Many archivists manage born-digital archival materials that clearly fall within their traditional collecting purview. These include digital content acquired from literary authors, scholars, university offices, and private organizations, often received together with analog materials (these are referred to as "hybrid collections"). This report argues for involving archivists in management of types of materials that may have less obvious archival characteristics such as research data, email, and websites. And the report illuminates ten areas of archival expertise and their relevance to the digital context. These areas include appraising the significance of content, documenting the context of creation, negotiating with collection donors and nurturing these relationships over time, recognizing and navigating legal issues, and using practical approaches to creating metadata for large collections. Each of these is equally relevant for digital and analog (physical) materials. In-depth knowledge of each area helps ensure that the right questions are addressed.

This essay argues for involving archivists in the management of born-digital library materials (i.e., created and managed in digital form).

This report describes types of IT (Information Technology) providers and the services they typically offer, offers insights on the software development process, provides guidance toward building partnerships and emphasizes the centrality of resource constraints. Many of the issues described are relevant to librarians and archivists who work with IT colleagues on issues other than born-digital management.

The Archivists' Advantage: Choosing the Right Collections Management System for Your Needs will guide archivists seeking a CMS for the first time, or those who desire to switch systems. Knowing your organization needs a better collections management system is the first step, but deploying one is a significant undertaking. Read this book to understand best practices for choosing, transitioning to, implementing, and maximizing the value of the right archival collections management system for your archives.

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.

Since its original publication Hunter's manual has been "not only a rich and ready reference tool but also a practical resource for solving problems" (Catholic Library World), and no text has served as a better overview of the field of archives. Newly revised and updated to more thoroughly address our increasingly digital world, including integration of digital records and audiovisual records into each chapter, it remains the clearest and most comprehensive guide to the discipline. Former editor of American Archivist, the journal of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), Hunter covers such keystone topics as a history of archives, including the roles of historical societies and local history collections in libraries; new sections on community archives, diversity, and inclusion; conducting a survey and starting an archival program; selection, appraisal, acquisition, accessioning, and deaccessioning; important points of copyright, privacy, and ethics; arrangement of archival collections, with a discussion of new theories; description, including DACS, EAD, and tools such as ArchivesSpace; access, reference, and outreach, with a look at how recent innovations in finding aids can help researchers; preservation, including guidance on how to handle rare books, maps, architectural records, and artifacts; digital records, addressing new and popular methods of storage and preservation of email, social media, image files, webpages, Word documents, spreadsheets, databases, and media files; disaster planning, security, and theft prevention; metrics, assessment, establishing employee procedures and policies, working with interns and volunteers, and other managerial duties; public relations and marketing, from social media and the Web to advocacy; and professional guidelines and codes, such as the newly developed SAA Statement of Core Values of Archivists. Providing in-depth coverage of both theory and practice, this manual is essential for archivists at all levels of experience and of all backgrounds.

Today, governmental archivists and manuscript collectors--both private collectors and collecting repositories--are in conflict and competition for government documents that come out of private hands and onto the market. This book presents both sides of the issue and examines them dispassionately. It includes a historical review of institutional and state-sponsored collecting of documents, an evaluation of state and federal statutes on public documents in private hands, a careful look at the perspectives of the various parties involved in the conflict, and tales of theft and neglect as well as helpful case studies.