Abstract
Almost all archivists have at one time or another confronted the issue of managing additions to existing archival or manuscript collections. Managing these types of collections can prove extremely challenging, even for experienced professionals. Archivists have several options for making these types of collections available to researchers, but it is not always clear which option is best. Archivists from Purdue University and Georgia State University will discuss two of the options in the following case studies on managing growing collections. These case studies are meant to serve as examples for other archivists who may be faced with managing similar collections. The case studies include justifications for each archivist’s plan of work, the methodology used, the results of the work, and what was learned from the process. Pros and cons relating to each situation are also addressed, and an evaluation form has been included that will help archivists decide what steps to take when dealing with their own expanding collections in the future.
Keywords
archives, manuscripts, archival, collections, arrangement, description, finding aids, case studies
Published in:
Archival Issues, volume 28, number 2 (2003-2004): 105-120
Date of this Version
August 2006
Comments
This article was published in the 2003-2004 issue of Archival Issues, published by the Midwest Archives Conference. However, Archival Issues is behind on its printings and the 2003-2004 issue was actually printed and distributed in 2006.