LIS-S 581 Archives and Records Management

3 credits

Prerequisite(s): None
Corequisite(s): LIS-S 500, LIS-S 507
Delivery: Online
Semesters offered: Fall, Spring (Check the schedule to confirm.)

Description

Introduces basic theories, methods, and significant problems in archives and records management. The course also discusses how archivists are responding to the challenge of managing and preserving electronic records.

Program Learning Goals Supported

Instructors map their courses to specific M.L.I.S. Program Goals. Mapped program goals drive the design of each course and what students can expect to generally learn.

Connect Core Values and Professional Ethics to Practice
Facilitate Engagement in the Information Ecosystem
Curate Collections for Designated Communities
Lead and Manage Libraries, Archives and Other Information Organizations
Examine Systemic Inequalities to Improve Library and Information Practices through Equitable and -Socially Just Interventions

Learning Outcomes

Instructors develop learning outcomes for their courses. Students can expect to be able to achieve the learning outcomes for a given course after successfully completing the course.

Have high-level knowledge of the history and future of archives, the work of archivists, and be prepared to take advanced archival science classes in DLIS (if they wish).
Be able to discuss what archives do and do not collect, and how they organize and provide access to records to the public.
Be able to articulate the value of archives and educate on their use to a diverse public.
Be able to outline and discuss major issues in archives and their potential solutions, including racism, copyright, and precarious labor.

Course Overview

Instruction is in Canvas. Lessons are organized into Modules whose length may vary.

Module 1: Introduction

orientation to course
introductions with “archives show & tell”
test Perusall platform

Module 2: What is an Archives?

history & nature of archives
archival paradigms
archives vs. “the archives”
structures of archives & harm to historically excluded people & histories

Module 3: Appraisal and Collecting

evolution of appraisal in archival profession
”failure of care” around records of historically excluded communities
costs of stewardship & responsible collection building
repatriation

Module 4: Arrangement and Description

history, context, & significance of arrangement & description
MPLP
participatory & inclusive description

Module 5: Reference and Access

archival intelligence
archival reference knowledge model
discoverability of archives
ethics of digitization & access

Module 6: Preservation

what is preservation?
disaster planning
craft of digital preservation
archives & the end of humanity

Module 7: Outreach and Public/Donor Relations

outreach for acquisition
empowering community archiving
working with aging and dying donors

Module 8: Records and Information Management

records lifecycle & records continuum model
archival appraisal and the information lifecycle
records information management (RIM) and digital preservation

Module 9: Privacy and Rights

managing privacy
ethics of contemporaneous collecting & documentation of trauma
ethical considerations for archiving social media

Module 10: Copyright in archives

what is copyright?
digital surrogacy and copyright
risk assessment in making collections available online
copyright reform

Module 11: Accountability and Oppression

digital historical practice & malpractice
preserving human rights media
collecting around conflict (Boston College case study ethical, methodological and political implications)

Module 12: Education

educational initiatives in public library archives to expand engagement with collections
integrating archives into college course learning
outreach to teachers
teaching with primary sources case studies

Module 13: Labor and Management

labor equity
implications of archival labor
archival labor market
SAA Code of Ethics