Exploring the Archives

Exploring the Archives PDF Author: Kathryn Roulston
Publisher: Myers Education Press
ISBN: 1975503147
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner This book offers qualitative researchers an entrée into the world of working with archival repositories and special collections. It serves as a primer for students and researchers who might not be familiar with these sorts of collections, but with an interest in what has become known as the “archival turn,” in which the use of archival materials and artifacts in contemporary research has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Suited to novice researchers seeking a general introduction into how special collections are created and how they can be used, the book offers useful, clear guidance on using different types of archives, developing topics for research within the archives, assessing materials available, how to work with archivists and curators, documenting the research process, and writing up an archival study. Archival records and material culture (including manuscripts, documents, audio- and video-recordings, and visual and material culture) housed in special collections provide a wealth of resources for qualitative researchers seeking to conduct research in the social sciences. Perfect for courses in: Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods | Research Methods in Higher Education | Exploring Archival Collections | Family Studies | Community Research | Introduction to Special Collections Research

Exploring the Archives

Exploring the Archives PDF Author: Kathryn Roulston
Publisher: Myers Education Press
ISBN: 1975503147
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book Here

Book Description
A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner This book offers qualitative researchers an entrée into the world of working with archival repositories and special collections. It serves as a primer for students and researchers who might not be familiar with these sorts of collections, but with an interest in what has become known as the “archival turn,” in which the use of archival materials and artifacts in contemporary research has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Suited to novice researchers seeking a general introduction into how special collections are created and how they can be used, the book offers useful, clear guidance on using different types of archives, developing topics for research within the archives, assessing materials available, how to work with archivists and curators, documenting the research process, and writing up an archival study. Archival records and material culture (including manuscripts, documents, audio- and video-recordings, and visual and material culture) housed in special collections provide a wealth of resources for qualitative researchers seeking to conduct research in the social sciences. Perfect for courses in: Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods | Research Methods in Higher Education | Exploring Archival Collections | Family Studies | Community Research | Introduction to Special Collections Research

The Past Web

The Past Web PDF Author: Daniel Gomes
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030632911
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This book provides practical information about web archives, offers inspiring examples for web archivists, raises new challenges, and shares recent research results about access methods to explore information from the past preserved by web archives. The book is structured in six parts. Part 1 advocates for the importance of web archives to preserve our collective memory in the digital era, demonstrates the problem of web ephemera and shows how web archiving activities have been trying to address this challenge. Part 2 then focuses on different strategies for selecting web content to be preserved and on the media types that different web archives host. It provides an overview of efforts to address the preservation of web content as well as smaller-scale but high-quality collections of social media or audiovisual content. Next, Part 3 presents examples of initiatives to improve access to archived web information and provides an overview of access mechanisms for web archives designed to be used by humans or automatically accessed by machines. Part 4 presents research use cases for web archives. It also discusses how to engage more researchers in exploiting web archives and provides inspiring research studies performed using the exploration of web archives. Subsequently, Part 5 demonstrates that web archives should become crucial infrastructures for modern connected societies. It makes the case for developing web archives as research infrastructures and presents several inspiring examples of added-value services built on web archives. Lastly, Part 6 reflects on the evolution of the web and the sustainability of web archiving activities. It debates the requirements and challenges for web archives if they are to assume the responsibility of being societal infrastructures that enable the preservation of memory. This book targets academics and advanced professionals in a broad range of research areas such as digital humanities, social sciences, history, media studies and information or computer science. It also aims to fill the need for a scholarly overview to support lecturers who would like to introduce web archiving into their courses by offering an initial reference for students.

Working in the Archives

Working in the Archives PDF Author: Alexis E. Ramsey
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809386895
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
Archival research of any magnitude can be daunting. With this in mind, Alexis E. Ramsey, Wendy B. Sharer, Barbara L’Eplattenier, and Lisa Mastrangelo have developed an indispensable volume for the first-time researcher as well as the seasoned scholar. Working in the Archives is a guide to the world of rhetoric and composition archives, from locating an archival source and its materials to establishing one’s own collection of archival materials. This practical volume provides insightful information on a variety of helpful topics, such as basic archival theory, processes, and principles; the use of hidden or digital archives; the intricacies of searching for and using letters and photographs; strategies for addressing the dilemmas of archival organization without damaging the provenance of materials; the benefits of seeking sources outside academia; and the difficult (yet often rewarding) aspects of research on the Internet. Working in the Archives moves beyond the basics to discuss the more personal and emotional aspects of archival work through the inclusion of interviews with experienced researchers such as Lynée Lewis Gaillet, Peter Mortensen, Kathryn Fitzgerald, Kenneth Lindblom, and David Gold. Each shares his or her personal stories of the joys and challenges that face today’s researchers. Packed with useful recommendations, this volume draws on the knowledge and experiences of experts to present a well-rounded guidebook to the often winding paths of academic archival investigation. These in-depth yet user-friendly essays provide crucial answers to the myriad questions facing both fledgling and practiced researchers, making Working in the Archives an essential resource.

Inside the Stalin Archives

Inside the Stalin Archives PDF Author: Jonathan Brent
Publisher: Scribe Publications
ISBN: 1921372826
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
To most Westerners, Russia remains as enigmatic today as it was during the Iron Curtain era. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country had an opportunity to confront its tortured past. In INSIDE THE STALIN ARCHIVES, Jonathan Brent asks why this didn't happen. Why are the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion sold openly in the lobby of the State Duma? Why are archivists under surveillance and phones still tapped? Why does Stalin, a man responsible for the deaths of millions of his own people, remain popular enough to appear on boxes of chocolate sold in the Moscow airport? Brent draws on fifteen years of access to high-level Soviet archives to answer these questions. He shows us a Russia where, in 1992, used toothbrushes were sold on the sidewalks, while now shops are filled with luxury goods and the streets are jammed with BMWs. Stalin's spectre hovers throughout, and in the book's crescendo Brent takes us deep into the dictator's personal papers, an unnerving prophecy of the world to come. Both cultural history and personal memoir, INSIDE THE STALIN ARCHIVES is a deeply felt and vivid portrait of Russia in the twenty-first century.

Historical Research in Archives

Historical Research in Archives PDF Author: Samuel J. Redman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780872292024
Category : Archival materials
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
An aid to researchers working in 21st century archives in the United States, this pamphlet presents some contemporary approaches to archival research from tracking down possible archival sources to the nuts-and-bolts of recording information. It also offers tips for organizing archival material and \ utilizing new technologies in the archives.

Exploring Archives

Exploring Archives PDF Author: Verne Harris
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Archives
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description


The Archive Project

The Archive Project PDF Author: Niamh Moore
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317044614
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Recent scholarship on archival research has raised questions concerning the character and impact of 'the archive' on how the traces of the past are researched, the use and analysis of different kinds of archived data, methodological approaches to the practicalities involved, and what kind of theory is drawn on and contributed to by such research. The Archive Project: Archival Research in the Social Sciences builds on these questions, exploring key methodological ideas and debates and engaging in detail with a wide range of archival projects and practices, in order to put to use important theoretical ideas that shed light on the methods involved. Offering an overview of the current 'state of the field' and written by four authors with extensive experience in conducting research in and creating archives around the world, it demonstrates the different ways in which archival methodology, practice and theory can be employed. It also shows how the ideas and approaches detailed in the book can be put into practice by other researchers, working on different kinds of archives and collections. The volume engages with crucial questions, including: What is 'an archive' and how does it come into existence? Why do archival research and how is it done? How can sense be made of the scale and scope of collections and archives? What are the best ways to analyse the traces of the past that remain? What are helpful criteria for evaluating the knowledge claims produced by archival research? What is the importance of community archives? How has the digital turn changed the way in which archival research is carried out? What role is played by the questions that researchers bring into an archive? How do we deal with unexpected encounters in the archive? A rigorous and accessible examination of the methods and choices that shape research 'on the ground' and the ways in which theory, practice and methodology inform one another, this book will appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in archival and documentary research.

The National Archives Experience

The National Archives Experience PDF Author: United States. National Archives and Records Administration
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Archives
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


Reference and Access

Reference and Access PDF Author: Kate Theimer
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0810890925
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
Reference and Access: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections explores how archives of different sizes and types are increasing their effectiveness in serving the public and meeting internal needs. The book features twelve case studies that demonstrate new ways to interact with users to answer their questions, provide access to materials, support patrons in the research room, and manage reference and access processes. The featured case studies are Building Bridges: Closing the Divide between Minimally Processed Collections and Researchers Managing Risk with a Virtual Reading Room: Two Born-Digital Projects Improvements on a Shoestring: Changing Reference Systems and Processes Twenty-First Century Security in a Twentieth-Century Space: Reviewing, Revising and Implementing New Security Practices in the Reading Room Talking in the Night: Exploring Webchats to Serve New Audiences A Small Shop Meets a Big Challenge: Finding Creative Ways to Assist the Researchers of the Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages The Right Tool at the Right Time: Implementing Responsive Reproduction Policies and Procedures Going Mobile: Using iPads to Improve the Reading Room Experience Beyond “Trial by Fire”: Towards A More Active Approach to Training New Reference Staff Access for All: Making Your Archives Website Accessible for People with Disabilities No Ship of Fools: A Digital Humanities Collaboration to Enhance Access to Special Collections Websites as a Digital Extension of Reference: Creating a Reference and IT Partnership for Web Usability Studies Each of these case studies deconstructs reference and access services into their essential elements: interacting with people who have questions, providing access to materials that meet researcher needs, assisting researchers as they use materials, and managing the processes needed to support reference and access. The volume will be useful to those working in archives and special collections as well as other cultural heritage organizations, and provides ideas ranging from the aspirational to the immediately implementable. It also provides students and educators in archives, library, and public history graduate programs a resource for understanding the issues driving change in the field today and the kinds of strategies archivists are using to meet these new challenges.

Beyond the Archives

Beyond the Archives PDF Author: Gesa E Kirsch
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809328406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
This collection of highly readable essays reveals that research is not restricted to library archives. When researchers pursue information and perspectives from sources beyond the archives—from existing people and places— they are often rewarded with unexpected discoveries that enrich their research and their lives. Beyond the Archives: Research as a Lived Process presents narratives that demystify and illuminate the research process by showing how personal experiences, family history, and scholarly research intersect. Editors Gesa E. Kirsch and Liz Rohan emphasize how important it is for researchers to tap into their passions, pursuing research subjects that attract their attention with creativity and intuition without limiting themselves to traditional archival sources and research methods. Eighteen contributors from a number of disciplines detail inspiring research opportunities that led to recently published works, while offering insights on such topics as starting and finishing research projects, using a wide range of types of sources and methods, and taking advantage of unexpected leads, chance encounters and simple clues. In addition, the narratives trace the importance of place in archival research, the parallels between the lives of research subjects and researchers, and explore archives as sites that resurrect personal, cultural, and historical memory. Beyond the Archives sheds light on the creative, joyful, and serendipitous nature of research, addressing what attracts researchers to their subjects, as well as what inspires them to produce the most thorough, complete, and engaged scholarly work. This timely and essential volume supplements traditional-method textbooks and effectively models concrete practices of retrieving and synthesizing information by professional researchers.