[Oe List ...] PROCESS WITHIN THE VALUES FOR THE ARCHIVES

[David Walters]

I think before we get too deep in the practices of formulating a plan for the Global Archives that we seek some advice from those who do this kind of work every day, rather trying to reinvent wheel. There are two groups in Chicago that can help us. One is the 

Chicago Area Archivists - http://www.chicagoarchivists.org/cara.html. About a year ago they formed a subgroup called Chicago Area Religious Archivists - http://www.chicagoarchivists.org/cara.html. What we need from them is advice on how to do what we are trying to do using current archival practices and how to do it using the latest technologies. Marshall has already raised several issues in this regard. Bill Parker has suggest some procedures that seem to me to be too cumbersome yet also point in the right direction

 

I also think that there several people that need to be involved that worked with the archives in the past. Most important is their knowledge of how the archives were set up and what values were held in doing so. 

 

Also, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) is the grantmaking affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration makes grants to enable a n organization like the ICA to hire professional archivists to make an assessment of archival collections- www.archives.gov/nhprc/. This would be invaluable assistance on the front end of the process we are. I also think that Marge's part time employment and some other things that are already going on could be used as in-kind matching for a grant.

David Walters

ARCHIVAL PROCESS WITHIN THE VALUES FOR THE GLOBAL ARCHIVES

CREATING THE PERMANENT INDEX WHICH SHOWS THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF EACH ARCHIVE

1.       FORMULATE THE REQUIRED INDICES FOR THE ARCHIVES AND DETERMINE THE RATIONAL OF EACH. ONE OBVIOUS INDEX WOULD BE PHYSICAL LOCATION, ANOTHER WOULD BE CHRONOLOGICAL IF THAT IS THE WAY THE ARCHIVES ARESTORED. THE CERTAIN POINT OF BEGINNING WOULD BE THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF ANY DOCUMENT ANY WHERE IT IS.

2.       WITH OUT INVADING THE FILES, ATTEMPT TO ORDER THE FILE CABINETS, NOT FILE FOLDERS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

3.       ASSIGN A NUMBER TO EACH FILE CABINET (1-172)

4.       ASSIGN A LETTER TO EACH DRAWER WITHIN EACH FILE CABINET (A,  B, C, OR D)

5.       ASSIGN A TITLE TO EVERY FILE FOLDER AND MAKE A LIST OF FILE FOLDER TITLES IN EXCELL (RSI)

6.       SHOOT A DIGITAL PICTURE OF EACH PAGE CODED WITH THE NUMBER OF THE FILE CABINET, THE LETTER OF THE DRAWER, THE TITLE OF EACH FILE FOLDER, THE NUMBER OF EACH PAGE AND ALLOW THE CAMERA TO NUMBER EACH IMAGE [00210 (64B/RSI/23)]

GETTING THE ORGANIZATIONAL WORK DONE THROUGH SIMULTANEOUS EFFORTS

1.       ASSIGN A TEAM OF FOUR TO EACH REVIEW DIGITALLY THROUGH THE IMAGES TAKEN ONE OF THE FOUR DRAWERS  IN A FILE CABINET

7.       ORGANIZE THE CONTENTS OF THE DRAWERS BY PULLING THE TOGETHER THE IMAGE NUMBERS ASSOCIATED FOR EACH PAGE. THIS WOULD BE A FILE SAVED AS THE DIFFERENT FILE FOLDER TITLES. IT WOULD NOT CHANGE THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION OF THE TOTAL GLOBAL ARCHIVES. BUT AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS THE GLOBAL ARCHIVES COULD BE RECONFIGURED INTO ANOTHER STRUCTURE, BUT WITHOUT DESTROYING THE ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION, THE FC/D/FT/P/I = FILE CABINET, DRAWER, FOLDER TITLE, PAGE, AND IMAGE.

8.       THAT TEAM WOULD COLLABORATE TO PULL TOGETHER THE RESULTS OF THE DRAWER WORK AND COMPLETE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ENTIRE FILE CABINET.

9.       A REPRESENTATIVE  FROM EACH TEAM WOULD WORK WITH OTHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER TEAMS TO PULL TOGETHER THE SUBJECT CATEGORIES FOR THE ENTIRE ARCHIVE

10.    A COMMISSION FOR THE GLOBAL ARCHIVES OF THE ORDER ECUMENICAL/EI/ICA WOULD ALL SIGN OFF ON THE ORGANIZATION OF ALL OF THE FILE CABINETS INTO OVERARCHING CATEGORIES.

SUPPORTING THE ENGAGEMENT OF THESE ARCHIVES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

1.       AT THIS POINT ANYONE COULD HAVE ON-LINE ACCESS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON ANY SUBJECT THAT MIGHT BE ON THEIR MIND.

2.       GET THIS ARCHIVES INTO THE HANDS OF UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE A "LIVING ARCHIVE" THAT CAN, FOR EXAMPLE, TEACH A CS1 COURSE SO THE RESEARCH BECOMES DYNAMIC AND ALIVE WITH PEOPLE WHO DID THIS IN THE 20TH CENTURY AS A WAY THEY RESPONDED IN THEIR TIME. FOLLOWING THE COURSE AN INTENSIVE WORKSHOP WOULD BE CONDUCTED WITH THOSE WHO TOOK THE COURSE TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE COURSE, HOW THIS COURSE IS ADDRESSING TODAY'S ISSUES, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE RESPONSIBLE HUMAN BEING TODAY.

 

BY BILL PARKER

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