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. As much as possible, we included free or easily accessible resources.
- The book Alone in the Stacks: Succeeding as a Solo Archivist by Christina Zamon offers practical guidance on handling common work demands while promoting archival best practices. Published by SAA in 2024 as an update of the 2012 book The Lone Arranger: Succeeding in a Small Repository. Chapters cover archives administration and management, facilities and disaster planning, collections management and collection management systems, processing, digitization, privacy and copyright, born digital collections and digital preservation, student interns, reference, outreach, budgeting, funding and grants.
- Another book Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections: A Practical Guide for Museums by Angela Kipp is useful. The ideas are applicable to archives as well as museums and can be helpful for trying to figure out the big picture and make progress without feeling overwhelmed. Second edition published 2024.
- "Don't Throw it Away! Documenting and Preserving Organizational History," booklet by University of Illinois at Chicago (pdf, 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)
- LA as Subject: Archives at Risk Help Desk, USC Libraries
- "Roadmap for Participatory Archiving" (RoPA), UMass Boston
I appreciate the information offered on this forum regarding digital preservation and access. It's intriguing to see how archiving methods might change with technology like Sprunki Game, particularly given its novel gamification approach. As someone who works with historical archives, I see enormous possibilities for both involvement and educating future archivists. We need to consider how we may use gaming dynamics to make archival work more accessible and appealing! I'm excited to see where these ideas lead! The highlight of sprunki game is its harmonious combination of music and visuals, providing players with a unique entertainment experience.
Thanks for the solo archivist resources – super useful for anyone starting out. I was organizing a small local history collection and struggled with writing clear finding aids. Early drafts were full of bullets that looked sloppy in reports. Quick guides were vague on formatting. Then I read this post https://essays.studymoose.com/blog/can-i-use-bullets-in-a-research-paper/ explaining proper academic list use. It helped me switch to paragraphs where needed, making everything more professional. Pairs well with Zamon's book tips.