Historical and biographical work is becoming a more common type of qualitative research done by social scientists and usually requires the extensive use of formal archives housed in universities, governments, museums and other institutions. This practical and concise book provides an introduction for the novice on conducting archival research and covers such topics as contacting and preparing to work in archives, the protocol of using archives, and ways of organizing and referencing the useful data from the archive.

Archival research of any magnitude can be daunting. With this in mind, Alexis E. Ramsey, Wendy B. Sharer, Barbara L’Eplattenier, and Lisa Mastrangelo have developed an indispensable volume for the first-time researcher as well as the seasoned scholar. Working in the Archives is a guide to the world of rhetoric and composition archives, from locating an archival source and its materials to establishing one’s own collection of archival materials. This practical volume provides insightful information on a variety of helpful topics, such as basic archival theory, processes, and principles; the use of hidden or digital archives; the intricacies of searching for and using letters and photographs; strategies for addressing the dilemmas of archival organization without damaging the provenance of materials; the benefits of seeking sources outside academia; and the difficult (yet often rewarding) aspects of research on the Internet. Working in the Archives moves beyond the basics to discuss the more personal and emotional aspects of archival work through the inclusion of interviews with experienced researchers such as Lynée Lewis Gaillet, Peter Mortensen, Kathryn Fitzgerald, Kenneth Lindblom, and David Gold. Each shares his or her personal stories of the joys and challenges that face today’s researchers. Packed with useful recommendations, this volume draws on the knowledge and experiences of experts to present a well-rounded guidebook to the often winding paths of academic archival investigation. These in-depth yet user-friendly essays provide crucial answers to the myriad questions facing both fledgling and practiced researchers, making Working in the Archives an essential resource.

Drawing on the research of more than 50 influential international scholars, this extensive interdisciplinary survey consolidates and evaluates what is known and not known about organizations, and critically examines how we learn about and study them. Contributors include 50 influential international scholars. Contributions represent the most important contemporary perspectives on organizations, including networks, ecology and technology. Each topic is covered at three levels of organization: intraorganizational, organizational, and interorganizational. Chapters structured around five common elements for ease of use.

This new and extensively revised second edition offers an international perspective on archives management, providing authoritative guidance relevant to collections-based repositories and to organizations responsible for managing their own institutional archives. Written in clear language with lively examples, Archives: Principles and practices introduces core archival concepts, explains best-practice approaches and discusses the central activities that archivists need to know to ensure the documentary materials in their charge are cared for as effectively as possible. Topics addressed include: core archival principles and conceptsarchival history and the evolution of archival theoriesthe nature and diversity of archival materials and institutionsthe responsibilities and duties of the archivistissues in the management of archival institutionsthe challenges of balancing access and privacy in archival servicebest practice principles and strategic approaches to central archival tasks such as acquisition, preservation, reference and accessdetailed comparison of custodial, fonds-oriented approaches and post-custodial, functional approaches to arrangement and description. Discussion of digital archives is woven throughout the book, including consideration of the changing role of the archivist in the digital age. In recasting her book to address the impact of digital technologies on records and archives, Millar offers us an archival manual for the twenty-first century. This book will be essential reading for archival practitioners, archival studies students and professors, librarians, museum curators, local authorities, small governments, public libraries, community museums, corporations, associations and other agencies with archival responsibility.

With the amount of data a business accumulates now doubling every 12 to 18 months, IT professionals need to know how to develop a system for archiving important database data, in a way that both satisfies regulatory requirements and is durable and secure. This important and timely new book explains how to solve these challenges without compromising the operation of current systems. It shows how to do all this as part of a standardized archival process that requires modest contributions from team members throughout an organization, rather than the superhuman effort of a dedicated team. * Exhaustively considers the diverse set of issues—legal, technological, and financial—affecting organizations faced with major database archiving requirements. * Shows how to design and implement a database archival process that is integral to existing procedures and systems. * Explores the role of players at every level of the organization—in terms of the skills they need and the contributions they can make. * Presents its ideas from a vendor-neutral perspective that can benefit any organization, regardless of its current technological investments. * Provides detailed information on building the business case for all types of archiving projects

Technological advances and innovative perspectives constantly evolve the notion of what makes up a digital library. Archives and the Digital Library provides an insightful snapshot of the current state of archiving in the digital realm. Respected experts in library and information science present the latest research results and illuminating case studies to provide a comprehensive glimpse at the theory, technological advances, and unique approaches to digital information management as it now stands. The book focuses on digitally reformatted surrogates of non-digital textual and graphic materials from archival collections, exploring the roles archivists can play in broadening the scope of digitization efforts through creatively developing policies, procedures, and tools to effectively manage digital content. Many of the important advances in digitization of materials have little to do with the efforts of archivists. Archives and the Digital Library concentrates specifically on the developments in the world of archives and the digitization of the unique content of information resources archivists deal with on a constant basis. This resource reviews the current issues and challenges, effective user assessment techniques, various digital resources projects, collaboration strategies, and helpful best practices. The book is extensively referenced and includes helpful illustrative figures. Topics in Archives and the Digital Library include: a case study of LSTA-grant funded California Local History Digital Resources Project expanding the scope of traditional archival digitations projects beyond the limits of a single institution a case study of the California Cultures Project the top ten themes in usability issues case studies of usability studies, focus groups, interviews, ethnographic studies, and web log analysis developing a reciprocal partnership with a digital library the technical challenges in harvesting and managing Web archives metadata strategies to provide descriptive, technical, and preservation related information about archived Web sites long-term preservation of digital materials building a trusted digital repository collaboration in developing and supporting the technical and organizational infrastructure for sustainability in both academic and state government the Archivists’ Toolkit software application Archives and the Digital Library is timely, important reading for archivists, librarians, library administrators, library information educators, archival educators, and students.