Archives are the foundation of our collective memory. Physical and digital artifacts document our history, culture, and identity. 

However, too often, archives are overlooked by decision-makers who fail to recognize their importance. Therefore, talking about archives to decision-makers is crucial to help preserve our history and shape our future.

A processing room provides a workspace, separate from storage areas, where archivists may examine, sort, arrange, describe, and rehouse archival materials. 

Archival storage rooms must be limited to the storage of archival collections; they should incorporate only materials necessary to house collections.

Materials typically used in storage rooms include shelving, cabinets, boxes or containers housing the collections, and book trucks and carts used to move and transport records.

Metadata is structured data about data that facilitates information management and use. Metadata provides users with a standardized means of intellectual access to digitized materials. 

Metadata standards can assist by streamlining the information transfer between hardware and software platforms as technologies evolve. Resources encoded using open standards have a greater chance of remaining accessible after an extended period than resources encoded with proprietary standards. 

Digitizing materials requires an investment in describing them to aid users in discovering them. What makes description challenging is the level of detail required. 

Understanding description requires knowledge of recognized standards and the ability to apply them. In addition, description requires multitasking, toggling between high-level philosophical issues such as the inclusiveness of subject terms and a focused eye for detail to troubleshoot data entry issues.

Archivists should increase the number of access points to their materials to help users navigate their collections. 

Description combines traditional archival practices with visual resource communities’ more focused descriptive methods. 

As part of a digitization project, some post-production is necessary to obtain surrogates that match the original’s detail, sharpness, and tonal range. The nature of the project governs the amount of processing required.

Archives consider both in-house and outsourced labor options for digitization projects. 

A selection policy is a core component of a digital project. Archivists must validate their selection procedures for digitization, especially with the increase in collaborations for digital projects. 

Prior to archival digitization, archivists should be aware of areas of concern, and remember that different international laws apply to these problematic categories.