Appraisal

I was surprised that the Charbonneau article did not emphasize the role that donors/vendors/creators play in the appraisal and acquisition process. Archivists should maintain close working relationships with partners so that a collaborative appraisal may be conducted at the time of acquisition. Creators and dealers may assists with questions of provenance and original order, while archivists can use their institutional knowledge to determine how the collection might fit in with other holdings.

The article outlined the many ways that photographs may be interfiled among other media. This presents numerous challenges as original order may be compromised in the interest of preservation. Different media require different conditions to prevent deterioration and may demand various levels of restriction.

A good appraisal policy should not only accommodate current users’ information seeking behavior, but also account for future trends in scholarship. While it is quite impossible for archivists to predict the future, there are ways to mine data that may inform appraisals as well as access. Software that monitors special collections “circulation” and photo reproduction requests such as Aeon can highlight scholarly interest in certain material or subjects. Communication between archives can also facilitate meeting user needs and prevent duplication of efforts.