Organizing Archival Records: A Practical Method of Arrangement and Description for Small Archives

by David W. Carmicheal

Many of our nation’s historical records reside in small historical societies, libraries, cultural organizations, houses of worship, and museums. The hard work of non-professional archivists is to thank for preserving much of our documentary heritage. Organizing Archival Records equips non-professional archivists with the skills to tackle one of the most challenging tasks of archiving: arranging and describing archival materials. Carmicheal offers step-by-step guidance to understanding the purpose of organization and the essentials of how to do it. He covers the basic terms and theory of organization, and how to avoid some common pitfalls.

Carmichael brings this third edition into the 21st century with extended discussions about computerizing the process, making descriptions available on the web, and organizing electronic records. With real-world examples, exercises, and step-by-step directions, anyone can organize archival materials in a professional manner. Organizing Archival Records is an excellent resource for both computerized and manual organization and recordkeeping.

Genres: Nonfiction

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I obviously read this for work, but I have to admit it's an excellent introduction to the topic if you have an archives project and no experience organizing archives.

[James Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, the content of the book matches well with the title and provides a good balance to other more theoretical works out there of a similar nature.

[Lyndsey Buchanan]

Excellent introduction to the theory and practice of archival work in smaller collections.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most practical guides to dealing with an archive (when you haven't really been trained for it) that I have read. I finally feel that I can set up a doable process.

[Margot Note · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent "how-to" for laypeople about arrangement and description.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and easy-to-understand introductory guide to archival description and arrangement, complete with plenty of examples and exercises.