Archivists at Work: Stress and Mood Effects in a Gendered Profession

ABSTRACT Although much has been written about both the gendering of the archival profession and how gender impacts work in society, empirical data are insufficient to document how they combine to specifically influence archivists and archival work. This study examines gender differences as a factor in individual and work-site characteristics of archivists. Six central questions are used to explore the role of gender in the intensity or stressfulness of work, organizational climate where archival work is done, administrative support for archivists, and mood. Methodology, results, and suggestions for future research are presented.

Our Comeback Story: Impostor Syndrome in the Archival Profession

ABSTRACT In 2019, a group of archivists participated in two conference sessions focused on impostor syndrome in the archives field. Though no comprehensive study on impostor syndrome has been undertaken in the archives profession, the authors listened to numerous stories of the phenomenon among audience members. This perspectives article considers the presence and impact of impostor syndrome in the archives field. The authors define the phenomenon, review literature on its influences in the information science profession, include stories of archives professionals working with impostor syndrome, and offer suggestions for working through impostor syndrome.

More product, less process in film collections: a case study at the Pacific Cinematheque

This thesis is an applied case study, wherein a donation of materials was assessed at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive between January – June 2019. The archive has struggled to process their backlog due to a strain on resources—an issue that is prevalent in the archival profession, and particularly in small institutions. The objective was to apply broad principles from Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner’s 2005 paper “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival processing,” aimed at large paper and manuscript collections, to managing backlog at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive in order to help establish a minimal processing workflow that would allow for faster access to materials in the future. The case study explores the applicability of Greene & Meissner’s processing framework in a small, film-centric archive, as well as the implications of making archival selections in this setting and the importance of preserving and providing access to these films.

More product, less process in film collections: a case study at the Pacific Cinematheque

This thesis is an applied case study, wherein a donation of materials was assessed at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive between January – June 2019. The archive has struggled to process their backlog due to a strain on resources—an issue that is prevalent in the archival profession, and particularly in small institutions. The objective was to apply broad principles from Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner’s 2005 paper “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival processing,” aimed at large paper and manuscript collections, to managing backlog at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive in order to help establish a minimal processing workflow that would allow for faster access to materials in the future. The case study explores the applicability of Greene & Meissner’s processing framework in a small, film-centric archive, as well as the implications of making archival selections in this setting and the importance of preserving and providing access to these films.

The “Custodial Period” of the Royal Land Archives in Zagreb Through the Activities of Ivan Bojničić and Emilij Laszowski

The development of Croatian archival science is inextricably linked with the activities of the Royal Land Archives in Zagreb. Although the beginnings of the care of archival materials can be traced back to the middle of the 17th century, it is difficult to talk about organized and systematic protection until the end of the 19th century and the work of two prominent social officials, historians and archivists, namely Ivan Bojničić and Emilij Laszowski. Through their efforts in the next three decades, i.e. until the 1920s, the Land Archives was transformed into a significant institution with a permanent scientific journal and newly renovated spaces built according to the standards of the archival profession, for the preservation, protection and use of archives. This period, however, was also characterized by the complete absence of theoretical considerations of archival science. According to social, political and financial circumstances, it was necessary to think about the elementary preservation of archival materials to save them from complete decay. Due to all the above, the mentioned period in the development of the Zagreb Land Archives can justly be called “custodial.”

Maintaining Records in Context? Disrupting the Theory and Practice of Archival Classification and Arrangement

ABSTRACT The role and the associated practices of the archivist are attuned to notions of facilitation. Archivists facilitate people's engagement with the historical record by providing access to records in context: a context instantiated through archival classification, arrangement, and description. In the second of a two-part article, the author draws from the archival literature to present a historical overview of the factors that contributed to evolving notions of archival classification and arrangement from the 1960s to today. A review of the literature of this time frame provides its own context for understanding how, why, and through whose influence competing understandings and implementations of core classification ideas persist. In the process, the author highlights classification as a historically situated interpretive act, drawing attention to the implications of various disciplinary influences and analytical perspectives on the present status and future conception of, and possibilities for, the American archival profession.

Retracing Labor in Yugoslav Socialism . Reflections on Research and Archival Approaches

This study merges two perspectives, the historiographical and the archival, in order to capture and analyze key elements relating to issues encountered in records-based research into the labor history of Yugoslav socialism. In combining ongoing historiographical (social and labor history) and theoretical (archival science) research with auto-ethnographic, practice-based reflections, the author outlines several observations, facts, and propositions, which may be of help to both researchers and archivists. The essay accepts the recent resurgence of Yugoslav labor history as a premise upon which it discusses key problems relating to fieldwork, local and historical case study research, obstacles relating to communication and information, as well as pressing issues in the field of the archival profession, upon which it elaborates possible strategies and practical solutions to remedy the current conditions.

Maintaining Records in Context: A Historical Exploration of the Theory and Practice of Archival Classification and Arrangement

In the first of a two-part article, the author examines the negotiated order that formed around the early conception of the purpose and function of archival classification and arrangement. Drawing from the literature that covers the first sixty years of the development of the American archival profession, the article reveals the historical, social, economic, and technological forces, as well as the specific professional circumstances and interests, in which these principles and processes emerged. In doing so, archival classification is presented as an infrastructural tool that is available for, and understandable to, members of the profession. The picture that emerges is one in which notions of classification and arrangement are emblematic of the profession's identity and aspirations, associated with certain configurations of bureaucracy and technology, embodied in tacit and stated knowledge, accomplished and materialized through experiential practice, yet ever emergent and contested in response to changing social and political realities.

Megkésett tisztelgés vagy szakmai aktualitás? A levéltártan alapművének első magyar kiadásáról

The Dutch Manual of Muller, Feith and Fruin is the basic work of modern archival theory and practice and widely considered to be the “Bible of a modern archivist”. It was published the first time in Hungarian in 2019. Is it a late honour for the past of this profession with some significance just for archival history? How can the permanent influence of the book be explained? The principle of provenance has to be reconsidered at190any time when the archival profession faces new challenges. This study summarizes the most topical challenges of our times generally and for Hungarian archivists particularly to identify fields where the Manual seems to be highly inspiring in. We have to find new ways of arranging and representing archival information, and Dutch Manual seems to offer useful reference in the digital age too.

Access to Archives and ICARUS Digital Platforms: Data Protection in Theory and Practice

Access to archival material is a complex issue, wider than archival profession and related to legal, administrative and political factors, and increasingly to the IT sector as well. This area is fundamentally regulated by archival legislation, but due to the existence of other relevant regulations with different accessibility approaches, archive regulations and procedures need to be systematically harmonized with current regulations, leading to numerous open issues in the practical work of the archives. In this paper the author presents a European legal framework on the use of information and data protection relating to archival material in the digital environment, and analyses its practical implications through the example of ICARUS's international digital archive platforms.