|
|
Should you be at an
Archives? |
Records, not books
Archives contain records, not books. Archivists deal with the records left by a person or organization and the relationship between the record and the activity that generated it. As a result, records have meaning and context in how they witness to the creator's activities.
 |
Records are: |
- documents made, received and set aside during the course of an activity
- by-products of an activity, not the purpose
- created by an authorized and qualified person
- available in a variety of formats (textual materials, visual materials, sound recordings, etc.)
|
Researchers often deal with the personal papers of a significant person, such as an author, or an organization. Records generally refer to unpublished materials, such as:
|
- meeting minutes and agendas
|
|
- annual reports and project files
|
|
|
|
- sound and video recordings
|
- ledgers and account books
|
|
|
Some of the major differences between libraries and
archives are illustrated in the following table:
Archives |
Libraries |
Closed stacks |
Open stacks |
Collect
original, un-published material (e.g.
letters) |
Collect published material (e.g. books,
journals) |
Material is organized according to the way in
which the collector organized his/her collection (original order) |
Material is organized within a
classification system such as Library of Congress call numbers
|
Unique material (records) |
Other copies of the material may be available in other libraries |
Group of
material is described on a number of different
levels within the fonds: fonds level, series level
and item level |
Material is described on an individual level (e.g catalogue record for a
single book) |
Items do not
circulate; you cannot take the material home |
Items circulate: you may take the material home |
You search for
materials on your subject using finding aids (listing of everything in the
fonds) |
You search for materials on your
subject using an online catalogue |
|
Importance of background research
As we discussed in the Background Research section, it is important
to remember that the materials that are generally found in an archival
setting are primary resources.
Therefore, it is up to you to research the
historical context in which the documents or artifacts were created.
Remember, secondary resources will provide
you with a context and understanding of the circumstances and time period in
which the given document (e.g. letter, photograph, or map) was created.
Secondary resources will not, however, interpret the document for you. That
is up to you! |
|
|
| |
|
Last modified: Jul 12, 07
