Target Audience: Law librarians who, among other duties, manage a collection of institutional archival materials Learning Outcomes: 1. Participants will be able to examine affordable and practical best practices for managing archives/historical collections. 2. Participants will be able to review resources and tools to help them analyze and manage the various materials found in archives/historical collections.
Librarians in small and mid-sized law libraries are forced to wear many hats, and one is that of the parent institution's "archivist." Many librarians thrust into this role are not trained as archivists and have a hard time discerning the accepted standards for accessioning, processing, preserving, and providing access to these collections. Often these supposed archives are actually a mixture of documents, print ephemera, photographs, digital media and even works of art. This program will introduce the rudiments of archival best practices, giving practical advice on what is an archival collection, what to keep, and how to describe and provide access to archival materials. It will also provide concrete solutions for managing the non-archival materials often lumped into these institutional collections.