ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-12-06DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09469-3
Nicole Wood
{"title":"Archive and library special collections as proxy data: reconstructing the American chestnut blight through digitized collections","authors":"Nicole Wood","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09469-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09469-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper discusses the design and implications of a study that explored the potential for archives and library special collections to serve as historical environmental proxy data to support the reconstruction of the spatiotemporal spread of the American chestnut blight in Tennessee. By collecting, reconciling, and analyzing heterogeneous mundane primary source materials from 1904 to 1950, the major period of infection and tree loss, the case study reached beyond conventional evidence to ask new questions of nontraditional sources. QGIS and Python were used to reconcile and model nonstandardized and ambiguous natural-language keywords derived from these sources to identify trends and patterns that may not be evident from traditional document analysis. The paper argues that the contributions made by textual and visual information fragments found in these materials support an expansion of the term “proxy data” beyond what is currently understood as paleoclimate archives, i.e., physical, chemical, and biological materials preserved within the geologic record (USGS 2022). Such socially constructed records found in archives and library special collections offer additional qualitative and quantitative information about historical climate change to support modeling variable fluctuations over time. They can also provide a rich and dynamic context for the natural causes and human interventions that, in combination, act on the environment. However, the study also identifies significant limitations in the digital accessibility of relevant archival sources and a lack of specificity in their descriptions. These need to be addressed if integrating such source material into scientific studies is to become more widespread and scalable.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09469-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142778589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-11-29DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09471-9
Anna Sexton
{"title":"Introducing the legacies and trajectories of trauma to the archival field","authors":"Anna Sexton","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09471-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09471-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Trauma as a concept, a signifier and a frame has become increasingly visible in archival theory and praxis in recent years. A shift that is perhaps unsurprising given that society at large appears to have embraced trauma as a major interpretative category for our age. The recent spotlight on trauma can also be linked to accompanying movements in our discourse as we have begun to unpack and theorise the affective dimensions of records work and have moved towards more person-centred approaches. While the recent introduction of trauma-informed approaches to our field is a welcome development in many ways, this article seeks to critically engage with the Western concept of trauma to expose its intellectual lineages and the social and moral economies that have shaped its emergence in different spheres; and highlight how archival studies discourse on trauma is shaped in relation to different branches of Western trauma discourse. This article argues that as archivists and records workers adopt the language of trauma from adjacent arenas as an explanatory and transformative frame, it is vital that we do so in possession of an understanding of trauma’s conceptual legacies and in conversation with broader affective, liberatory and reparative framings. The article is written in the spirit of becoming truly ‘trauma-informed’.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09471-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142753950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An archival world turns: Armenian women’s archives in Southeast Michigan","authors":"Nazelie Doghramadjian, Patricia Garcia, Ricardo Punzalan","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09468-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09468-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper examines the nature and context of archival silences in two Armenian institutions in south-east Michigan and how those absences relate to the personal and family archives of Armenian women. We studied the dissonance between the representation of Armenian women’s voices and experiences in institutional archives and their larger role in the community as cultural linchpins and memory-keepers. Through interviews, archival research, participant observation, and abductive coding and analysis of both interview transcripts and fieldnotes, we uncover and theorize the significance behind those absences and the abundance of archival materials outside the institution. Each name in this research project has been changed to protect the privacy of our participants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09468-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142714447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-11-25DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09472-8
Jiarui Sun
{"title":"Seventy years of strenuous efforts: tracing the development of archival higher education in China (1952–2022)","authors":"Jiarui Sun","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09472-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09472-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Since its inception in 1952, shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and continuing up to 2022, China’s archival higher education has traversed a remarkable 70-years journey. This period has witnessed the emergence of the world’s largest higher education system in archival studies, offering programs from bachelor’s to doctoral levels. This paper traces the origins and evolution of archival higher education in China, providing a nuanced exploration that segments this journey into four phases: foundation and early development (1952–1966), disruption and suspension (1966–1978), recovery and expansion (1978–1998), and advancement and transformation (1998–2022). Furthermore, this study reveals that China’s archival higher education is characterized by distinctive features, including a deep influence from the socio-political environment, Renmin University’s pioneering role at the forefront, the significance of undergraduate education as both the starting point and an important component, and the strategic leadership and coordination provided by the Archival Higher Education Steering Committee. These elements differentiate China’s archival education from that of many other nations, showcasing a development trajectory that is distinctly Chinese. Moreover, this paper emphasizes the critical need for archival education to remain responsive to both domestic imperatives and international trends. China’s archival education narrates a compelling story of adaptation, innovation, and national pride, offering valuable lessons on educational evolution in a rapidly changing global landscape. By highlighting these aspects, this paper aims to enrich the discourse on archival education, demonstrating how it can flourish amidst shifting socio-political dynamics and emerging global challenges.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142694717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-10-19DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09467-5
Jeannette A. Bastian, Stanley H. Griffin, James Lowry
{"title":"Dedication and introduction to the provenance special issue","authors":"Jeannette A. Bastian, Stanley H. Griffin, James Lowry","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09467-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09467-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"555 - 557"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-10-12DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09459-5
Bethany G. Anderson
{"title":"Kindred contexts: archives, archaeology, and the concept of provenance","authors":"Bethany G. Anderson","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09459-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09459-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The disciplines of archives and archaeology are each about the power of context: they both preserve the context wherein objects and records are found and created to aid in their interpretation and take those materials as evidence of context. As context-based disciplines, archives and archaeology foreground the concept of provenance and construct meanings about objects and records from contextual relationships. Context, which is related to but also distinct from provenance, is difficult to disentangle from the latter. While sometimes conflated and used interchangeably, subtle differences distinguish the two concepts. This article explores the ways that archives and archaeology employ the concepts of provenance and context, and the messiness with which they do. Fundamentally, this exercise aims to understand where they might share common ground while enriching discussion and fostering introspection and cross-disciplinary exchange and suggest ways these fields might rethink and extend their own uses of these concepts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"761 - 781"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09459-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-10-07DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09463-9
Chris Hurley, Sue McKemmish, Barbara Reed, Narissa Timbery
{"title":"The power of provenance in the records continuum","authors":"Chris Hurley, Sue McKemmish, Barbara Reed, Narissa Timbery","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09463-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09463-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper explores the meaning of provenance in its broader social and organisational context, ambience, through a records continuum lens, bringing a reflexive and critical perspective to records continuum thinking over the past 30 or so years. It begins by introducing key recordkeeping concepts and goes on to explore records continuum theory and the records continuum model, a four-dimensional map of the recordkeeping and archival contexts of creation, capture, organisation and pluralisation. Continuum principles of provenance and ambience are situated in the model. An analysis of how provenance is currently narrowly applied in practice leads into an exploration of the power of ambience and provenance in the continuum. The following sections on Participatory Rights in Childhood Recordkeeping in Out of Home Care in Australia and Living Archives on Country illustrate how these concepts, together with those of multiple, simultaneous and parallel provenance, can be powerful tools in transforming the subjects of records into active recordkeeping agents. The illustrative examples relate to pioneering research on co-designing extensive suites of rights for co-creators of records who were previously relegated to the status of subjects of the record, and Indigenous archival sovereignty. They enable acknowledgement, enrichment, empowerment and coexistence of multiple, even contrary, positions, and provide frameworks for participatory recordkeeping and archiving.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"825 - 845"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09463-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-10-01DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09457-7
Qing Zou, Eun G. Park
{"title":"Archival context, provenance, and a tool to capture archival context*","authors":"Qing Zou, Eun G. Park","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09457-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09457-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Archival context is a crucial concept in archival science, closely related to provenance. We explore the definitions and types of archival context, the relationship between archival context and provenance, and how archival context can be modeled. Our investigation suggests that archival context encompasses three dimensions: creation context, description context, and usage context. Provenance is further enriched through multiple perspectives and networks of interacting activity systems. We propose a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)-based model as a tool to systematically illustrate archival context and capture essential aspects of archival context. This model presents both a static view of archival context at the micro-level and a dynamic view at the macro-level using an event-centered approach.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"801 - 824"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-09-30DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09449-7
Ciaran B. Trace
{"title":"The archive as home: ruminations on domestic notions of provenance","authors":"Ciaran B. Trace","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09449-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09449-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article investigates the notion of provenance, questioning traditional conceptions of the archival fonds that link this collective to limited relationships, including that of the individual, family, or organization. Drawing from work that embraces the notion of expanded views of provenance, the paper explores the theoretical and practical implications of tying the contextual boundaries of the archive to functions and activities connected to and serving as evidence of domestic spatial configurations and relationships. In doing so, the article adds to a body of work that queries key concepts used as part of systems of archival control, highlighting new conceptual and theoretical interpretations that bring dynamism, creativity, and flexibility to archival operations as they exist in analog and digital spaces.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"559 - 571"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ARCHIVAL SCIENCEPub Date : 2024-09-25DOI: 10.1007/s10502-024-09464-8
Mya Ballin
{"title":"“Somebody has to be crazy about that kid”: Speculating on the transformative recordkeeping potential of the caring corporate parent","authors":"Mya Ballin","doi":"10.1007/s10502-024-09464-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10502-024-09464-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Just as archival scholarship has increasingly engaged in conversations around care and holistic considerations of the agency of records subjects, the child welfare systems of the modern Western world have been moving towards conversations that aim to centre and celebrate the voice of the child in new and important ways. However, too often are these conversations held back by the enormity of the issue and the overhaul that would have to take place for philosophy to match with practice. In this paper, I suggest that part of the problem is that we have been trying to make these changes philosophy first, placing a new way of thinking on top of an old way of doing—an approach that will never generate change. Leaning in to using speculation to imagine what the new recordkeeping of a caring system might look like, I propose that the act of recordkeeping is the fulcrum that could make caring child welfare a reality and illustrate some of the avenues through which we might pursue instigating the systemic changes needed if we are to see the agency and perspectives of children prioritised in child welfare and protection practices.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46131,"journal":{"name":"ARCHIVAL SCIENCE","volume":"24 4","pages":"871 - 896"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10502-024-09464-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}