Using Functional Analysis in Archival Appraisal

A Practical and Effective Alternative to Traditional Appraisal Methodologies

Marcus C. Robyns

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9798216217558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The identification of recorded information with continuing value that documents corporate and cultural memory is one of the archivist's primary tasks, and he/she accomplishes this mission, in part, through the process of appraisal. But does traditional archival appraisal, based on the concepts of primary and evidential values, effectively serve the needs of institutional archivists and records managers? In an age of scarcity and the challenge of electronic records, can archivists and records managers continue to rely upon a methodology essentially unchanged since the early 1950s?

Using Functional Analysis in Archival Appraisal: A Practical and Effective Alternative to Traditional Appraisal Methodologies shows how archivists in other countries are already using functional analysis, which offers a better, more effective, and imminently more practical alternative to traditional appraisal methodologies that rely upon an analysis of the records themselves.

From this book, information professionals will learn
what functional analysis is and how it is already used around the world;its useful application for a variety of record types and media, including print, non-textual, electronic, and "born-digital" records;how functional analysis provides an alternative to a hierarchical arrangement scheme based upon record groups, sub-groups, and series that mimics the structure of an institution or organization; a recommended process for the practical and effective implementation of functional analysis.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Photos, Figures, Tables, and Textboxes
• Preface: Functional Analysis for the Lone Arranger
• PART I. THE FOUNDATION
• Chapter 1. The Custodial Era
• Chapter 2. The Postcustodial Era
• Chapter 3. Functional Analysis at Work
• Chapter 4. Functional Analysis on the Far Side of the World
• Chapter 5. Setting the Stage
• Chapter 6. Appraisal Information and Analysis
• Chapter 7. Electronic Records
• Chapter 8. The Professional Critique of Functional Analysis
• Appendix A. Archives and Records Management Policy Statement
• Appendix B. Student Assistant Position Descriptions
• Appendix C. Student Assistant Evaluation Form
• Appendix D. Project Memo of Introduction
• Appendix E. Selected Bibliography and Discussion Questions
• Appendix F. Information Collection Training Outline: Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives
• Appendix G. Information Collection Databases
• Appendix H. Sample Appraisal Report (Abridged): Academic and Career Advisement Center (ACAC)
• Appendix I. Electronic Records Management Policy Statement
• Appendix J. Sample Electronic Records Microappraisal Datasheet
• Appendix K. E-mail at Northern Michigan University: Presentation Outline
• Appendix L. Organizing Electronic Records: A Basic Approach
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author