Archival Science Commons^™

Review Of The Complete Guide To Personal Digital Archiving, Lynn Seidel Moulton

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The Complete Guide to Personal Digital Archiving provides insight from across the profession to distill the daunting process of wrangling a digital disarray into something shareable and preservable. This book guides information professionals through instruction, outreach, and on into larger ramifications of personal digital archiving.

Review Of Algorithms Of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, Yvonne C. Garrett

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In recent years, the idea that the algorithms behind for-profit search engines are somehow neutral or unbiased has been heavily critiqued but for those who still hold onto a belief of objectivity and accuracy, Safiya Umoja Noble presents a clear and well-researched argument against such naiveté. These algorithms and the searches they drive are instead, Noble argues, a part of systemic structural oppression around race and gender. For Noble, Google Search’s algorithms are structured in a way that supports dominant narratives reflecting hegemonic frameworks and these same frameworks are an integral part of the structured oppression of women and people …

Review Of Topographies Of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness In Library And Information Science, Tomaro I. Taylor

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science addresses the historical, contemporary, and continuing effects of whiteness in LIS. This review critiques the edited work as a whole and considers how LIS professionals can use individual chapters to both understand and upend systemic racism.

Archivists And Time: Conceptions Of Time And Long-Term Information Preservation Among Archivists, Reine Rydén

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The issue of preserving information about nuclear waste for an extremely long period of time raises questions about ways to transmit knowledge to future generations. There is an ongoing discussion about the design of a message and the sustainability of different storage media. Information preservation in the really long term is, however, only partly a matter of technology; it is just as much about thought patterns. Since the work of archivists plays a key role, it is important to find out how archivists think about time and whether they have more developed conceptions of time and the future than other …

Microfilm, Manuscripts, And Photographs: A Case Study Comparing Three Large-Scale Digitization Projects, Emily Lapworth, Sarah Jones, Marina Georgieva

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This article is a case study comparing three large-scale digitization projects at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries: the Culinary Union Workers Local 226 Photographs, the Nevada Digital Newspaper Project, and the Entertainment Project. The authors compare the project management, workflows, and decision-making related to the many aspects of digitizing special collections and archives materials. The projects used both outsourced vendors and in-house labor and equipment to digitize microfilmed newspapers, mixed-materials manuscript collections, and photographic prints and negatives. Roles and responsibilities; grant funding; copyright, privacy, and confidentiality; arrangement; formats; and metadata are all discussed in relation to large-scale …

Review Of Music Preservation And Archiving Today, Christina Taylor Gibson

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Music Preservation and Archiving Today, a collection of essays edited by Norie Guthrie and Scott Carlson documents some of the most pressing issues confronting contemporary music archivists, particularly those working with popular music and their relevant communities. This review presents a summary of the essays included and considers the breadth of questions asked and answered therein. Particularly of interest are the relationships described and documented with those ordinarily excluded from the archive because of class, ethnicity, or race.

Review Of A History Of Archival Practice And Engaging With Records And Archives: Histories And Theories, Natasha R. Margulis

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This book review analyzes two books which address archival history and practices through an international perspective.

Review Of Reclaiming Indigenous Research In Higher Education, Rose Buchanan

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education challenges basic assumptions of Western methodologies by demonstrating the value of Indigenous approaches to social scientific research. Contributors argue that Western institutions have long marginalized Indigenous perspectives in higher education, overlooking or outright dismissing the unique experiences of Indigenous students as well as the efforts of Indigenous researchers to explore and understand them. This volume is a necessary read for anyone wanting to promote greater diversity and inclusion in the academy and in supporting institutions like archives.

Review Of Archiveology: Walter Benjamin And Archival Film Practices, Kristen E. Muenz

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In Archiveology: Walter Benjamin and Archival Film Practices, Catherine Russell explores the impact of Walter Benjamin’s ideas on filmmakers who use archival film footage in their works. With thorough and compelling analysis, Archiveology is a thought-provoking read for any archivist interested in the transformative power of archival material.

Review Of Moving Image And Sound Collections For Archivists, Lauren Sorensen

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Review of Anthony Cocciolo's Moving Image and Sound Collections for Archivists.

Review Of Classroom Action: Human Rights, Critical Activism, And Community-Based Education, Rachel M. Grove Rohrbaugh

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Book review of Classroom Action: Human Rights, Critical Activism, and Community-Based Education by Ajay Heble, ed. Classroom Action poses questions that can and should be of interest to archivists and special collections librarians, particularly those interested in social justice education, radical teaching practices, and community partnerships.

“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 …

Review Of Nonbinary Gender Identities: History, Culture, Resources, Chris Babits

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

McNabb introduces the definitions, histories, and cultures of nonbinary individuals and provides scholars, archivists, librarians, and teachers with an array of resources to research the history and contemporary experiences of nonbinary people. Although the text privileges gender variance in Western nations and could have included more on gender theory, McNabb offers a strong introduction to the topic of nonbinary gender identities. Researchers will especially appreciate the comprehensive list of resources.

Lessons From The Treblinka Archive: Transnational Collections And Their Implications For Historical Research, Chad S.A. Gibbs

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In work for his 1979 book The Death Camp Treblinka, Alexander Donat began the process of locating survivors of the camp and recording their histories. In a telling testament to the lethality of this place, he could identify only sixty-eight survivors. Analysis of Donat’s early findings—emerging six years prior to the publication of any major academic monograph on the subject—offers a window into the difficulties of conducting research on this Nazi extermination camp and its widely-scattered witnesses.

Treblinka’s disembarkation ramp was effectively the eye of a transnational needle through which so many passed and so few emerged. Victims of …

Review Of Participatory Heritage, Allyson E. Smally

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This review of Participatory Heritage, edited by Henriette Roued-Cunliffe and Andrea Copeland, focuses on the book's relevance to the archives field. It highlights some of the chapters that will be most relevant to archivists, provides overviews and highlights of each of the book's three sections, discusses some of the main themes that come up throughout the book, and mentions a few strengths and drawbacks to the book’s approach. It addresses some ways the book relates to important topics in the archives field today and what areas of the field it has particular relevance for. The review concludes that Participatory …

Excuses For Silence: A Review Of The Silence Of The Archive, Anna Robinson-Sweet

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The Silence of the Archive by David Thomas, Simon Fowler, and Valerie Johnson promises to investigate the causes of archival silence, and to find solutions for dealing with these silences. The topic is timely and important at a time when distrust of power is high, and there exists a concomitant expectation of finding truth in the archives. The book is reticent in its investigation, however, shying away from calling out the way power is exercised to create silences. The exception is Valerie Johnson’s argument on the necessity of silence, which challenges the tendency toward stasis in the archive.

Review Of Displaced Archives, Charlotte S. Kostelic

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Displaced Archives, edited by James Lowry, addresses the concept of archives that have been removed due to war, conflict, or other international strife.

Review Of Creating A Local History Archive At Your Public Library, Emily Gibson

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Phillips's book provides a unique look at the history of local history archives and methods of administering local history archives in public libraries, including management practices, how to process archival collections, and caring for archival collections. The bulk of the text pertains to processing archival collections. Its intended audience is public library staff with little to no archival experience. While there is much to recommend the book, it would benefit from a discussion of key archival concepts.

The Nuremberg Trials Project At Harvard Law School: Making History Accessible To All, Judith A. Haran

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This article is primarily a case study of the Nuremberg Trials Project at the Harvard Law School Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It begins with an historical note about the war crimes trials and their documentary record, including the fate of the several tons of trial documents that were distributed in 1949. The second part of the article is a description of the Harvard Law School Nuremberg project, including its history, goals, logistical considerations, digitization process and challenges, and resulting impact. The structure and function of the project website is described, followed by a description of a typical user experience, the …

Getting To Tier 1 By Revitalizing A Special Collections Program With Cultural Competence, Mark L. Shelstad

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Seeking to revitalize a special collections program at a Tier 1 aspirant university, the author introduced a variety of contemporary and innovative management strategies along with new outreach opportunities to demonstrate its value toward fulfilling the university's strategic plan. The revitalization efforts included creating a manuscript and rare book collection development policies that incorporated web harvesting, making connections with the community, and finding new audiences using social media. The dramatic increase in collection use and collaboration demonstrated the value of special collections to the community and the university.

Researcher Access To Born-Digital Collections: An Exploratory Study, Julia Y. Kim

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

While a small, but growing number of institutions offer access to born-digital collections, there is scant literature documenting researcher interaction with these materials. This paper addresses this gap through documenting and analyzing researcher interactions to portions of born-digital collections at New York University (NYU) Libraries, with the cooperation of NYU’s Fales Library and Special Collection and the Digital Library and Technology Solutions Department, as well as the National Digital Stewardship Residency (NDSR) program. From September 2014-May 2015, NYU Libraries began implementing an “access-driven” born-digital workflow for their 3 archives: Fales Library and Special Collections, NYU University Archives, and the Tamiment …

Moving Toward A Reparative Archive: A Roadmap For A Holistic Approach To Disrupting Homogenous Histories In Academic Repositories And Creating Inclusive Spaces For Marginalized Voices, Lae'l Hughes-Watkins

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In 2013, Kent State University’s Department of Special Collections and Archives launched the Black Campus Movement (BCM) Collection Development project to acknowledge the imperfection of past collection development practices that resulted in a scarcity of documentation from historically underrepresented communities. The department ventured to strengthen its holdings by acquiring records relating to the university’s rich, multilayered and diverse narratives, specifically the narratives of black student activism, 1968–1971. The Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, resulting in the death of four white students, changed the trajectory of the Vietnam War and introduced a new discourse into the predominately white antiwar …

Review Of Curators: Behind The Scenes Of Natural History Museums, Danielle Castronovo

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Book review of Curators by Lance Grande.

Review Of Queer Library Alliance: Global Reflections And Imaginings, Matthew P. Messbarger

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

With global perspectives from librarians and archivists who promote innovative methods to improve services to LGBTQ populations, Queer Library Alliance serves as an excellent primer and resource for critical thinking about how information professionals can best serve queer communities.

Exploring The American Archivist: Corpus Analysis Tools And The Professional Literature, J. Gordon Daines Iii, Cory L. Nimer, Jacob R. Lee

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The literature of a professional community provides insights into what members of that community value and underscores key professional issues. Periodic analyses of professional literature are an important way for these communities to identify trends that deserve further exploration. This article introduces the use of corpus analysis tools such as Voyant Tools and discusses their value in performing periodic analyses of professional literature. As an example, it presents a limited study examining the use of the term “theory” in the American Archivist.

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 …

Nineteenth-Century Depictions Of Disabilities And Modern Metadata: A Consideration Of Material In The P. T. Barnum Digital Collection, Meghan R. Rinn

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The Library of Congress subject headings have been examined in the past for their classification of subjects relating to race, gender, and sexuality. Overlooked is subject headings that relate to disabilities. In the course of creating records for the archival and object material that form the P.T. Barnum Digital Collection, the project discovered the imperfections of the Library of Congress subject headings, and the need to develop standards and protocols for the material. This resulted in a balance of language that respects the preferences of living communities and their best practices, and the existing language in the Library of Congress, …

Ethical Issues In Digitization Of Cultural Heritage, Zinaida Manžuch

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The growing number of case studies on the ethical issues faced in cultural heritage digitization calls for a discussion of this generally neglected dimension of digitization. The importance of the ethical dimension is also supported by implicit and explicit assumptions that well-established approaches to ethics in archives, libraries, and museums do not work with digitization. The aim of this paper is to determine what ethical issues arise in cultural heritage digitization and how they affect methods of decision-making and organizing digitization. The paper identifies and discusses several areas of concern that have caused ethical issues in digitization. They include contextual …

Our Digital Legacy: An Archival Perspective, Michael S. Moss, Tim J. Gollins

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Our digital memories are threatened by archival hubris, technical misdirection, and simplistic application of rules to protect privacy rights. The obsession with the technical challenge of digital preservation has blinded much of the archival community to the challenges, created by the digital transition, to the other core principles of archival science - namely, appraisal (what to keep), sensitivity review (identifying material that cannot yet be disclosed for ethical or legal reasons) and access. The essay will draw on the considerations of appraisal and sensitivity review to project a vision of some aspects of access to the Digital Archive. This essay …

Ethics In The Cloud, Corinne Rogers, Luciana Duranti

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

For the past several decades, information communication technologies (ICTs) have been changing the way we create, share, and keep our records and data. How are we adapting? Today, individuals and organizations are increasingly creating, sharing, and storing information of all kinds in the cloud, some of them with the same expectations of privacy, access, intellectual rights, and control they have when storing it in in-house systems, either digital or analog. Such expectations provoke outrage when it is discovered that behavior in the cloud is not guided by long-established ethical rules guiding information creation, sharing, and use, but needs to be …