Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections

Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections explores how archivists and special collections librarians in organizations of different sizes and types have approached the challenges of collection, as well as exploring opportunities to acquire new kinds of materials and conduct thoughtful reappraisal. The case studies featured are: 1."No Fame Required": Collaboration, Community, and the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project 2.Placed Out: Providing a Home for the Records of the Children's Aid Society and the Orphan Trains 3."I Really Can't Wait to Archive this Exchange": Exploring Processing as Appraisal in the Tim Kaine Email Project 4.Hardware for SoftPoems: Appraisal and Acquisition of Vintage Computer Equipment 5.From Projects to Policy: The Evolution of a Systematic Reappraisal Program 6.Terabytes from Far-Off Lands: Acquiring Records of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program 7.So Much to Do, So Little Time: Prioritizing To Acquire Significant University Records 8.The Studio Theatre Archives: Staging an Embedded Appraisal 9.Making the Bulb Want to Change: Implementing an Active Electronic Records Appraisal and Acquisition Program 10.Weaving the Web of Influence: Maximizing Archival Appraisal and Acquisition through the Use of "Spider Advocates" 11.Reappraisal and Deaccessioning: Building for the Future by Removing Some of the Past 12.Tap into History: The Birth of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives These case studies show a range of strategies and processes, but all were selected because they demonstrate ideas that could be transferred into many other settings. They can serve as models, sources of inspiration, or starting points for new discussions. This volume will be useful to those working in archives and special collections as well as other cultural heritage organizations, and provides ideas ranging from those that require long-term planning and coordination to ones that could be more quickly implemented. The chapters also provide students and educators in archives, library, and public history graduate programs a resource for understanding the varieties of issues related to appraisal and acquisition and how they can be addressed. Review Anyone who works in archival appraisal and acquisition will benefit from reading the cases documented in this book. Theimer's selections demonstrate how theories of appraisal and acquisition can be applied in real-world situations, within the practical constraints that archivists face in their daily jobs. Graduate students in library and public history programs would also benefit from a careful reading of this book, which illustrates the uniqueness and complexity of every archival appraisal and acquisition decision. As with Theimer's other works and writings on archives, this volume addresses cutting-edge issues while offering practical advice.--Technical Services Quarterly The consideration...of the value to the institution is valid and instructive and adds much to the piece as a whole. Indeed, this approach is both sympathetic and informed and adds much to the volume (and indeed series) as a whole. . . .Altogether, this is a very useful volume.--Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association Acquisition and appraisal are part of the art of being an archivist; a combination of theory and practice enhanced by intuition and a knowledge of human relationships. Kate Theimer's volume offers the reader an opportunity to explore the technical complexity and creativity involved in the archival practice of determining what documentation and records will be preserved for the future.--Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Director, Special Collections & University Archivist, Wake Forest University and co-editor of Perspectives on Women's Archives Collectively these notes from the field both reaffirm and challenge the way archivists think about appraisal. Practitioners will want to read about what colleagues ar