Library and Information Science Commons^™

Protecting The Integrity Of Archives, Sean Daigle

School of Information Sciences Student Scholarship

This article examines the problem of fraudulent and stolen materials being introduced into archives. If these issues become common enough, people will not trust archives or history itself. Archivists can fight these problems by learning how to spot potential sellers of stolen or fraudulent items. They can also catalog unique aspects of their collections and share them on the internet, dedicate more resources to security, and hire experts when items’ authenticity is called into question. The most helpful step they can take, however, is being so diligent about establishing provenance that provenance becomes a security measure in itself. Ultimately, resources …