[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: EADs...was the name of a famous Civil Engineer too



It seems to me that there may well be a logical reason for taking either of the two approaches suggested in the postings on this issue.

Follwoing Kim Scott's approach might well help eliminate some of the frequent postings to the list asking if anyone has any papers of this or that individual or organization, or whatever.  A catalog record added to an OPAC or even a national database such as OCLC or RLIN can be modified at a later date if information included in the original is not accurate or is incomplete.  Putting information on the existence of a collection lets some scholars know it exists.  Doing that without first processing the collection more or less obligates the institution holding it to make it available to researchers in its unprocessed state. That may well create problems.  But then we all want our collections to be used.  The sooner we let potential researchers know the collections are in our institution the sooner they might be used.

In addition, most institutions have small collections for which they will probably never create a finding aid.  Thus there would never be a finding aid from which to create a cataloging record.

The option of waiting to catalog until after a collection is processed solves the potential problem of having to grant access to an unprocessed collection, but it also probably causes a delay in potential use of a collection.

The archival profession like many others is made up of realists, practicalists, and idealists.  This discussion seems to me to be a good example of that.  Idealists argue that you should always follow a certain pattern--acquire the collection, create a properly encoded finding aid in a standardized formate, and then create a catalog record to let potential researchers that the collection is in a particular institution.  Realists argue that the most important thing is to let potential researchers know a collection is in a particular institution and then create the find aid.  Practicalists use both approaches as the situation changes.

   

Charles R. Schultz, CA
Professor and Clements Archivist
Cushing Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-5000
c-schultz@tamu.edu
979-862-1555
FAX 979-845-1441

State-of-the-art automation will never beat the wastebasket 
when it comes to speeding up efficiency in the office.
Ann Landers Gem of the Day, July 27, 1994

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>