SIMMONS COLLEGE

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

Fall Term 2000

LS 438 Section 02 : Introduction to Archival Methods and Services

Class Hours: Section 02, Tuesday 2:45 – 5:45 pm.

Instructor: Jeannette A. Bastian, Ph.D.

Office: 303

Office Hours: Monday, 5-6pm.; Thursday, 11-12 noon and by appointment

Phone and email: 521-2808 ; bastian@simmons.edu

Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to introduce, examine and understand the core components, concepts and methods of the archives and manuscripts profession. The course seeks to introduce students to basic theoretical issues and archival principles and provide insight into practical application of these principles. The course will do the following:

• Teach students to think like archivists and prepare them to enter the archival profession.
• Introduce basic archival concepts.
• Discuss the history and development of archives as well as of archives and manuscript institutions.
• Define and discuss the concept of a "record" and the nature of "recordkeeping" systems.
• Outline the core practical activities of archival work.
• Introduce archival theory and discuss its relationship to archival practice.
• Examine the basic functions of archives and manuscripts programs.
• Consider the impact of new technologies such as the World Wide Web and digital media on archival functions.

This course will attempt to strike a balance between theory and practice. Students will learn how to perform archival functions as well as understand the principles underlying these functions. Students will gain an overall understanding of the archival profession in the United States and be introduced to the concept of electronic records and other technologies that are impacting the profession.

Class discussion will focus on the assigned readings, the changing nature of recordkeeping, and the broader influence of records on societal and cultural memory. Students will be encouraged to relate class activities to their practical internship experiences.

• Preparation of weekly reading assignments.
• Full participation in class discussion and in-class group exercises.
• Completion of 50 hour internship, interim report and two-part final report.
• Completion of three written assignments.

Class attendance, discussion and participation in exercises – 20%

Internship and reports – 40%

Written Assignments –40%

Each student is required to complete a 50 hour internship project at a sponsoring institution approved in advance by the instructor. Please note that the 50 hours includes actual workplace hours only. Time spent writing the reports is additional. Your internship project must be discussed and agreed on both by the sponsoring institution and the course instructor before you begin working on the project. Projects should begin by the end of September.

Many archival institutions throughout the New England area have expressed an interest in hosting interns. DO NOT contact any repository or make any arrangements without speaking to the instructor first. A binder with short descriptions of each project and the sponsoring institution is available on Reserve and in the instructor’s office. If possible, please consult this binder and make some preliminary choices before making an appointment with the instructor. Although you are not limited to those institutions, they are preferred since they have already expressed an interest. However, if you have another institution in mind or if none of the projects listed appeal to you, please consult the instructor.

During the first three weeks of class the instructor will be setting up appointments with each student to guide your project decision. Please be prepared to be flexible and consider a number of possibilities. Not everyone can work in the same place. Also bear in mind that with few exceptions, most archival institutions are only open Monday through Friday, 9-5, for project work.

- Please submit to the instructor a written project proposal, including the project supervisor’s complete name, address and phone number by September 26. Periodic checks will be made with the host institution’s supervisor regarding your progress.

- A short progress report (approximately one typed page) is due on November 7. By this time you should also have made me aware of any problems, time constraints etc. that you may be having.

- Each project will have a different outcome and produce a different type of product. For example, some may be guides, extended reports or journals of daily activity. I will work with you individually to help you tailor the final product. Whatever the outcome of your work, the final product must be appended to an approximately two-page memo to me summarizing your experience. This is due December 12.

• In addition to the final product and memo, describe in detail (two to three pages) the following about the institution/organization where your project is situated. This is also due on December 12:

1. The nature of the collection. What subjects are collected and in what formats?
2. The size of the collection.
3. The collection’s strengths and weaknesses. What are the research uses not obvious from the institution’s title?
4. The size and training of paid and volunteer staff.
5. The use of exhibit space.
6. The physical facilities (include work area for staff and researchers, stack space, security arrangements, preservation/conservation measures underway, etc.)
7. The hours the facility is open and to whom.
8. The quality of the finding aids (in all varieties)
9. The average number of patrons per year.

1. Field Study: Students will visit and use an Archives, write a short report on the experience and be prepared to report on it in class ( see Oct.10-17 in Syllabus)

2. PAPER . A paper at least ten double-spaced pages describing, reviewing, or comparing the literature on any aspect of a basic archival principle, core function or aspect of archival history. The emphasis is on your ability to do research using the archives literature. You must find and cite at least eight sources other than those on the assigned reading list. Let me know your topic by September 26. Paper due November 21.

September 12

19

26 –Paper Topic . Intern Proposal

October 3

10

17 – Field Study Due

24

November 7- Intern Progress Report

14

21- Paper Due

28

December 5

12 – Final Intern Report

Frederic M. Miller, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts,(Chicago: Society of American Archivists,1993). Available at College Bookstore. May be purchased directly from the Society of American Archivists. Ordering information is available at the SAA web site, www.archivists.org

James M. O’Toole, Understanding Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1993). Available at College Bookstore. May be purchased directly from the Society of American Archivists.

Recommended Texts:

Frank G. Burke, Research and the Manuscript Tradition (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1997).

M.T, Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record, England 1066-1307, 2d.ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993). Available at College Bookstore.

Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch, eds. A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice ( Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1984).

Judith Ellis, ed. Keeping Archives (Port Melbourne, Australia: Thorpe for the Australian Society of Archivists, 1993). Available at College Bookstore. May be purchased directly from the Society of American Archivists.

September 12 : Introduction: Class organization; selecting internships. (Documentary)

September 19 : What is an Archives? Who are Archivists and Records Managers? ---Fundamental definitions. (visit to Simmons Archives)

Required Readings:

Frank G. Burke, Research and the Manuscript Tradition, Chapters 1-2 (pp. 1-44).

Sue McKemmish, "Introducing Archives and Archival Programs," in Keeping Archives, Judith Ellis (ed.), Port Melbourne, Australia: Thorpe for the Australian Society of Archivists, 1993: 1-24.

September 26: What Is a Record : An Introduction to archival processes and functions. PAPER TOPIC DUE; INTERN PROPOSAL DUE

Required Readings:

Glenda Acland, " Managing the Record Rather Than the Relic," Archives and Manuscripts 20, no.1 (1992): 57-63.

Richard J. Cox, "The Record: Is It Evolving? " The Records and Retrieval Report 10 (March 1994): 1-14.

Luciana Duranti, "Reliability and Authenticity: The Concepts and Their Implications," Archivaria 39 (Spring 1995): 5-10.

October 3: Arrangement and Description: Part One: Processing and Arrangement.

Required Readings:

Paul Brunton and Tim Robinson, " Arrangement and Description," in Keeping Archives, 222-235.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, " Archival Arrangement - Five Different Operations at Five Different Levels," American Archivist 27 (January 1964): 21-41. Also in Modern Archives Reader, 162-180.

Frederic M. Miller, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts, chapter 5, 6, 7. pp. 45-78.

October 17: History of Archives and Recordkeeping.

Required Readings:

M. T. Clanchy, "'Tenacious Letters': Archives and Memory in the Middle Ages,"

Archivaria 11 (Winter 1980/81): 115-25.

Luciana Duranti, "The Odyssey of Records Managers," Records Management

Quarterly (July 1989): 3-6, 8-11; (October 1989): 3-6, 8-11.

James O’Toole, Understanding Archives and Manuscripts,(Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1990), 7-47 (chapters 1-2).

October 24: Recordkeeping and Societal Memory.

Required Reading:

James O’Toole, Understanding Archives and Manuscripts,(Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1990), 49-69 (chapters 3-4).

Kenneth E. Foote, "To Remember and Forget: Archives, Memory and Culture," American Archivist 53 (Summer 1990): 378-92.

Hanlon, David, "The Chill of History: The Experience, Emotion and Changing Politics of Archival Research in the Pacific," Archives and Manuscripts 27 (May 1999): 8-21.

Hugh Taylor, "The Collective Memory: Archives and Libraries as Heritage," Archivaria 15 (Winter 1982-83): 118-130.

October 31: Acquisitions and Collection Development.

Required Readings:

Anne-Marie Schwirtlich and Barbara Reed, "Managing the Acquisition Process," in Keeping Archives, 137-156.

Mary Lynn McCree, "Good Sense and Good Judgement: Defining Collections and Collecting," Drexel Library Quarterly 11 (January 1975): 21-33. Also in Modern Archives Reader, 103-113.

Frank Boles, "Just a Bunch of Bigots: A Case Study in the Acquisition of Controversial Material," Archival Issues: Journal of the Midwest Archives Conference 19/1 (1994): 53-65.

November 7: Collection Development: Accessioning and Appraisal.

Required Readings:

Ronald L. Becker, " On Deposit: A Handshake and a Lawsuit," American Archivist 56 (Spring 1993): 320-328.

Sue McKemmish, "Evidence of Me," Archives and Manuscripts 24 (May 1996):28-45.

Frederic M. Miller, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts, 31-44 (chapter 4).

Barbara Reed, "Appraisal and Disposal," in Keeping Archives : 157-206.

November 14: Arrangement and Description: Part Two. Finding Aids.

Required Readings:

Megan Floyd Desnoyers, "When is a Collection Processed? Midwestern Archivist 7, no.1 (1982): 5-23.

Jennifer Edgecombe, "Finding Aids," in Keeping Archives, 248-272.

Frederic Miller, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts, chapters 8 and 9, pp. 79-108.

IN -CLASS EXERCISE

November 21: Reference: Access and Use. PAPER DUE

Required Readings:

Sigrid McCauseland, "Designing Reference Services," in Keeping Archives, 273-305 (chapter 10).

Elena S. Danielson, "Ethics and Reference Services," Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts (New York: Haworth Press, 1997), 107-124.

Mary Jo Pugh, Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1992), chapter 1,2,3,4, pp.3-53.

November 28: Reference : Outreach and Advocacy.

Panel discussion by Reference Archivists

Required Readings:

Terry Cook, "Viewing the World Upside Down: Reflections on the Theoretical Underpinnings of Archival Public Programming," Archivaria 31 (Winter 1990-91):123-34.

Elsie T. Freeman, "In the Eye of the Beholder: Archives Administration from the User’s Point of View," American Archivist 47 (Spring 1984):111-23.

Ann Pederson, "User Education and Public Relations," in Keeping Archives, 306-349.

December 5. Copyright and Intellectual Property

Required Readings:

Trudy Huskamp Peterson, "The Gift and the Deed," Modern Archives Reader, 139-148.

Other readings to be assigned.

December 12: Ethics and Security. FINAL INTERN REPORTS DUE

Required Readings:

Society of American Archivists, Code of Ethics for Archivists,

http://www.archivists.org/vision/ethics.html

Vincent A. Totka, Jr. "Preventing Patron theft in the Archives: Legal Perspectives and Problems," American Archivist 56 (Fall 1993): 664-672.

Karen J. Warren, " A Philosophical Perspective on the Ethics and Resolution of Cultural Property Issues," The Ethics of Collecting Cultural Property: Whose Culture, Whose Property, ed. by Phyllis Mauch Messenger ( Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989), 1-25.

Theresa Galvin, "The Boston Case of Charles Merrill Mount: The Archivists’ Arch Enemy," American Archivist 53 (Summer 1990): 442-450.

CLASS REPORTS