Ten years ago the authors published the results of their work to create a comprehensive descriptive framework for the historical documentation of the Holy See primarily housed in repositories within Vatican City. The Archivio Segreto Vaticano is the most important of these repositories, and descriptions of its holdings form the bulk of the publication. This article revisits this project ten years after publication to assess its contribution and the extent to which work at the various Vatican repositories has improved on the work done by the Michigan team. This retrospective explores issues relating to the limits of information technology, the complications of joint projects, the role of scholars in the descriptive process, and the need for conceptual frameworks in digital-based description.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
November 12 2008
Vatican Archives: An Inventory and Guide to Historical Documents of the Holy See—A Ten-Year Retrospective
The American Archivist (2008) 71 (2): 410–432.
Citation
Francis Blouin, Elizabeth Yakel, Leonard Coombs; Vatican Archives: An Inventory and Guide to Historical Documents of the Holy See—A Ten-Year Retrospective. The American Archivist 1 September 2008; 71 (2): 410–432. doi: https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.71.2.d7h22h362311557g
Download citation file:
193
Views
Citing articles via
Get Email Alerts
Digital Preservation Practices and Challenges at University Archives in the United States
Maali F. Alghnimi, Donald C. Force
An Impossible Balance: Navigating Archival Work and Caregiving Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Alexis Braun Marks, Rachael Dreyer, Jennifer Johnson, Michelle Sweetser
Recruiting for Cultural Competency: A Content Analysis of Archives Job Postings
Helen Wong Smith, Dawn Schmitz, Cyndi Shein, Lisa Schmitz