Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bringing Provenance To A Wider Audience, Linda Matthews

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The journal of a professional association is an integral part of the public and educational mission of an organization. By its quality and relevance to current issues, a journal essentially confirms the group's professional stature and purpose. By publishing articles on new initiatives, noteworthy projects, legal and social issues, and emerging trends affecting archives, the journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA) contributes to the continuing education of its members, the development of new archivists, and the historical record of issues and research affecting the profession. Provenance is the major published record of the society and its service to …

What Were We Thinking? A Call To Embrace Reappraisal And Deaccessioning, Mark A. Greene

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

Mark Shelstad at the University of Wyoming has summed up the archival profession's apparent attitude toward deaccessioning by referring to it as "a word never to be uttered aloud." If his observation is true, this article intends to help shatter the silence. I recommend that the archival profession embrace reappraisal and deaccessioning as basic, important, and effective collection management tools-integrally related to collecting policies, documentation goals, appraisal, space allocation, processing, and reference. Reappraisal and deaccessioning should be viewed as the archival equivalent of "mom and apple pie."

Archival Donor Relations And Development: Keeping A Balance, Carla M. Summers

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

One of the central pleasures of archival work is developing relationships with donors of materials. These people are extraordinary and their activities have changed society. Donors of materials in the author's experience have included an artist whose journals capture the development of a creative vision for his work and his teaching, a famous broadcaster lively only when the microphone was on, politicians who have made great sacrifices to be of service but found great rewards, a famous writer who regards his manuscripts as a bank account he can draw on in his old age, farmers working to preserve the family …

A History Of Revenue Forecasts, Mark Rider

Faculty Articles

Feenberg et al. (1989) apply a simple regression-based method to test the rationality of state revenue forecasts. Using the same regression-based methodology, we test the rationality of federal revenue forecasts for fiscal year 1802 through 2001. We find that Treasury forecasts of federal revenues satisfy the conditions of weak rationality.

Money, Credit, And Banking In Colonial And Postcolonial West Africa, Akanmu G. Adebayo

Faculty Articles

Scholarship in African economic history has been dominated by a wave of revisionism lately. The degree of African indebtedness, the imperatives of loan repayment, and the long-term implications of ongoing political and economic changes, all make such a revision exigent indeed. Focusing on the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria, this paper produces new evidence to reinterpret and redefine African precolonial financial institutions. The paper has two main parts. Part 1 focuses on the introduction of cowrie currency into Yorubaland and its impact on social stratification. Part 2 examines ajo, the savings institution, esusu, the rotating savings and credit associations (roscas), and …

Satisfaction And Skills We Gain As Archivists Are Not Ours To Keep, Susan G. Broome

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

A year ago Provenance was in triage, and the executive board of the Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA) had health care power of attorney. A robust journal, fed by the careful attention of outgoing editor Sheryl Vogt, her staff, and the editorial board, was floundering. Transfusions from other leaders were in order, but an extended search for a new attending physician had not been successful. A sense of despair and resignation was felt by many who had invested their lifeblood in the publication. There was talk of letting it die with dignity, but there was a critical need to evaluate …

Provenance Xx, Susan G. Broome

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

No abstract provided.

People News

The Southeastern Librarian

Recent professional developments from SELA members.

Zen And The Art Of Stacks Maintenance: Rethinking An Ancient Practice, Margo Smith, Melissa Laning

The Southeastern Librarian

The University of Louisville Libraries’ 2000-2001 Strategic Plan includes specific objectives related to improving the delivery of materials to users. This broad objective covers many strategies ranging from increasing electronic access, improving web page design, using vendor-supplied cataloging records and reallocating funds to high demand subject areas. Undergraduate user demand for monographs remains high. Therefore, reducing the number of days required to shelve new acquisitions and to re-shelve circulated items is an important objective for the library. Leo Egghe notes that, “Shelving and keeping library shelves in order is very important and is basic for the use of a library.” …

The Southeastern Librarian V. 49, No. 3 & 4 (Fall/Winter 2001) Complete Issue

The Southeastern Librarian

Complete issue of The Southeastern Librarian, volume 49, No. 3 & 4 (Fall/Winter 2001).

President's Column, Barry B. Baker

The Southeastern Librarian

Column by SELA President, Barry Baker.

Public Access To Legal Resources On The Internet, Alice M. Mccanless

The Southeastern Librarian

In the not so distant past, before the Internet, doing legal research necessitated access to either a substantial law collection or one of the expensive legal databases, Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw. That limited legal reference to law librarians, some special librarians and reference librarians at large university or public libraries. The Internet has changed all of that, giving any library with an Internet connection access to a wealth of current law, especially at the state and federal level.

Based on a presentation at the Joint Conference of the Georgia Council of Media Organizations and Southeastern Library Association on October 12, 2000.

Testing The Design Of A Library Information Gateway, W. Bede Mitchell, Laura Davidson, Virginia Branch, Lynne Lysiak

The Southeastern Librarian

In autumn of 1999, the library World Wide Websites at Appalachian State University and Georgia Southern University had been in place for more than a year, and many library users reported that certain aspects of the sites’ designs were confusing. In order to alleviate the confusion, librarians from the two universities decided to redesign the sites by determining the greatest sources of confusion. To do this, we studied how patrons used the web sites by way of user-centered usability testing.

From The Editor, Frank R. Allen

The Southeastern Librarian

Column by Frank Allen, editor of The Southeastern Librarian.

Surveying Privacy: Library Privacy Laws In The Southeastern United States, Bryan M. Carson

The Southeastern Librarian

According to the American Library Association, library records should be kept private and confidential. Most states also have laws that protect the confidentiality of library records. This article will discuss the library confidentiality laws of the Southeastern United States, as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the USA PATRIOT Act (popularly known as the antiterrorism statute).

Sela News

The Southeastern Librarian

Recent developments from SELA member institutions.

2001 - The Sixth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Sixth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on March 30, 2001. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Regional Archives In The People's Republic Of China: A Case Study Of The Chongqing Municipal Archives And The Yunnan Provincial Archives, Morris L. Bian, Robert J. Jakeman

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The emergence of China as an active member of the international community and the growing number of exchange programs between archival institutions in China and the United States have fostered broader professional contacts between American archivists and their counterparts in China. Consequently, American archivists have become increasingly curious about the professional practices of their Chinese colleagues. The following description and analysis offers a case study of the structure, function, and use of Chinese regional archives.

Introduction, Karen M. Benedict

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

On first reading this group of articles on the international archival scene, I was struck by the degree to which advances in technology and changes in attitudes about professionalism have affected our profession over the past twenty years. Back in 1968, at my first archives job, my institution felt fortunate to have acquired IBM Selectric typewriters for the staff. Connections to the international archival community were limited to the privileged few, primarily at the National Archives, with travel budgets large enough to allow them to participate in international conferences or to visit institutions abroad.

Finding A Common Ground: Working With The Georgian National Archives To Create A Trilingual Database, Peter Carini, Kara Drake

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

On two separate occasions over the past four years, the authors traveled to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia as part of a team charged with the work of training Georgian archivists in international descriptive standards as part of a database project. The Sakartvelo Database Project provided an introduction to Georgian history, culture, and the development of the country's archival program. It also provided a picture of what it is like to work in a former Soviet republic and the reality of what it is to handle language barriers and physical and environmental obstacles.

Front Matter, Sheryl B. Vogt

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

No abstract provided.

Archives In The New Germany: Research Reflections On A System In Transition, Russel Lemmons

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The sudden collapse of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany or the GDR) and the resulting reunification of Germany-what the Germans call die Wende (the turning)-changed many German institutions forever. The German economy, for example, experienced a downturn, the result of which was double-digit unemployment for the first time since the Weimar Republic. Governmental institutions, most notably in education, experienced a dramatic metamorphosis in the neue Länder (new states). Among the most important but largely unnoticed changes taking place, however, are those in the federal archives system. These modifications have had a significant effect on scholars.

Back Matter, Sheryl B. Vogt

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

No abstract provided.

The Romanian Archives And Their Documentary Libraries, Ioan Drāgan

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

Romania, the only nation founded by a Latin people of Greek religion, has an ancient and very interesting history as well as a unique archival experience. It is situated at the collision of three well-defined and distinguished regionsCentral Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Northeastern Balkans. Here, the civilizations of West and East and of Catholicism and Orthodoxy meet. The history of the Romanian archives mirrors in the best way the specifics of this intersection of cultures and civilizations.

This article offers only a synthetic introduction to the history and the present circumstances of the Romanian archives. It comprises two distinct …

Reviews, Cyntia Pease Miller, Penny Cliff, Tina Mason, Sheila Mcalister, Stephen Miller, Annie Tilden, Kaye Lanning Minchew

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

No abstract provided.

Where Function Meets Form: Observations And Thoughts On Housing For The Archival Enterprise, David B. Gracy Ii

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The most basic principle of architecture is that Form Follows Function. In other words, a building should be designed to facilitate the activities envisioned to occur within it. Through the centuries, structures erected for managing the archival heritage of civilizations and cultures indeed have reflected and shaped the archival activity transpiring within them. Physical configurations have facilitated or impeded the archival enterprise. A building with provision for storage only, and no area designated for use of the records it holds, obviously says that for the time, place, and archival institution, the value of archives was not broad public use. Rather, …

Provenance Xviii & Xix, Sheryl B. Vogt

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

No abstract provided.

Regional Archives In France And Challenges For The American Researcher, Kristine M. Wirts

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

Before the fifties Americans working on French history generally preferred to conduct research at the national level. Their research underscored intellectual trends of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in that a great number of their monographs centered on national politics, intellectual developments, institutional history, and military and political profiles. Their research interests also reflected their social origins. Many were from prosperous families, perhaps, not far removed from the most influential centers of American political and educational life. Undoubtedly, they interpreted historical events, the making of history, as the business of powerful white men-which was, in the United States, …

Promoting A Regional Foreign Copying Program: The Historic New Orleans Collection Experience, Alfred E. Lemmon

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The Historic New Orleans Collection, as a museum and research center, seeks to document the developing profile of New Orleans. Awalk through the fabled cemeteries or "Cities of the Dead" in New Orleans reveals the French and Spanish colonial demography. While the German, Irish, French, and Italian immigrants received the most attention during the nineteenth century, there were also Belgian, Hungarian, Yugoslav, and Dutch immigrants. The 1850 census indicates that Louisiana had a significant foreignborn population even then. Immigrants accounted for 26 percent of the population in Louisiana, far greater than that of neighboring states. During the twentieth century, Louisiana …

Considerations For An Effective Telecommunications-Use Policy, Michael E. Whitman, Anthony M. Townsend, Robert J. Aalberts

Faculty Articles

Recent changes in federal telecommunications legislation have underscored the importance of an up-to-date and effective telecommunications-use policy in business organizations. With the proliferation of the Internet, intranets, and email as commonplace business tools, the potential for misuse and subsequent liability has become an increasing concern. Even though the recent Supreme Court decision struck down the obscenity provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), it left intact legislation that effectively mandates development of a sound telecommunications-use policy. In addition to potential liability for systems misuse, organizations have also had to address issues of individual employee privacy within the new systems.

This …