Archival Evolution

One way to view the evolution of the archival profession is through its approaches to organizing and providing access to records. Ciaran B. Trace explores "literature that covers the first sixty years of the development of the American archival profession," examining "the negotiated order that formed around the early conception of the purpose and function of archival classification and arrangement." She contends that "notions of classification and arrangement are emblematic of the profession's identity and aspirations" throughout the period. Shifting to a more contemporary context, Peter Botticelli discusses digitization of and online access to a collection of Historic Boards (photographs pasted to mat boards) at the Peabody Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology at Harvard University. He argues that the "project offers insights on how archives and museums may benefit from treating digital curation as an iterative practice shaped by an ever-shifting technology landscape, by the resource constraints faced by many repositories, and, ultimately, by the historic opportunities afforded by making archives visible in digital form."