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.
Selection Criteria for Digitization
Archives are making more materials available online, in large part due to the pandemic; this means investing in broader digitization efforts.
Using Archival Standards to Make Data Exportable
As archivists select a suitable CMS for their organizations, they should look for systems with standards that allow archivists to export data.
Archival Data Standards: A Short History
Adherence to archival data standards is crucial for archival institutions to quickly respond to innovative technologies and user demands; learn why.
Data Standards in Archival Collections Management Systems
Access to archival collections is challenging but a successfully implemented CMS makes discovery easier with internationally recognized data standards
Description of Electronic Records
Electronic records have unique characteristics; their description will change over time, impacting traditional methods used for analog materials
Communication and Collaboration Through CMS Email Integration
Email integration within an archival collections management system allows for a better user experience and greater efficiency for archives staff.
CMS Email Integration and Request Management
When a CMS integrates with email requests, archivists benefit from knowledge management, database creation, analytics, and customer support.