The Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology offers six different definitions of “archives,”1 but one could cluster these into three higher-level concepts:
the materials that serve as traces of human activities (stuff);
the sociotechnical capabilities and resources that support the care for, and support the users and creators of, archival materials (people/process); and
the location where materials are managed, preserved, and shared (place).
Another way to express these three categories is 1) what, 2) who/how and 3) where. Together, they define the scope and boundaries of the “archival enterprise.”2 Professional archivists are not the only parties who advance this enterprise, nor is it solely what happens within the walls of formal repositories.3 The archival literature has increasingly reflected the value of broad and inclusive conceptions of the archival enterprise, whether this is collaborating with allied professionals to address technical or policy issues raised by new forms of records; reaching out to a wider set of records creators and users; or reconceptualizing the meaning of terms such as provenance, records, or archives itself.
The articles in this issue of American Archivist deal primarily with the second meaning of archives: the people and what they do. Major themes include education based on primary sources; facilitating the use of audiovisual materials; and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion.
An essential way to bolster the archival enterprise is education. Three of the articles in this volume relate to the use of archival materials in university instruction. Christy Fic describes how she collaborated with a member of the history faculty at Shippensburg University to introduce archival instruction into an undergraduate American environmental history course. Groups of students conducted research with materials from the University Archives. According to Fic, this case study illustrates the potential benefits of becoming an “embedded archivist.” Danielle Emerling reports on how she incorporated legislative staff memos from Senator Jay Rockefeller's papers at the West Virginia University Libraries in instruction exercises with both undergraduate students and graduate-level public administration students to teach them about the U.S. Congress and the legislative process. She demonstrates the pedagogical and research value of congressional archives. Chris Marino studied the affective (as opposed to cognitive) impact of two different instruction techniques (show-and-tell vs. inquiry-based) with undergraduate students enrolled in architecture and landscape architecture courses in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley. While students in both groups benefited from the instruction, those in the inquiry-based instruction group reported significantly more excitement about and appreciation for the archival materials; confidence in handling them; and comfort in contributing to discussions.
Not only can students learn from using archival materials, but they can also learn from working in archives and special collections. Erin Passehl-Stoddart interviewed student employees in special collections in archives to determine whether and how their experiences aligned with the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy. She found the most evidence for meeting learning outcomes associated with historical empathy, curiosity about the past, and appreciation for historical materials. Passehl-Stoddart recommends mapping student job descriptions and responsibilities to identified primary source literacies, aligning positions with university learning goals, and conducting interviews with student employees to determine the instructional impact of their work experiences.
Another essential element of the archival enterprise is facilitating access to and use of archival materials. Two of the articles in this issue relate to the management of access to and the use of audiovisual materials. Jeremy Evans and Melissa Hernández Durán describe the Bentley Historical Library's development of a new genre-based rights review process for sound recordings, combining fair use evaluation with a risk management approach. One outcome was to increase access to 43 percent of the Bentley's digitized audio materials. Evans and Durán elaborate an approach (supported by several detailed guidance documents) that can serve as a valuable foundation for similar decision-making in other institutions. Laura Treat and Julie Judkins conducted interviews with film-makers about their search behaviors, barriers they encounter when attempting to access and license archival content, and their impressions of using archives. The authors identify a variety of tactics and tools that filmmakers employ when planning and implementing archival footage research. The filmmakers reported relying heavily on social interactions with peers, as well as subject and collections experts. Treat and Judkins conclude with a detailed set of recommendations for managing and providing access to archival moving image collections.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion have received considerable attention in the recent archival discourse. It is important to recognize both that this is part of a larger set of professional conversations and that there is a rich history of engagement with these issues within the archival profession. Ellen Engseth articulates the importance and potential role of the cultural competency frame-work for the archival profession to address issues including equity, diversity, and inclusion. She argues that archivists have a unique perspective to provide to the library and information science (LIS) discussions around cultural competency. Alex Poole investigates the formation and activities—in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s—of both the Committee on the Status of Women (COSW) and the Women's Caucus within the Society of American Archivists (SAA). He recounts how the two groups “promoted the documentation of women's experiences and the writing of women's history, attacked job discrimination and salary inequities in the profession, lobbied strenuously for women's equitable participation in the SAA, encouraged scholarship by and about women, and supported passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.”
This issue concludes with a review essay and eleven book reviews, all of which have important things to say to the archival profession. Bethany Anderson, reviews editor, again provides a thoughtful and informative summary of the reviews in her introduction.
It is my hope that this issue of American Archivist will help its readers to better understand and advance the vital people part of archives.
Notes
1Richard Pearce-Moses, “Archives,” in A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005), 30–32.
2David B. Gracy, “Archivists, You Are What People Think You Keep,” American Archivist 52, no. 1 (1989): 72–78.
3Christopher A. Lee and Helen Tibbo, “Where's the Archivist in Digital Curation? Exploring the Possibilities through a Matrix of Knowledge and Skills,” Archivaria 72 (Fall 2011): 160–61.