Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Metadata To Mitigate The Risks Of Digitizing Archival Photographs Of Violence And Oppression, Claudia A. Mallea

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Questioning the archival imperative of access, this research article discussed how descriptive metadata can be used to contextualize and problematize digitized archival photographs, which are often inadequately described in the digital environment. Beginning with literature review of atrocity photos and their use and digitization to discuss the risks inherent to disseminating photos of or born from violence. Review continued into the digital environment and the risks inherent to making difficult archival collections accessible online and the conflict between the right to privacy of the individuals represented in archival materials and the archival imperative to provide access.

Expanding on the recommendations …

Recognizing Co-Creators In Four Configurations: Critical Questions For Web Archiving, Amy Wickner

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Four categories of co-creator shape web archivists' practice and influence the development of web archives: social forces, users and uses, subjects of web archives, and technical agents. This paper illustrates how these categories of co-creator overlap and interact in four specific web archiving contexts. It recommends that web archivists acknowledge this complex array of contributors as a way to imagine web archives differently. A critical approach to web archiving recognizes relationships and blended roles among stakeholders; seeks opportunities for non-extractive archival activity; and acknowledges the value of creative reuse as an important aspect of preservation.

Lessons From The 1800s: Creating The Miss Porter's School Digital Archive, Deborah Smith

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

College preparatory (“prep”) schools have their roots in the New England region of the United States; many predate the nation's most illustrious colleges and universities. The archives at these schools contain items of importance to American history in the 1800s. However, few schools have trained archivists managing their physical collections and even fewer have created digital archives to increase access. Founded in 1848, Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut was one of the first independent schools devoted to the education of young women. This article reviews the creation of the Porter's digital archive in 2018 and examines issues specific to …

“Tell Us About Your Digital Archives Workstation”: A Survey And Case Study, Elvia Arroyo-Ramírez, Kelly Bolding, Faith Charlton, Allison Hughes

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Archival staff in the Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) at Princeton University Library lacked a fully-equipped digital processing workstation to capture, transfer, and secure born-digital and digitized archival content for long-term preservation and access. Staff recently conducted a survey that included information about the digital processing workstations of twenty institutions. The results of this survey informed a successful proposal to acquire a Forensic Recovery of Evidence Device (FRED) to serve as our digital processing workstation. The article will share details about the survey and considerations that went into our decision-making process, as well as introduce …

Adapting An Analog Records Management System For The Ingest And Accession Of Permanent Electronic Records, Brandy Tunmire, Amy Dinkins, Mary K. Coker, Shelly J. Croteau, John Korasick

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The Records and Archives Division of the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State (hereafter MSA) received two National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grants for the purpose of establishing an electronic records program at the Missouri State Archives. The first grant covered planning, staff training and a consultant who determined that minor modifications to the current State of Missouri Agency Records Tracking (SMART) System would allow for the ingest of permanent electronic records. The second grant funded the SMART upgrade and the purchase of data-grabbing equipment. The upgrade succeeded and MSA was able to ingest 150 GB of …