Fundamentals of Acquisition and Appraisal Pre-Readings

Below are some “classics” from archival literature that discuss the history of the development of appraisal practice and theory. Although the workshop focuses more on the practical aspects of creating collection policies, appraising collections in the field and in the archives, working with donors and the legal and administrative aspects of acquiring collections, these readings will provide a richer understanding of why appraisal is important and how the theory and practice of appraisal became vital to working with modern collections.

• Bartkowski, Patricia. "Records Management and the Walking Archivist" (1975), reprinted in A Modern Archives Reader (Washington, 1984); pages 38–45.
• Boles, Frank, and Julia Marks Young. "Exploring the Black Box: The Appraisal of University Administrative Records", American Archivist 48:2 (Spring 1985); pages 121–140.
• Ericson, Timothy L. "At the 'rim of creative dissatisfaction': Archivists and Acquisition Development".
• Greene, Mark A. "A Brief and Opinionated History of Archival Appraisal Theory, to 2005". 2009
• Schellenberg, Theodore. "The Appraisal of Modern Public Records" (1956). Reprinted in A Modern Archives Reader (Washington, 1984); pages 57–70.
• Stewart, Virginia R. "A Primer on Mansucript Field Work". The Midwestern Archivist 1:2; 1976; pages 3–20.
• Wilson, Bruce. "Systematic Appraisal of the Records of the Government of Canada at the National Archives of Canada".

Collecting Policies: Examples

• Vanderbilt University: http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/policies/collectiondevelopment.shtml
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Archives/about/collection_policy.html
• South Dakota State Historical Society: http://history.sd.gov/Archives/Data/About/collectionpolicy.aspx
• St. Thomas More Catholic Church: http://www.stmoside.org/HistoricalArchive/ArchivesCollectionPolicy.html
• State Archives of Florida: http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/archives/collectionPolicy.cfm