Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians

Since its original publication, Hunter’s manual has been “not only a rich and ready reference tool but also a practical resource for solving problems” (Catholic Library World), and no text has served as a better overview of the field of archives. Newly revised and updated to more thoroughly address our increasingly digital world, it remains the clearest and most comprehensive guide to the discipline. Editor of American Archivist, the journal of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), Hunter covers such keystone topics as: A history of archives, including the roles of historical societies and local history collections in libraries Conducting a survey and starting an archival programme Selection, appraisal, acquisition, accessioning, and deaccessioning Important points of copyright, privacy, and ethics Arrangement of archival collections, with a discussion of new theories Description, including DACS, EAD, and tools such as Archon and the Archivists’ Toolkit Access, reference, and outreach, with a look at how recent innovations in finding aids can help researchers Preservation, including guidance on how to handle rare books, maps, architectural records, and artifacts Digital records, addressing new and popular methods of storage and preservation of email, image files, Webpages, Word documents, spreadsheets, databases, and media files Disaster planning, security, and theft prevention Metrics, assessment, establishing employee procedures and policies, working with interns and volunteers, and other managerial duties Public relations and marketing, from social media and the Web to advocacy Professional guidelines and codes, such as the newly developed SAA Statement of Core Values of Archivists. Providing in-depth coverage of both theory and practice, this manual is essential for archivists at all levels of experience and of all backgrounds.