Students can contact me through email at any time although I encourage you to ask questions in Google Classroom or though the ongoing discussions as other students may have the same questions.
I will try to login to Google Classroom and check email every day but please allow 24-hours for a response. I will be monitoring your discussions but will not be able to respond to every one of them. I will make sure to alert the class if I will be unreachable for more than 24-hours.
This course provides a practical introduction of the archival principals of Appraisal, Arrangement, Description and Access. The course will walk students through basic archival theory, how archivists evaluate incoming collections and process them, preservation, access and the use of innovative tools to promote archival collections for the public.
Course topics will be demonstrated through discussions, reading, evaluation of existing archival collections and various projects. Assignments include research projects and paper, developing an archive as a group project and determining strategies for preservation and access, using Archivematica to preserve electronic records, introduction to cloud computing, generating a finding aid, introduction to data structure and content standards, the information management system Archives Space, and online access tools that use Dublin Core standards such as Omeka. Through these exercises students will gain a very practical understanding of the various elements that go into the preservation of cultural heritage.
This course is online only so there will be assignments through this class website and Google Classroom.
To access the Google Classroom go to https://classroom.google.com and select the plus sign and join class. Put in code 3ukb4yu
REQUIRED READING
No books need to be purchased. All reading is available through the Reading and Resource page of the website.
SCHEDULE
I will post lectures, projects or discussion topics every Monday except where noted.
Reading should be completed prior to the lecture or commenting on the weekly discussions.
Projects and papers will be outlined in the syllabus, in the first week's lecture, and on the Announcement page. It clearly states when the due date for each assignment is on Google Classroom so please make sure you are staying on schedule but generally anything posted on Monday will be due the following Sunday.
Introductions, Syllabus, History of the Profession, Overview of archival core concepts and functions
Watch Video: What are Archives? Animating the Archives. Tate Archive.
Understanding Archives and Manuscripts, Chapter 1-2, pgs. 7-47.
Go to the Google Classroom, become familiar with navigating the classroom, introduce yourselves and watch the two required videos. Then comment and ask any questions you might have about the classroom, class content, videos or reading.
Starting an Archive, Mission and Scope, Writing a Collection Management Policy
Kozak, Zenobia. A Pragmatist's Guide to Developing Corporate Archive Policy. February 16, 2018.
Garritt, Margot Brown. An Introduction to the Establishment of an Archives at Small Institutions.
You will be creating an Archive mission and scope of collection. You MUST have a Google Account to Participate in the project. Post a link to your website on the Google Classroom by Sunday February 15. Please take a look at your classmates websites and comment on them.
The Archivists role in selecting material for the Archives, Modern Archival Theory: Jenkinson, Schellenberg, Documentation Strategy, New Paradigm theory
Boles, Frank. Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts, Chapter 1: Why Archivist Select & Chapter 2: Muddied Waters and Conflicting Currents, pp. 1-41. Society of American Archivists Fundamental Series. 2005.
Archives Have the Power to Boost Marginalized Voices | Dominique Luster | TEDxPittsburgh, 2018
Schellenberg, T.R. Modern Archives Principles & Techniques. Society of American Archivists. 1956 Reissued 2003.
Schwartz, Joan and Terry Cook. Archives, Records, and Power: The Making of Modern Memory. 2002.
"Donating" a collection to your archive.
Ethics in the Archives
SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics
Select one of the below articles or case studies and discuss the cultural and ethical considerations of what you've read and what you believe an archive or archivist should have done in that situation on Google Classroom. Your topic should be at least 300 words long. Please cite what article or case study you're referring to and read through and comment on classmates posts. This should be seen as a discussion.
If there’s another ethical topic that you would like to explore that’s not listed let me know.
Pyatt, Timothy. The Harding Affair Letters. Case Studies in Archival Ethics.
Freeman, Nancy. FOIA Request. Case Studies in Archival Ethics.
Ryan, Ellen M., Identifying Culturally Sensitive American Indian Material in a Non-tribal Institution. Case Studies in Archival Ethics.
McCardwell, Katherine. Intellectual Property Concerns in Undocumented Corporate Collections. Case Studies in Archival Ethics.
Blanco-Rivera, Joel A. The Forbidden Files: Creation and Use of Surveillance Files Against the Independence Movement in Puerto Rico.
Bertram, Cara. Avenues of mutual respect: opening communication and understanding between Native Americans and archivists, Western Washington University. 2012.
Acquisition & Accessioning of physical & electronic records, Understanding Records retention schedules in Institutional Archives
Selection and Appraisal
Fundamentals of Managing Local Government Archival Records, 1995
Adler, Robert M. (2006). The Public Controversy over the Kennedy Memorabilia Project. pp. 225-236.
Accessioning
Farinholt, Sarah and Meghan Ryan. So...whats accessioning? January 12, 2011 National Archives.
Harvard University Special Collections and Archives Joint Processing Guidelines Chapter 1: Accessioning, pgs. 10-16
A Guide to Deeds of Gift - Society of American Archivists
Accessioning Guidance and Policy - National Archives and Records Administration
Digital Records to become familiar with
Huth, Geof. Module 14. Appraising Digital Records. Appraisal and Acquisition Strategies .SAA Series Trends in Archives Practice.
Library of Congress. Sustainability of Digital Formats.
Faulder, Erin. Module 16: Accessioning Digital Archives. Case Study.
Digital Preservation Handbook: Acquisition and Appraisal -Digital Preservation Coalition
Determining record status based on Federal Records Control Schedule
Processing, Arrangement, More Product, Less Process Discussion
Roe, Katherine D. Arranging & Describing. Chapters 1: Overview & Chapter 2: Core Concepts and Principles of Arrangement and Description. Archival Fundamentals Series II.
Schellenberg, Thomas. Archives and Records Management Resources.
O'Meara, Erin and Kate Statton. Module 13: Digital Preservation Storage. Case Study.
Greene, Mark and Dennis Meissner. “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing.” American Archivist. Vol. 68 (Fall/Winter 2005) p. 208-263
Processing assessment and quiz.
Preservation assessment of textual records.
Housing Material Basics (August 2, 2019) Presenter: Gillian Marcus, Preservation Specialist, DHPSNY.
Preservation Lab at the National Archives-- Boxing our Treasures.
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn. Preserving Archives & Manuscripts. Chapter 5: Creating a Preservation Environment & Chapter 7: Storing & Housing Archival Material.
Photographs
Care, Handling, and Storage of Photographs, Library of Congress.
Eastman Museum Photographic Processes Video Series. Look through here and watch the videos of any of the types of photographic process that you are most interested in.
Read the post on Google Classroom and then select a medium and do some research into preservation best practices.
Preservation of electronic records.
Cohen, Patricia (2010, March 16). Fending off Digital Decay: Bit by Bit. New York Times, pp. C1.
Select a photographic process and talk about the best practices for preserving that format.
Introduction to content standards and finding aids.
Society of American Archivists. DACS: Statement of Principles. GitHub.
Walton, Rachel. “Looking for Answers: A Usability Study of Online Finding Aid Navigation.” The American Archivist Vol 80, No 1. Spring/Summer 2017.
Whittaker, Beth M. “DACS and RDA: Insights and Questions from the New Archival Descriptive Standard.” Library Resources & Technical Services. 51:no. 2 p. 98-105.
Society of American Archivists (2013). Describing Archives A Content Standard.
Creating finding aids using DACS.
EAD and ArchivesSpace
Pitti, Daniel V. Encoded Archival Description: An Introduction and Overview.
Review of Archive Space and creating a catalog record with Omeka.
Coming up with innovative ways to share the collection through online engagement, social media, interactive tools.
The Librarians of the Future Will be AI Archivists, Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, May 13, 2020
The Kitchen Sisters Presents- Free-Range Archivist: Jason Scott (Podcast 9 minutes)
Digital Preservation of the Iraqi Jewish Archive
Looking at ways archives are sharing collections online.
Creating a list of outreach sources for your archives.
Researching records online.
German Genealogy Group Look through available indexes- Birth, death, marriage, church, federal, etc.
Reclaim the Records Look at NYC and State Records
Ancestry Academy Provides comprehensive tutorials on how to find particular records on Ancestry.
Searching federal and municipal records.
Reference and Copyright
Bain, George W., John A. Fleckner, Kathy Marquis, and Mary Jo Pugh (December 14, 2013). Reference, Access, and Outreach: An Evolved Landscape, 1936–2011. The American Archivist. Volume 74, Supplement 1, pp. 1-40.
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Freedom of Information Act.
New York State, Department of State Committee on Open Government.
Center for Media and Social Impact Fair use Programs
Freeman, Nancy. An Online Exhibit: A Tale of Triumph and Tribulation. Case Studies in Archival Ethics.
Copyright and Unpublished Material - Society of American Archivists
Orphan Works: Statement of Best Practices - Society of American Archivists
Fair Use Checklist Helps educators, librarians, lawyers, and many other users of copyrighted works determine whether their activities are within the limits of fair use under U.S. copyright law.
Copyright - FAQ from Copyright.gov page
Welcome to the Public Domain - Summary on Copyright and public domain works from Stanford University Libraries
Determine Copyright for various types of material.
Disaster Management
Worksheet for Outlining a Disaster Plan - Northeast Document Conservation Center. You can view an interactive version of this form here as well. This is outline to give you an idea of what types of things to think about during a disaster management plan.
(There are some additional sources listed in the Reading and Resources page.)
Disaster Management assessment of your archive.
Exhibits and Wrap-Up
International Council on Archives. Guidelines on exhibiting Archival Material.
This assignment addresses objectives 2 & 3.
This is a multi-step project.
a) I will ask you to create an archive with a mission statement and scope of collection.
b) You will then identify a group of records or materials that you think would fit into that archives mission and scope to donate. This can be something you have at home such as flyers, photographs, posters, ticket stubs, old bills or you can use your imagination. For example: if you have created an archive that collects material related to The Rat Pack then tell us that the handwritten letters you are donating are a correspondence between Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
c) You will answer questions related to processing, preservation and access about your collection as well as create a finding aid and Omeka catalog record.
d) Seeking funding sources for your archives
e) Seeking outreach sources for your archives
You are required to contribute to all discussions by voicing your own opinion and commenting on your classmate’s postings.
Quiz posted March 8th.
Writing up an outline of your archives with links to all of your archives project links.
This assignment addresses objectives 1 & 4.
There are many important and highly relevant topics relating to archives– several of which we will be covering throughout the semester. Choose one issue or topic that interests you that has been in the news recently and write a research paper 10 pages long that discusses the issue and why it is important, describing the various stakeholders, their competing perspectives, and your own thoughts on the issue. Submit through email.
Possible sources for finding current event topics:
The American Archivist published semi-annually by the Society of American Archivists. Available on JSTOR.
Archives in the News Google Group
National Security Archive "Unredacted" blog
History News, quarterly magazine published by American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). Available on JSTOR.
Possible topics to consider: Internet Archive; the Mueller Report; Declassification of government records; Digitization projects; Jewish Archives found in Iraq; social media archiving; Repatriation; Digital watermarking; Born electronic records; Corporate archives; Archiving under precarious situations; Wikileaks; Reclaim the Record.
There are some good guidelines for how to write your paper in the APA style here.
GSLIS is committed to providing affordable programs and rigorous teaching to educate critically-minded, community-focused, and service-oriented professionals who will contribute to diverse information-intensive environments, the vitality of their local and global communities and the advancement of the LIS disciplines, research, and practice.
a) Through a rigorous yet flexible curriculum, GSLIS will prepare graduates for employment and service in a diverse, global, and rapidly changing information society
b) Through service to local, professional and other stakeholder communities, GSLIS will foster ethical, socially-minded leadership in its students
c) Through excellence in research, GSLIS will create new knowledge and contribute to the solution of today’s information problems
A. Enable access to information and knowledge, including its creation, acquisition, organization and management, storage and retrieval
B. Articulate the role and importance of ethics, values, lifelong learning and advocacy underlying the practice of the information professions
C. Apply appropriate standards, policies, tools and practices in various specializations of information science, as articulated by representative professional organizations
D. Design and conduct research studies, critically assess research claims, and synthesize and disseminate findings
E. Advocate for social justice, particularly in our metropolitan community, by understanding the needs, designing programs with, and amplifying the strengths of our underserved groups
F. Identify, evaluate and implement current and emerging technologies to create, store, and present information in a way such that users can access it, process it, and experience it
G. Explain and apply principles of effective management and leadership in the library and related information institutions in a rapidly changing society
Evaluation will be on a percentage system as detailed above. Grade assignment will follow the scholastic standards in the 2019-2020 Queens College Graduate Bulletin, p. 28
An incomplete (I) grade for the course will not be granted unless extenuating circumstances exist and with explicit, prior approval of the instructor and in compliance with the rules of the College. See the 2019-2020 Queens College Graduate Bulletin, p. 29 for additional information
Please note that falling behind in course work or receiving unsatisfactory grades do not, in themselves, constitute sufficient cause to receive an Incomplete.
(In other words, do not assume that you may simply choose to take an incomplete; this must be requested of the instructor with ample justification in writing; it is not guaranteed!)
ONLINE ETIQUETTE AND ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY: The University strictly prohibits the use of University online resources or facilities for the purpose of harassment of any individual or for the posting of any material that is scandalous, libelous, offensive or otherwise against the University’s policies. Please see Netiquette Guide here.
The Policy on Academic Integrity, as adopted by the Board is available to all candidates. Academic Dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. This policy and others related to candidates’ issues are available to you at: http://www2.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/legal-affairs/policies-procedures/academic-integrity-policy/
All programs in New York State undergo periodic reviews by accreditation agencies. For these purposes, samples of candidates’ work are made available to those professionals conducting the review. Candidate anonymity is assured under these circumstances. If you do not wish to have your work made available for these purposes, please let the professor know before the start of the second class. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Candidates with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: 1) register with and provide documentation to the Special Services Office, Kiely 171; 2) Contact me indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. For more information about services available to Queens College candidates, contact: Special Service Office; 171 Kiely Hall; 718-997-5870 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).