Digital Archives & The American College of Surgeons

Lucidea
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. The College Archives, located in the headquarters building in Chicago, collects and preserves inactive College records of enduring value and makes them available for research to its members and to the general public.
The processed and cataloged records contain roughly 400 linear feet of material—chiefly paper records—along with photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and College publications.
The Archives formerly maintained its collection descriptions and accession records in several in-house databases used only by Archives staff. Recently, the director of the ACS charged the Archives with providing easy online access to the descriptions, enriched by linked digital objects. After taking a close look at all available archival content management systems, they chose Eloquent Archives as the one most closely matching their needs. The new Archives Catalog was ready in time for the annual Clinical Congress of Surgeons.
Researchers are enthusiastic about the ability to access not only collection descriptions, but also many of the actual photos, videos, publications, and sound recordings described in the Catalog. Planned enhancements to the ACS Archives Catalog include:
- improved subject access
- exposing the content to Internet search engines such as Google, thereby expanding the user base
- ongoing addition of digital objects for an enriched user experience
You can explore the rich holdings of the ACS Archives by searching their database.

Lucidea
Similar Posts
Using an Archival CMS to Link Online and Offline Experiences
As archivists innovate via online publishing and digital techniques, visitors enjoy, understand, and appreciate both digital and physical collections.
Engaging Online Audiences with Records of Enduring Value
As digital archives collections become more common, archival institutions must think carefully about how best to engage virtual audiences
Raising the Visibility of Archival Collections
An archival CMS allows institutions to enhance visibility and serve communities with online content, promoting value and importance of digital assets
The Essential Nature of Archival Records
Archivists select, preserve, make accessible the materials within their authority. Archival records’ essential nature is for knowledge and research.