The Ins and Outs of Business Archives
Businesses should have archives and archival records to document the company’s history, become more efficient, and provide legal protection.
Government Archives; Democracy in Action
Archivists bring order to government archives, which reflect democracy in action, allowing citizens access to records that affect their daily lives.
Building Archives Program Support
If the connection between the archives department and institutional success is clear, the organization will generally support an archives program.
Archival Filing, Retrieval, and Management
Improving an organization’s ability to access its information is one of the key contributions information professionals make.
Electronic Records and Traditional Archival Values
Electronic archival records allow for presentation and retrieval of information in ways that have not been possible in an analog world.
Records as Evidence and Information Containers
Archival records are both evidence and information containers; organize them by transaction, but facilitate access for their informational value.
Preserving the Usability of Digital Records
Archival digital records have 3 levels of usability that build on each other; as an organization matures archivists can aim to achieve higher levels.
Digitization and Digital Preservation in Heritage Organizations
Any heritage organization considering a digitization project must also create digital preservation strategies for their newly digitized materials.
Archival Responsibilities
Archivists use many techniques to manage, control, and use their information assets, working to gather, process, store, access, use, share, preserve.
Privacy Concerns in Archival Records
Archivists balance legal mandates, ethical concerns, and accessibility, enabling as much access as is responsible, given information within records.
Legal Records in Archives
Legal history and the valuable information legal archives hold are critical for research; making these materials available requires forethought, labor.
Records Recovery for Vital Records
Archivists must prepare for records emergencies so they can respond with damage assessment and records recovery services to protect vital records.
Protecting Vital Records from Disaster
Historically, vital records were preserved as microforms stored remotely. Digital vital records and disaster management are now center stage.
Sampling Case Records
Archivists have several appraisal options to consider when reviewing case files; this post offers an overview and pros and cons of these options.
Handling Case Files in the Archives
Determining what to do with case files—balancing legal and ethical obligations against research values—involves thoughtful consideration by archivists
Considerations Used to Appraise Archival Records
Archivists account for all aspects of a records’ value, and balance it against the cost of arranging, describing, preserving, and making it accessible
Change and Continuity with Analog and Digital Records
The basic principles of archives and records management need to be adapted to the current information environment, including technology
Managing Electronic Records in Archives
Preserving archival electronic records requires identifying, classifying, and storing them, as well as coordinating internal and external access.
How Electronic Records and Physical Records Differ
Archivists contribute their expertise to managing a broad range of records that need to be preserved.
Archival Description and Cataloging
Researchers and archivists use the catalog to locate a particular collection or find everything an institution has on a topic; the catalog serves as a portal.
Providing Access to Archival Collections
Archival finding aids are the primary access tool for archivists, providing the most information about a collection.
Strategies for Archival Advocacy
Archivists must continually advocate for and promote themselves, their institutions, and their missions to the larger world; tips, best practices
Creating Reports in Collections Management Systems
An archival CMS that offers canned and custom reports on the fly enables archivists to advocate for themselves, their resources, and their collections.
Why Archivists Should Collect Metrics
Metrics tell the story of archival collections. A robust archival collections management system can be used to gather powerful statistics.
Archival Usage Metrics: Needs and Challenges
Collecting archival usage statistics helps archivists show the value of the collections—and sometimes even their positions—to decision-makers.
