Getting Started

In response to a 2023 SAS listserv discussion on "essential resources" for solo archivists and request for a persistent resource that members can access and contribute to, we have created a Google Sheet:

Essential Resources for Solo Archivists

The sheet includes all the great resources suggested in the community discussion and is unrestricted so everyone can continue to add or update resources.  If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can improve this resource, please email the SAS section leads at soloarchivists.saa@gmail.com.

 If you're a section member and are logged in, you can also review the original discussion on SAA Connect here.

Here are some other great resources if you are just getting started as a solo archivist:

• "Don't Throw it Away! Documenting and Preserving Organizational History," University of Illinois at Chicago (2006)
• "How to Preserve Family Archives," National Archives and Records Administration (2019)
• "Caring for Private and Family Collections," Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Starting an Archives by Elizabeth Yakel (1994, but still useful; includes a sample loan agreement in the appendix; full PDF available from HathiTrust)
• Master Plans – Grants and Training Opportunities Blog (last updated in 2014)
• LA as Subject: Archives at Risk Help Desk, USC Libraries
• "Roadmap for Participatory Archiving" (RoPA), UMass Boston