards the idea that archivists can and must play an active role in defending basic human rights, first and foremost by enabling access to documentation on human rights violations. Confronting painful memories of the past is a way to make the ghosts disappear and begin building a brighter, more serene future. The establishment of international justice mechanisms and the creation of truth commissions are important elements of this process. The healing begins with the acknowledgment that painful chapters are essential parts of history; archives then play a crucial role by providing evidence. This book is both a tool and an inspiration to use archives in defence of human rights. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/ISBN, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.


Rogue Archives

Rogue Archives

Author: Abigail De Kosnik

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 0262544741

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An examination of how nonprofessional archivists, especially media fans, practice cultural preservation on the Internet and how “digital cultural memory” differs radically from print-era archiving. The task of archiving was once entrusted only to museums, libraries, and other institutions that acted as repositories of culture in material form. But with the rise of digital networked media, a multitude of self-designated archivists—fans, pirates, hackers—have become practitioners of cultural preservation on the Internet. These nonprofessional archivists have democratized cultural memory, building freely accessible online archives of whatever content they consider suitable for digital preservation. In Rogue Archives, Abigail De Kosnik examines the practice of archiving in the transition from print to digital media, looking in particular at Internet fan fiction archives. De Kosnik explains that media users today regard all of mass culture as an archive, from which they can redeploy content for their own creations. Hence, “remix culture” and fan fiction are core genres of digital cultural production. De Kosnik explores, among other things, the anticanonical archiving styles of Internet preservationists; the volunteer labor of online archiving; how fan archives serve women and queer users as cultural resources; archivists' efforts to attract racially and sexually diverse content; and how digital archives adhere to the logics of performance more than the logics of print. She also considers the similarities and differences among free culture, free software, and fan communities, and uses digital humanities tools to quantify and visualize the size, user base, and rate of growth of several online fan archives.


The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping

The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping

Author: Jennie Hill

Publisher: Facet Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1856046664

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The way in which we view the nature of archives and the role of the archivist has changed significantly in the last few decades. With increasing interest from outside of the profession, the idea of archives as the static, impartial carriers of truth and the archivist as a guardian of records has been questioned: how can society take greater control over its own written memory? There have been a number of other changes which have impacted upon the way archivists conceive of themselves and the way in which they work. Chief among these are the rapid rise of technology and the challenges this poses, and the changing place of archives within related fields, such as records and information management. It is imperative that archivists engage with these challenges if archives are to emerge as a renewed force in the 21st century. This much-needed book is designed not as a practical guide to professional practice, but rather as a reader addressing these challenges. The chapters are contributed by leaders in the field, and are grouped around the following four core themes: defining archives shaping a discipline Archives 2.0: archives in society archives in the information age: is there still a role for the archivist? Each chapter represents a defined argument in its own right to enable readers to dip in and out of the collection as they wish, and the book is structured to highlight chapters that share a common theme. Readership: Archivists and students of archive administration.