Backlogs don't have to weigh as heavily as they do. Focus on implementing concrete strategies for increasing processing rates and reducing backlogs, as outlined in the Greene-Meissner article, ""More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing,"" and learn as you share information and experiences with fellow course participants. Topics include appraisal, arrangement, description, digitization, and preservation, as well as development of processing plans, policies, and benchmarks. This array of topics is addressed through lecture, case studies, and group discussion.
Upon completing this workshop, you’ll be able to:
- Understand the concepts and arguments outlined in ""More Product, Less Process""
- Implement strategies for increasing processing rates in a variety of institutions
- Apply techniques for managing efficient processing programs, including developing processing plans, policies, and benchmarks
- Understand how descriptive standards such as DACS can assist in the creation of descriptive records that adhere to ""minimum"" requirements and assist in the reuse of data in a variety of outputs
- Develop strategies for integrating processing with other archival functions, particularly accessioning
Who should attend?Archivists who process archival collections or manage archival processing programs and administrators interested in processing procedures within their repositories (introductory to intermediate levels)
A&D Core Competency:
1. Arrangement: Understand the process of organizing materials with respect to their provenance and original order to protect their context and facilitate access.
2. Description: Analyze and describe details about the attributes of a record or collection of records to facilitate identification, management, and understanding of the work.
3. Descriptive Standards: Apply rules and practices that codify the content of information used to represent archival materials in discovery tools according to published structural guidelines.
4. Management: Demonstrate ability to manage physical and intellectual control over archival materials.
5. Discovery: Create tools to facilitate access and disseminate descriptive records of archival materials.
6. Ethics: Convey transparency of actions taken during arrangement and description and respect privacy, confidentiality, and cultural sensitivity of archival materials.
If you intend to pursue the A&D Certificate, you will need to pass the
examination for this course.
Testimonials:
Participant responses to ""what aspect of the workshop methods/materials was most valuable to you?"" included:
- “Case studies, survey results of what others are accomplishing, etc.” - Paige Hendrickson
- “Discussion of Greene-Meissner, application of DACS to high-level processing, description of Princeton methods of reducing backlog.”
- “Very beneficial course. We need to incorporate this process into our workflow. Great timing. We are rewriting our processing manual.”
- “Handouts of Princeton's documents that demonstrate how the institution implemented MPLP, e.g. accessioning requirements and processing levels summary.”
- “Concise explanation of this approach by [a] knowledgable person who uses it.”
Attendance is limited to 35.