INFO 6800 (Winter 2013) Week Six: Archival Appraisal

INFO 6800 - Archives

• Announcements• Archival appraisal• Seminar presentations• Appraisal exercises (Killam 2616)

February 11, 2013 1INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1994-11-16/

Archival Appraisal

February 11, 2013 2INFO 6800 Archives – Week SixDiscards at the Dalhousie University Archives

?Resource Allocation

Archival Appraisal

What is the purpose of appraisal?

Identify records to be accessioned

Reduce backlog

Meet mandateComprehensive

but compact

Appraisal Theory

Practice

Methods

Theory

Schellenberg’s Primary Values

February 4, 2013 5INFO 6800 Archives – Week Five

Primary ValueDerived from

original use for creator

Administrative value Fiscal value

Legal value Operational value

What are the primary values?

What are the secondary values?

Schellenberg’s Secondary Values

February 4, 2013 6INFO 6800 Archives – Week Five

Secondary Value

Primary concern for archivists

Evidential Informational

Uniqueness Form ImportanceWhat is informational value?

Appraisal Methods

Practice

Methods

TheoryResource Allocation

Appraisal Methods

Macro-Appraisal Black Box Archival

Sampling

Minnesota Method

Documentation Strategy

More Product Less Process

What should archivists consider

when making appraisal decisions?

Societal values (provides basis)

How records are created

Organizational structure Functions and

Activities

Macro-Appraisal

Societal Values

Archives and the Internet

Societal Values

Ethnographic Archives

Macro-Appraisal

“While no one can objectively know or state with complete assurance what the elements of societal value(s) are or have been within any given generation, archivists can develop appraisal strategies and methodologies that are most likely to provide a comprehensive documentary memory of what has transpired in society over time.”

Functional Analysis

A technique that sets priorities for appraising and processing materials based on the relative importance of the functions performed in an organization

Archivist uses knowledge gained by functional analysis to make appraisal decisions

Cook’s Appraisal Questions

• What are the mandated functions and activities?

• How important are these functions and activities?

• How important are these functions and activities within the broader context of Canadian society?

• What aspects or features need to be documented if a function or activity has importance?

• What constitutes sufficient documentation from an archival perspective?

• Where in government is the Office of Primary Interest for a particular function or activity?

• Is the Office of Primary Interest the location of the best archival record which documents the function or activity?

Appraisal Methods

Sampling

Minnesota Method

“Challenged by the abundance of materials, the scarcity of the resources to care for them, and the decentralized nature of contemporary society and its records, archivists must develop new intellectual frameworks to guide them.”

Helen Samuels

Resource Allocation

What are the components of a documentation

strategy?

Choosing and defining topics

Structure and conduct inquirySelecting the

advisors and site Select and place documentation

How can archivists choose and define

documentation strategies?

Define chronological boundaries

Think of posterityTopical and

geographic scope Understanding today’s values

How should archivists

approach the chosen topic?

Consider what documentation doesn’t exist

Detailed investigationDesign analytical

process Collaborate with other archivists

Participatory Archiving

“The “power to represent” has been wielded by information institutions throughout history, and the manifestations of this power have helped to build societal definitions of culture.”

Shilton and Srinivasan

“…memory institutions have ignored experiences outside of the history of the powerful, creating collecting gaps… archives have appropriated the histories of marginalized communities, creating archives about rather than of the communities…”

Shilton and Srinivasan

“Archival collections may have roots in one institution, but their limbs reach out and touch others. A common soil and water source enriches and binds collections together. Archivists should offer the future not individual trees, but a forest.”

Samuels

Resource Allocation

Appraisal Methods

Sampling

Minnesota Method

• The process of selecting items from a collection to stand for the collection as a whole

• Sampling techniques• Probability or statistical sampling• Purposive or judgmental sampling

February 11, 2013 INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six

Archival Sampling

Appraisal Methods

Sampling

Minnesota Method

32February 11, 2013 INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six

• A strategy for appraising materials that combines aspects of collection analysis, documentation strategy, macro-appraisal, and functional analysis

• Developed at Minnesota Historical Society by Mark Greene and Todd Daniels-Howells

Minnesota Method

Economy

Manufacturing

Agriculture

Healthcare

Transportation

Minnesota Method - Sectors

Agriculture Sector

Industry Leader

Top 25

Minnesota Method - Categories

February 11, 2013 INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six 35

Minnesota Method – Documentation Levels

Do Not Collect

Level D

Level C

Level B

Level A

February 11, 2013 INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six 36

Minnesota Method

Select Records

Assign Documentation

Assign Category

Assign Sector

What are the problems with

Minnesota Method?

Extremely time-consuming

Difficult to assess

Focused on categorization Does not address

item-level issues

Minnesota Method

Appraisal Methods

Sampling

Minnesota Method

• Concept originally outlined for archival processing

• MPLP maintains that traditional processing is not efficient use of staff resources

• Collections should receive minimal processing to help eliminate backlog

More Product, Less Process

How does processing relate to

appraisal?

Appraisal helps create or

eliminate backlog

Many archivists appraise during

processingMany archivists do not appraise before

acquisition

Requires Acceptance

Collections are too large

Don’t waste time on junk

Requires Planning

Shifts Locations Appraisal at home/office

Makes Compromises

Balance resources

What are the problems with

No framework exists

Not clearly defined

Difficult to measure

effectiveness

Appraisal Methods

Sampling

Minnesota Method

Appraisal as a Black Box

“Archivists mix together a variety of values and record characteristics and pull from the box a determination of the records’ value”

Boles and Young

Value of Information

Circumstances of creation and

analysis of content

Storage and core functions

Cost of Information

Implications of Recommendation

Politics and precedent

• The components and elements are not of equal value

• The relative weight is based on institutional policies

• Modules, components, and elements are dynamic and interactive

What are the problems with the Black Box method?

Does not always reflect archivists’

judgments

Universal policies are badInherently

flawed! Universal appraisal is not possible

• Many archivists still have insufficient training and guidance

• Electronic records challenge core appraisal principles• Difficult to determine values• Different methods of creation and

use• Appraisal can still be a mystery! February 11, 2013 INFO 6800 Archives – Week Six

Archival Appraisal Today

Sources (in order of appearance)

Adams, Scott (1995). Dilbert comic. http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1994-11-16/.

Writings of Sir Hilary Jenkinson cover image. http://thesocietyofqualifiedarchivists.blogspot.ca/2005_02_08_archive.html.

Modern Archives cover image. http://www.archivalmediaconsulting.com/blog/rise-and-consequences-of-the-digital-information-age.

Karson, Ted Roger (2009). Moon image. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedsla/3422530873/sizes/o/.

Occupy Wall Street image. http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/31/25-best-occupy-photos-of-2011-2/.

Assange/Zuckerburg image. http://occupymedfordoregon.org/photo/occupy-the-world/#axzz2IHpaFI5w.

Sources (in order of appearance)

Drone image. http://mashable.com/2012/12/11/student-tweets-drone-strikes/.

Idle no More image. http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/05/idle-no-more-protest-blocks-canada-us-border-traffic.

Black box image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box.

Photographs of Dalhousie University Archives and the Killam Library were taken by Dalhousie Libraries staff

INFO 6800 (Winter 2013) Week Six: Archival Appraisal

Education

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