An oral history is a recorded audio or video interview in question-and-answer format.
An oral history project is a series of oral history interviews focused on documenting a topic, theme, era, place, organization, event, or group of people.
As archival practice shifts to meet the challenges of the digital age, the ethical use of born-digital materials has become one of the most pressing concerns for archivists. These materials—emails, websites, text messages, digital photographs, spreadsheets, social media posts, and more—are created and stored digitally from their inception.
The fundamental principles of archival preservation focus on the agents of deterioration, preventive conservation, and essential preservation strategies applied in archival settings.
The monetary appraisal of archives and manuscripts is a critical yet underexplored intersection of library science and financial valuation. This article addresses the persistent knowledge gap between archival assessment and fiscal valuation and provides an overview of the monetary appraisal process in the United States. It focuses on concluding the fair market value (FMV) of noncash charitable contributions, a process governed by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). By documenting practices and terminology, the article serves as a resource for archivists navigating the complexities of donor relations and institutional stewardship. It advocates for increased fiscal literacy within the archival profession, suggesting that an integrated understanding of market dynamics and stewardship costs is essential for the care and financial substantiation of collections.
Proper archival storage is one of the most critical aspects of archival preservation. In addition to housing collections in a dedicated archival storage room, using suitable storage materials and enclosures helps protect archival collections from environmental damage, physical wear, and chemical deterioration.
One of the core challenges archivists face is determining the appropriate description level for materials in their collections. From broad collection-level overviews to granular item-level details, descriptive hierarchies play a crucial role in conveying the context and structure of archival materials.
Records are essential to every organization. Records can be in any form, including physical documents and electronic files.
Proper management and organization of records is crucial for any organization to function smoothly. Records provide evidence of the organization’s activities and help staff make informed decisions.
Many archival repositories have invested in digitization projects to enhance access to their collections.
Archives have been particularly interested in infrastructure projects for several years. Repositories have also participated in collective efforts to test and disseminate tools, procedures, and methodologies.
Plagiarism is the practice of falsely representing as one’s own any language, thoughts, ideas, designs, or expression in a paper, exam, or other work. In short, it means taking someone’s else’s words, ideas, or work and passing them off as yours. There are severe consequences for plagiarism in your academic, work, and personal lives.
When you're conducting research online, it may be difficult to determine if a website contains credible information. Almost anyone can publish anything online, which provides a wealth of information for scholars and students. However, the ease of publication may promote information which is false, faulty, or misleading.
Digitization has changed how collections are used and accessed.
Research can make digital surrogates more amendable to interpretation, such as via full-text searching and indexing, as well as comparison of materials for multiple sources. Nonetheless, there may be times when no digital surrogate is adequate for scholarship. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate whether digitization is worthwhile before undertaking an initiative. Many factors come into play when assessing the value of digital files. These factors may help access when digitizing collections can be cost-effective. Valuable digital resources, which bring prestige to the institutions that create and maintain them, are those that support scholarship without losing the benefits of working with the originals.