Chapter 6: Determining Access Policies

The goal of an access policy is to protect the records from harm, prevent some information from being disclosed prematurely, and strive to make as much information as possible available to users. An access policy mediates among the competing demands of privacy, confidentiality, public right to know, and equality of access.

Archival Responsibilities Regarding Access

• Understand laws and regulations relevant to information found in records in the repository, especially federal and state laws governing privacy, confidentiality, freedom of information, and regulations regarding security classifications.
• Advise donors and creators about access issues
• Negotiate clear and responsible agreements with donors and agencies
• Know where sensitive information is likely to be found in the collection
• Identify information that cannot be released immediately for public use
• Develop appropriate restrictions for sensitive materials
• Administer restrictions fairly
• Inform users about restricted materials
• Strive to open as much material as possible
• Define policy about access decisions
• Promote equal access wherever possible

It is important that archivists understand some the laws regulating record use. The Freedom of Information Acts (FIOA) were created to ensure that records of government activities are open to all. The statute states that any person has the right to know anything about the operations of the federal government. Exceptions to FIOA include personal privacy and national security. FIOA allows users to request records from the government and the government must respond within a certain time frame.

Another law archivists should be aware of is The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This law allows students or parents of minor students the right to examine or challenge educational records and prohibits the release of personal information without the permission of the student or parent. FERPA is something all archivist should be familiar with, but especially those working in college or university campuses.

A good access policy should contain: identify the users to be served by the repository, state the type of records held within the repository, state the restrictions on the collections and identify the laws or donor restrictions associated, describe reference services, disclose fees, describe physical access and conditions of user, explain how to use the information, and specify if materials can be loaned.

Access policies are the cornerstones of sound reference service and users should be made aware of the access policy. Archivists strive to provide equal service to all researchers, but the reality is that some records come with restrictions. A good access policy will help clarify these restrictions and allow users to see that a consistent method of service is being applied to all users.

Chapter 5: The Reference Process

This chapter focuses on the human dimension of providing reference services in archives.

It may seem like as more finding aids and records become available online that there will be less of a need for reference services, but as information sources become more abundant people will need even more assistance to locate and evaluate these sources.

Intellectual Dimensions of Reference Services

• Initial Interview

· Query abstraction

· Query resolution

· Search strategy

• Continuing Interaction

• Exit Interview

The initial interview is the interchange between the archivist and the user. This is the opportunity for the archivist to elicit information about the research project and to guide the user to the appropriate sources. During the interview it is crucial for the archivist to ask good questions (query abstraction) about the specifics of the user's needs and goals. Good questions will lead to a better understanding of the user's needs, which will help the archivist provide the best possible solution and materials.

Query resolution is the process of the archivist and the user analyzing the problem in terms of the sources available. It is vital that the reference archivist be well versed in the sources available at their repository. Once the problem has been analyzed with an eye towards available sources, it is time to formulate a search strategy.

A search strategy is a plan for resolving the problem using the sources available. The archivist will help the user identify sources that are highly relevant, others as possibly useful, and some that may be of marginal interest. A well formed search strategy can only be developed if the archivist is aware of the current holdings of the repository, the formats available, the location of the records (some may be housed offsite), and the finding aids available.

The second full stage of the archivist/user interaction is the continuing interaction. As a user works through archival materials they frequently discover new aspects of their topic, discover new names, and become aware of additional sources. It is important for the archivist to support the user during this discovery period by providing additional information about holdings or directing them to reference files to aid in the research of a new name or topic. It is important that the user see the archivist as a vital link to the repository and that questions are always welcomed. A user must feel that the records and the expertise of the staff is being made available to them.

The exit interview is the last stage of the archivist/user interaction. Though it is seldom taken advantage of, the exit interview can function as a means of evaluation of the repository's services. The archivist can discover if the services available are helpful and useful, if the user has any suggestions about services, or even preservation is needed on certain items of a record collection. The exit interview can also service as an opportunity for the archivist to gather more information about existing collections. Perhaps the user can shed light on some person not well described in the collection or identify people in a photograph. The exit interview, though often overlooked, can enhance a repository in many ways.

This three stage process is not limited to physical archivist/user interactions. Off-site interaction should also follow this process. Today users are also taking advantage of the repository via phone, mail, email, and interactive features on the repository's website. It is crucial that archivists treat these users with the same care and respect as those physical visitors to the repository.

Overall, despite expanding technologies, the archivist will always be the mediator between the collection and the user. An archivist must always remember that a repository exists for users and that those users depend on archivists to provide them with the necessary materials from that repository.

Chapter 4: Providing Intellectual Access to Archives

The arrangement and description of archives aids in the ability of the reference archivist to provide access to users and allows for the discovery of collections housed in the archive.

Archivists follow the principles of provenance and original order in organizing and arranging records. These principles are grounded in the contextual information that made the records usable as they were created.

Provenance links records to the functions that created them. Provenance is retains for the very important reason of ensuring that the evidence in the records is authentic.

Description is another important process that aids in intellectual access. Description functions as the information that guides users to records and helps user understand those records. To provide better access for users repositories create guides and finding aids that describe collections and records series’. These finding aids can be produced in a myriad of methods. EAD is becoming the most popular as it allows for the archive to mount their finding aids on the Internet, which allows for even greater discovery and use. Finding aids can be just paper publications that are as simple as a repository directory or as detailed as an EAD finding aid.

Archivists use a variety of finding aids, which continue to evolve as new technologies are developed, to provide intellectual access to users about the holdings and collections of an archive. Reference archivists provide a crucial link between these finding aids and the users seeking information. It is always important to remember that description and finding aids are not created just for those working within the archive, rather they are meant to aid users in finding the information they are seeking. It is easy to lose sight of the end user while arranging and describing a collection, but a user's needs must always be considered. Reference archivists take the end product of archivists and enable users to find those collections and gather the information needed.

Chapter 3: Identifying Uses and Users of Archives

Here is the breakdown for chapter three of Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts by Mary Jo Pugh.

Uses of Archives

• Primary Uses of Records
• Secondary Uses of Records

- Informational Value

- Evidential Value

- Intrinsic Value

Understanding the users of archives

First, let's address some of the vocabulary presented.

The primary value of records is the value of a record created for its original purpose, such fiscal accountability

Secondary value is the value of a record beyond its original purpose. There are three types of secondary value; informational, evidential, and intrinsic.

Informational value describes the value of the information that records contain about people, events, objects, and places.

Evidential value refers to the value of the evidence that records provide about their creators and their activities.

Intrinsic value describes the value that records have as artifacts, tangible to links to our past and heritage.

Understanding the User

Staff Members of an Organization

Corporate or organizational archives are preserved so that the institution can understand its history and have sources of current and past policies. Archives help solve problems and prevent problems from becoming reoccurring events. These archives document infrastructure, legal issues, marketing, public relations, development, administration, and institutional memory.

Staff members of an institution using an archive usually require extensive reference help and are usually seeking an answer to a specific question or solution to a specific problem. It is critical that a reference archivist be aware of the contents of these collections and understand how to gain access to these records.

Scholars

Though it assumed that scholars are the largest population of users in archives, they actually make up a small percentage of the total user population.

To assist scholars reference archivists need to undersand that nature of scholarly inquiry, research methodologies, and the use of archives in all disciplines. Reference archivists should understand that scholars come to an archive to usually survey a large body of materials. Scholars also often enter an archive seeking an individual item or collection that might be cited in another scholarly work, so it is important the archivists understand how to retrieve these sources from the information cited.

Students

Not all academic research is conducted by experienced scholars. Students make up a large population of users, especially at university and manuscript archives. Students are an important population of user for archives. It is crucial for reference archivists to communicate the value of archives to these young scholars. The more people an archive can reach, the more important archives will be seen in our society.

A reference archivist must also be prepared to handle a variety student inquiries. Students working on a graduate dissertation or an undergraduate paper will approach the reference archivist for assistance. Patience is key in dealing with students who might not have a developed research strategy. Explaining the sources of archival materials to students might also be necessary to those inexperienced with archival research.

Genealogists

Genealogy is a very popular hobby in America and as a result, has increased the use of archives. Genealogists are seeking information about family members. Reference archivists will have an excellent opportunity to educated genealogists about archives. Again, it is important to deploy patience when dealing with this user who might not be experienced in researching archival materials. It is important to archivists to become familiar with resources that genealogists are likely to use, as those will be commonly requested. Perhaps an archive should microfilm a heavily used collection or allow some materials to be housed in the reading rooms due to frequent use.

While it is important to understand the different types of users that an archive might experience, it must always be remembered that all of these users are information seekers.

It is vital for archivists to understand the collections they house and the resources available for information retrieval. Not all information needed is in the form of a physical document. Perhaps the archive has an extensive web posting of Executive Board minutes. A user might not need the original document to obtain the information they are seeking. Finding aids can also confirm whether the information needed is even contained with the archive itself.

Overall, a reference archivist must be prepared to handle queries from experienced and unexperienced users. A thorough knowledge of the holdings and retrieval resources is needed to best serve the user populations. It is important to be aware of resources that have a high usage rate for certain user populations. It should never be forgotten that an archive exists to serve these information seekers.

Providing Reference Services for Archives & Manuscripts by Mary Jo Pugh: Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter 1: Looking Forward, Looking Backward

The digital revolution has drastically altered the way reference services are performed. It use to be that researchers could only browse holdings via card catalogs and access to holdings had to happen in person at the physical archive. The digital revolution changed everything.

Personal computers are now ubiquitous. This has created a huge increase of possible materials of all varieties. The rapid growth of the web has created a connectivity never possible before.

So what does this mean for archives? For one, it means better access. Finding aids can now be posted online allowing a user to search holdings before traveling to the physical archive. The Internet has made it possible for a user to search multiple archives' holding without traveling outside of their living room. A user can email questions or chat to an archivist to find the answer to their research questions. And more frequently, entire collections are being posted online allowing for complete access without entering the archive itself.

How does this change reference? It means that more researchers are expecting that materials or at the very least finding aids be posted online. Reference staff will have to use services such as email, chat, collaborative tools, and video interfaces with users. It also means that issues such as copyright are becoming more complex and more public than ever before. For the first time archives will have to consider things like design interfaces and usability of databases.

This rest of this book Mary Jo Pugh will address specific issues and areas of reference in archives.

Chapter 2: Reference Services in Archives

So what exactly are archives? Archives are defined as all records, personal and organizational, of continuing usefulness created by activities of the person or organization, kept so information can be resued by others. Let's breakdown this definition.

A document refers to artifacts which we delegate the task of speaking for us. A document reveals information about a purpose or activity and each kind of document is specialized to communicate a certain kind of job.

A record is a document created or kept in the event of a practical activity. Records provide evidence of the actions performed.

Personal Records are the personal documents of an individual or family. These records are kept because they will be of use and interest to others.

Organizational Records are records created by an organization through the course of conducting business. These records show evidence of activities performed by the organization and are kept for legal, internal, or research purposes.

So now that the term archive is defined, why do we keep archives? Archives are kept because records continue to provide evidence of actions completed. Usually they are kept for administrative use, public accountability and research. Basically records become archives when they have continuing use or purpose. This needs to be noted because not every records is an archive or will become an archive.

History of Archives

Until the French Revolution archives were only used by their administrators, so only government officials had access to government archives. During the French Revolution the public recognized the value of government archives. The new French government declared that its archives were the property of the people, who are the source of sovereignty in a democratic society. Therefore the records of the government must be accessible to the public. Other western nations also adopted this concept of public access to public records.

Modern manuscripts trace their history to medieval monasteries and universities . Before the invention of the printing press usually only one or a few copies of a document or book existed. This tradition of collecting personal papers and the papers of those individuals important to society carried on the twenty-first century.

Reference Services in Archives Provide:

• Information about the repository
• Information about holdings
• Information about records creators
• Educating users about the holding and access to the holdings
• Referrals to other repositories or resources
• Information about laws and ethics regarding the use of information
• Instruction in using records
• Education about the research process
• Physcial access to holdings
• Copies, permissions, and loans from holdings

The rest of this book will focus on the above points and provide advice and information about each area of reference work.