To some people, understanding what archives are and what the people who work in them do isn’t widely understood. To help clarify some misconceptions about archives and archivists let’s discuss the things people may think archives are. A common misconception about archives is that archives are a place where old things are stored. If I were to assign a point value to this idea on a scale from one to ten, I would say that this only scores one point, meaning that they only account for one thing of what an archive is responsible for maintaining.
There are several main practices and principles that archivists follow daily. These include deciding which collections to accept into the archives and managing those records using a record inventory system. Archivists protect records from deterioration by placing them in folders and boxes that extend their lifespan. They organize materials into coherent collections and create indexes for researchers. Most importantly, they provide access and reference services to researchers, much like librarians do.
Archivists advocate for and promote their archives to their communities, both in person and online. This is all underpinned by adherence to a code of ethics and responsibilities that protects their patrons, the donors, and the materials in the collections. This is key to ensuring that archives are visible in their community and can provide opportunities for future funding and collaborations.
The primary goal an archive intends to accomplish is to provide continued access to historical documents, pictures, or other materials that form collections. These items can come from a variety of sources including an organization, an individual, or the very institution the archives live in. To accomplish this goal, archivists participate in a series of important activities and responsibilities to preserve and provide continued access to these historic records to their customers or patrons.
Archives are service-based and exist not just to store materials they exist so that people can access the collections within them. Archives serve a variety of different customers. These researchers can be genealogists, historians, students, or lawyers. The various types of researchers are reflected in the diverse records that archives preserve. Archives maintain papers, photographs, artwork, and other forms of media, including older formats such as VHS. Additionally, archives preserve and provide access to a wide range of audio media formats.
While providing research assistance to patrons archivists must make the policies of how to handle archival materials and reading rooms they are accessed in are clear. Archival material is often stolen and these kinds of documents are rare and irreplaceable. Archivists will show their researchers where they may store their bags and backpacks before handling the archive's unique documents. They will also show researchers what photography equipment is allowed in the archives. This should be used as a way to introduce new users to archives and it can be done professionally and helpfully.
The many kinds of preservation techniques an archivist must know require years of training and experience. Many archivists take courses in workshops or pursue a higher education degree to learn the skills necessary to manage an institution’s archives. The university-level training and coursework for students in the US involves learning a set of descriptive standards, and procedures and adhering to a philosophy that teaches archivists to respect the creator of the collections they manage and treat the patrons they serve equally regardless of their background or education level.
The first part of this process involves accepting collections that align with the mission or goal of the archives. Archives like their counterpart libraries must be conscious of the space they have available to store their collections. After the archivist examines the significance of presented historical materials that align with their institution's goals, they then will begin the process of establishing ownership of the collection by creating the necessary paperwork that establishes ownership and permanent custody of the documents.
This is done all while ensuring that the donor’s privacy is protected, and the archivist is sure to comply with any issues with copyright by making that clear to the researcher who will use the collection in the future. As the steward of the collections archivists also have the responsibility to determine if any photographs and documents in a collection belonging to another institution and then return them to the rightful owner. This is a part of the archivist’s ethical and legal responsibility.
The archivist also tries to control not only the new collections intellectually through establishing ownership, but the archivist is also concerned with controlling the physical environment where archival materials live. The temperature and relative humidity are constantly monitored to ensure that conditions that are hospitable to mold are not found in the archives. This ensures that the collections will be available for generations. When a new collection arrives in the archives, an inventory of the collection should happen in the beginning so the archivist can develop a plan to preserve the collection.
The recording of the details of the items including the amount of letters or photographs they contain and their condition. The archivist then will create a record of inventory also called an accession record to mark when the documents were received. This will also help the archivist figure out how many supplies they will need to preserve the collection. This step also called processing, this is when the archivist moves these photographs into acid-free, and PVC-free sleeves to preserve them.
If there are any documents in the collection the archivist will unfold and flatten these papers ensuring that they are free of mold and pests like insects. They will also placed in acid-free folders. These papers and folders are then housed or placed in acid-free boxes to protect them further from light and physical damage. If papers were not placed in these boxes and just in hanging files like in an office, the files could be damaged from the storage container or the archives may not have enough space to accommodate those kinds of shelves.
An important concept archivists are careful to follow is called respect-des-fonds. This term means that the archivist will respect the original creator of the collection. Archivists are careful not to take letters and photographs from one collection and place them with similar materials just because they have a similar topic. Another important practice archivists follow is if the archivist receives a collection that is already in a certain order the archivist will maintain that order as the creator intended this is a concept called original order.
The archivist’s responsibility also includes not only organizing and preserving the collections in their care, they must provide useful descriptions of these collections to their patrons. These descriptions are called finding aids they serve as an index to the collection. For example, an individual may donate letters from their ancestor to the archives. Upon receipt of these letters, the archivist realizes that they document the life of an African American U.S. Army Soldier in WWII during the campaign in North Africa. The information above should all be included in the finding aid.
When reading a finding aid, users should be able to learn the key information the collection has. The collection should have a title that explains who was responsible for creating it. The researcher should be able to learn where the collection is held, what archives are in charge of maintaining it, how many boxes are in the collection, and how large the collection is. They should be able to learn what years the collections span, and the types of materials in the collection. Lastly, researchers should be able to learn who can use the collection and if any of the materials in the collection are copyrighted.
As mentioned before the archivist is a service-oriented information professional. The finding aid serves as an index to assist researchers learn about what an archival collection holds. The reference service or the front-facing portion of an archivist’s work is to assist patrons with finding the information they are searching for. This is similar to how a librarian assists their patrons. If a patron visits an archives and finds only some of the things they are searching for, the archivist will help them find other archives that can lend the patron further assistance.
Archivists maintain a strong community that frequently holds conventions to discuss the current state of shared beliefs and ways to enhance the services they provide in physical archives, as well as innovations in the management of digital collections. Advocating for archives is crucial for how archivists can inform the community about the materials in their collections and communicate their needs to their parent organization to further their mission. This process can involve assessing or reviewing their collections to identify which items require conservation or repair to ensure they are usable again by researchers.
An archivist can collaborate with other organizations to help develop programs to reach the community and develop unique partnerships and programming to educate the community about the special collections they preserve and provide access to. This can be a way to advertise but also as a way to engage with the community to see how they are meeting the needs of the community they serve.
These are the seven key practices archivists do in their daily work. They select collections for acceptance, manage records with an inventory system, and protect items from deterioration by using appropriate storage. They organize materials into coherent collections, create indexes for researchers, and provide access and reference services similar to librarians. Additionally, they promote their archives to the community both in person and online, all guided by a code of ethics that protects patrons, donors, and materials.
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