ARCHIVES CHECKLIST
A quick guide for local A.A.archivistsThe purpose of this checklist is to support the work
of local A.A. archivists and archives committees responsible
for collecting and maintaining archives. The checklist
applies to collections of various sizes and of various
formats (such as paper, electronic data or digital media)
ranging from generating local interest to maintaining
a large collection in trust for all A.A.s in the area.
These guidelines are not meant to be exhaustive but
rather to serve as a starting point for further exploration.
For more information on building and maintaining
local archives, refer to the Archives Workbook and
Archives Guidelines, which go into much greater
detail about the breadth of archives work.
What are archives?Createdbyindividualsororganizations,archivesare
collectionsofdocuments,papers,photographsand
othermaterialsthathavebeenselectedforpermanent
preservation.Theyareuniquerecordsassessedfortheir
enduringhistorical,informational,legal,evidential,fiscalor
administrativevalue.Theyneedtobecarefullystoredand
managed,whichiswhyitissoimportanttotakeproper
careofthem.
Ingeneral,archivalrepositoriessharethesame
fundamentalgoals:
»toensurethathistoricalrecordsareidentified,
collected,organized,preserved,andmadeavailable
foraccessandresearch;and
»toprovidecontextandinformationaboutan
institution’shistory.
Getting StartedAfirststepinbuildingarepositoryisevaluatingthe
materialsinthearchivesforrelevancetoyourMissionand
CollectionPolicy.ForasampleCollectionPolicytemplate,
pleasecontactG.S.O.Archives.Followingaresome
questionstoaddresswhenevaluatingyourmaterials:
WhatistheMissionandPurposeofthe
archivalrepository?
Doyoucollectmaterialsthatservethelocalarea,
districtorintergroup?
DoyouhaveaCollectionPolicy?
Whattypesofmaterialsdoyouconsiderimportant
forcollecting(minutes,books,audio/film
recordings,electronicdata,etc.)?
Doyouhaveapolicytoremoveordeaccession
materialsfromtherepository?
Arethereanymaterialsthatmaybemoresuitable
foranotherlocalA.A.archive?
Whatistheoverallbudgetforactivities
(preservation,exhibits,housing,etc.)?
Doesthearchivehaveplansforexpansionor
renovationintheforeseeablefuture?
Accession: Establishing Legal, Physical and Intellectual Control Effectiveoversightofmanagingarchivalcollections
requiressoundlegalandintellectualcontrols.Accessioning
istheprocessoftransferringlegalandphysicalownership
ofmaterialthroughadocumentedprocess,suchasa
DeedofGift.Tocompleteanaccession,anarchivemust
establishphysicalcustodyandlegallyassumephysical
andintellectualcontroloverthematerials. Intellectual
control simplyreferstothegatheringandrecording
ofcoreinformationaboutthematerials(cataloging
andinventorying).Itistheinitialstepofarrangingand
describingthematerialsyouhaveaccepted.Followingare
somequestionstoaddresswhenaccessioningmaterials:
Doesthearchivehaveaclearwayofdocumenting
thetransferofmaterial,forexample,aDeedofGift
agreement?
Howwillthearchivedocumentreceiptofthe
collection(e.g.,acknowledgementletter,
accessionlog)?
Howwillthearchivehandlematerialalreadyinthe
collectionthatlacksclearaccessioninformation?
DoyouhaveastatementintheDeedofGiftform
foracceptingelectronicdocumentsorexternal
storagedevices?
Didyourecordinformationaboutthenature
(variousformats)ofthecollection?
Arrangement and DescriptionInsimpleterms,arrangementanddescriptionreferto
organizingandlistingrecords.Archivalarrangementisthe
processoforganizingandmanagingthearchivalrecords.
Whenorganizingandarrangingtherecordsormaterials,
itisimportanttomaintainoriginalorderandestablish
provenance.Theprincipleofprovenanceprovidesthat
archivalmaterialsareretainedaccordingtotheircreator
orsource.Materialsfromdifferentsourcesshouldnotbe
intermingled,evenwhentheyshareacommonsubject.
Collectionsofmaterialsmaybearrangedindifferentways,
fromtheverysimpletothehighlycomplex,dependingon
thecollectionitself.
Archivaldescriptionistheprocessofcapturingorcollating
informationthatservestoidentifyandlocatethematerials,
particularlyforresearchaccess.Descriptionisoftena
complexprocessincorporatingstandardizedprograms,
toolsandsystems,forexample,findingaids,inventories,
listingsandothersystemsthatlistanddescribethe
collection.However,basicdescriptiveinformationabout
thecollectionoughttoberecordedutilizingadatabase
orprogramofyourchoosing.Somequestionstoaddress
whendescribingthecollectionare:
Doyouknowwhocreatedthematerials
orcollection,andwhy?
Whatisthedaterange?
Whatisthescopeofthecollection?
Whataretheformats(paper,electronic)?
Whatisthephysicalcondition?
Howisthecollectionarranged?
Whatisthevolumeorsize(cubicfeet,linearfeet,
numberofboxes)ofthecollection?
Whereisitlocatedinthearchives?
Arethereanyaccessrestrictions?
Thisisnotacomprehensivelist.Formoreinformation
aboutdescribingthecollectionorcreatingfindingaidsand
inventories,contacttheG.S.O.Archives.
Facilities, Equipment and SecurityExperienceshowsthatA.A.archivesaregenerallyhoused
ineitherarentedspaceorinaroomthatadjoinsacentral
office,intergrouporotherA.A.entity.
Regardlessoflocationorsize,itisimportantthataccess
beavailabletoallA.A.members.Itisalsovitallyimportant
toensurethatthecollectionsareadequatelysecured.
Followingaresomequestionstoaskyourselftoseeifyour
facilitymeetsminimalrequirementsforbuildingorroom
condition(internalandexternal)andappropriatesecurity
controls:
Isthebuildingorspacegenerallyingood
condition?
Ifthereisahistoryofproblemswiththespace(e.g.,
leaks,flooding,electrical),havetheseproblems
beenaddressed?
Isthereevidenceofrodents,insectsormold?
Doyouhaveadequatestorageshelvingunits?
(Materialsshouldnotbeplaceddirectlyonthefloor
ortooclosetoceilings.)
Doyouhaveanareaforresearchers?
Doyouhaveawrittendisasterplaninplace?
Areyouabletomaintainarelativelystable
temperatureandhumidity(below70degreesFand
between30and50percentrelativehumidityyear-
round)?
Isthereamechanismforproperaircirculation?
Howmuchlightexposuredothecollectionsreceive
(artificialornatural)?
Whohasaccesstoandwhatarethecurrent
proceduresforaccesstothecollections
byarchivescommitteemembers(paper
anddigital)?
Doesthebuilding/roomhavelocksandother
securitymeasuresinplace?
Arethereworkingfireandsmokealarms?
Aretherefireextinguishersontheproperty?
Security of Electronic RecordsInadditiontoworkingwithhardcopiesofmaterials,
digitalfilespresentauniquechallengeforanyarchivist.
Digitalfilesmayincludedocuments,photographs,film
andaudiorecordings.G.S.O.ArchiveshasGuidelineson
Digitizationthatcoverbasicconsiderationsinplanning
andmanagingdigitalcollections.Thefollowingchecklist
providesbasicquestionswhenassessingmaintenanceof
electroniccollections:
Whohasaccesstothesystemandforwhat
purposes?
Howoftenarepasswordschanged?
Istherearecordofalterationstoanyrecord?
Arethereresourcesinplaceforlong-term
maintenanceandcareofelectronicrecords?
Aretheelectronicrecordsinfileformatsthatare
easilyexportable?
Doyouhaveanymediathatareexpectedto
becomeobsoleteinthenearfuture?
Aretherecordsbackeduponaregularbasisand
ondurablemedia?
Isthereaplaninplaceforsuddenpowerfailuresor
networkconnectivityloss?
Isthereaninventoryofallelectronichardwareand
softwaresystems?
Preservation and StorageArchivistsemploytechniquestoprolongtheusefullife
ofarchivalmaterialsbyimprovingthephysicalstorage
environment.Preservationactionsincludereplacing
acidicstoragematerialswithmaterialsconstructedof
archivalquality(e.g.,bufferedoracid-freeenvelopes,
foldersandboxes),whichhelpstabilizeandprotectthe
historicalmaterialsfromdeterioration.Ifasituationarises
whereadocumentorartifactmustbetreatedchemically,
seekprofessionaladvicefromatrainedconservator.
Itisimperativetorememberthefirstruleofarchival
work:Do no harm.Besurethateveryactiondoneis
reversible.Correcthandlingofarchivalmaterialswillalso
aidinpreservingthem.Preservationisexpensiveand
timeconsuming,anditisnotalwayspossibletoachieve
optimalenvironmentalcontrols;thus,prioritiesmustbe
set.Ingeneral,identifymaterialsthathavelong-term
significancetothecollection(i.e.,itemsofenduringvalue)
orthatrequireimmediatecare.Formoreinformationon
preservingandhandlingarchivalmaterials,refertothe
ArchivesPreservationGuidelines.Thefollowingchecklist
doesnotfullyaddresspreservationandstorageneeds,but
itisahandystart:
Whattypesofobjectsareinthecollection?
Rarebooks
Scrapbooks
Oversizebooks
Historicalreferencebooks
Diaries
Documents
Photographs/negatives
Framedobjects
Newspapers
Artwork
Audio/visual
Other
Aredocumentsstoredinlimitedquantitiesin
archival-qualityfoldersorboxes?
Aredamagingfasteners(e.g.,rubberbands,metal
paperclips,binders)beingused?Where?
Arefoldeddocumentsfiledorboxed?Cantheybe
unfoldedwithoutdamage?
Whatisthegeneralconditionofthecollection?
Identifymaterialsthatarehighpriorityfor
stabilizing.Lookforthefollowing:
Waterstains
Mold
Soilandsurfacedirt
Aciddamage(e.g.,embrittlement,
deterioration,yellowing)
Lightdamage(e.g.,fading,discoloration)
Evidenceofpoorhandling(e.g.,tornormissing
pages,damagedbookspines)
Otherdamage
Arethematerialswellsupported?Arethematerials
overcrowdedontheshelves;areboxesoverfilled?
Areoversizematerialsstoredflatorenclosedin
neutralorbufferedtubes?
Areprintsandnegativesprotectedfromlightand
environmentalextremes?Aretheyindividually
enclosedinarchival-qualityenclosures?
Arenewsclippingsphotocopiedontopermanent
paper?Iforiginalclippingsareretained,arethey
storedinbufferedenclosures?
Doesthecollectionincludeanyfilmonanitratebase?
Whatisthegeneralconditionoffilmoraudio
materials?Isthereevidenceofvinegarsyndrome
(vinegarsmell),deterioration,orevidenceofsticking?
Howfrequentlyisthiscollectiontobeused?
Reference Services, Access Practices and OutreachAsstatedintheintroduction,archivistsidentifyand
preserverecordsofenduringvalue,but,mostimportantly,
theymakethemavailableforuse.Oneoftherolesan
archivistplaysinthiseffortisassistingpeopleintheir
researchandhelpingtoanswertheirquestions.Since
thematerialsthatarebeingreferencedareuniqueand
typicallyunpublishedhistoricalrecords,itisvitalthatyou
createsoundpoliciesthatgovernhowtheycanbeused.
ItisequallyimportantandhighlysuggestedthatallA.A.
archivistsandarchivescommitteesdevelopprocedures
andpoliciesthatstatethenecessityforprotectingthe
confidentialityofcorrespondenceandtheanonymityof
thecorrespondents.ResearchersworkingintheG.S.O.
ArchivesareaskedtoadherestrictlytotheAnonymity
Tradition—amongotherthings,tolistonlythefirst
namesandlast-nameinitialsofallA.A.members,livingor
deceased.Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyouprepare
andframepoliciesandproceduresthatgovernuseof
archivalcollections:
Haveyoudevelopedanaccesspolicy?
Doesyourpolicyincludeinformationabouthours
ofoperation,procedureprocess,regulationsfor
usingthearchives,andinformationregarding
copying?
Doesyourpolicyincludeaclearstatement
stipulatingtheresearcher’sresponsibilityto
determinecopyrightholderandtoobtainclearance
topublishcopyrightmaterials?
Doyouhaveacomfortable,workingenvironment
foronsiteresearchers?Isthespaceinfullviewofan
archivescommitteememberorsupervisingstaff?
Whoisresponsibleforoverseeingtheuseofthe
historicalrecords?
Doyoukeeparecordofthedocumentsaccessed
bytheresearcher?
Whatactivitiesdoyouengageintohighlightthe
activitiesofthearchivescommitteework?(Exhibits,
presentations,openhouse,publications,filmnight
andotherexamplesaccumulatedfromshared
experiencearelistedintheArchivesWorkbook.)
Arefacsimilesorduplicatesexhibitedwhenever
possible?
Dotheactivitiessupportandenhancethemission
ofyourarchives?
Thesection“ToolsandSuggestedActivitiesForArchives
Committees”intheArchivesWorkbookisagoodresource
foractivitiesthatwillhelpyougetthewordoutabout
yourarchive.
More Questions? For answers to any specific questions, and lists of additional resources, feel free to contact the G.S.O. Archives [email protected] (212) 870-3400. Other valuable information is available on G.S.O.’s A.A. website at aa.org.
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