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Re: Compiling Archives for a Professional Association



Well, what you're basically asking (if I read you correctly) is what should
the guidelines for your archival collection be?  The answer, I think, really
depends on you and your group.  What, in your opinion, defines what this
group did?  What materials, of the many available, best demonstrate the
activities of the group?  The guesswork often comes in to play when you ask
the question "what will somebody want to know 5, 10, 50, 100 years from
now?"

What you really need is a collection policy - what do we collect, what do we
do with it, who can use it, and a host of other questions that should be
outlined as clearly as possible.  I'd suggest mining the list archives if
you haven't already on subjects like: arrangement; description; collection
policies.  You may need, if you haven't got it already, some archival
training; check with local and regional organizations for workshops, unless
you're prepared for a Master's program.

You asked about arrangement, and there are certainly theories and "official"
approaches, but I have personally (with some trepidation) chosen an
arrangement that I think fits the needs of researchers best.  I'm guessing,
of course, what someone wants to find, but you do your best.

Incidentally, if you can find a way to keep all the materials (offsite
storage, for example) you may want to hang on to as much as possible for
later (re)consideration  - there may be some valuable materials that given
more space and more options, you'd like to preserve.  There may also be
another repository willing to take extra materials, so if you can't find
room at your host, there may be other places.

Anyway, good luck.

DS

______________________________________
Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
David Taylor Archives
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu

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