ARCHIVES CHECKLIST

A quick guide for local A.A.archivistsThe purpose of this checklist is to support the work

of local A.A. archivists and archives committees responsible

for collecting and maintaining archives. The checklist

applies to collections of various sizes and of various

formats (such as paper, electronic data or digital media)

ranging from generating local interest to maintaining

a large collection in trust for all A.A.s in the area.

These guidelines are not meant to be exhaustive but

rather to serve as a starting point for further exploration.

For more information on building and maintaining

local archives, refer to the Archives Workbook and

Archives Guidelines, which go into much greater

detail about the breadth of archives work.

What are archives?Createdbyindividualsororganizations,archivesare

collectionsofdocuments,papers,photographsand

othermaterialsthathavebeenselectedforpermanent

preservation.Theyareuniquerecordsassessedfortheir

enduringhistorical,informational,legal,evidential,fiscalor

administrativevalue.Theyneedtobecarefullystoredand

managed,whichiswhyitissoimportanttotakeproper

careofthem.

Ingeneral,archivalrepositoriessharethesame

fundamentalgoals:

»toensurethathistoricalrecordsareidentified,

collected,organized,preserved,andmadeavailable

foraccessandresearch;and

»toprovidecontextandinformationaboutan

institution’shistory.

Getting StartedAfirststepinbuildingarepositoryisevaluatingthe

materialsinthearchivesforrelevancetoyourMissionand

CollectionPolicy.ForasampleCollectionPolicytemplate,

pleasecontactG.S.O.Archives.Followingaresome

questionstoaddresswhenevaluatingyourmaterials:

WhatistheMissionandPurposeofthe

archivalrepository?

Doyoucollectmaterialsthatservethelocalarea,

districtorintergroup?

DoyouhaveaCollectionPolicy?

Whattypesofmaterialsdoyouconsiderimportant

forcollecting(minutes,books,audio/film

recordings,electronicdata,etc.)?

Doyouhaveapolicytoremoveordeaccession

materialsfromtherepository?

Arethereanymaterialsthatmaybemoresuitable

foranotherlocalA.A.archive?

Whatistheoverallbudgetforactivities

(preservation,exhibits,housing,etc.)?

Doesthearchivehaveplansforexpansionor

renovationintheforeseeablefuture?

Accession: Establishing Legal, Physical and Intellectual Control Effectiveoversightofmanagingarchivalcollections

requiressoundlegalandintellectualcontrols.Accessioning

istheprocessoftransferringlegalandphysicalownership

ofmaterialthroughadocumentedprocess,suchasa

DeedofGift.Tocompleteanaccession,anarchivemust

establishphysicalcustodyandlegallyassumephysical

andintellectualcontroloverthematerials. Intellectual

control simplyreferstothegatheringandrecording

ofcoreinformationaboutthematerials(cataloging

andinventorying).Itistheinitialstepofarrangingand

describingthematerialsyouhaveaccepted.Followingare

somequestionstoaddresswhenaccessioningmaterials:

Doesthearchivehaveaclearwayofdocumenting

thetransferofmaterial,forexample,aDeedofGift

agreement?

Howwillthearchivedocumentreceiptofthe

collection(e.g.,acknowledgementletter,

accessionlog)?

Howwillthearchivehandlematerialalreadyinthe

collectionthatlacksclearaccessioninformation?

DoyouhaveastatementintheDeedofGiftform

foracceptingelectronicdocumentsorexternal

storagedevices?

Didyourecordinformationaboutthenature

(variousformats)ofthecollection?

Arrangement and DescriptionInsimpleterms,arrangementanddescriptionreferto

organizingandlistingrecords.Archivalarrangementisthe

processoforganizingandmanagingthearchivalrecords.

Whenorganizingandarrangingtherecordsormaterials,

itisimportanttomaintainoriginalorderandestablish

provenance.Theprincipleofprovenanceprovidesthat

archivalmaterialsareretainedaccordingtotheircreator

orsource.Materialsfromdifferentsourcesshouldnotbe

intermingled,evenwhentheyshareacommonsubject.

Collectionsofmaterialsmaybearrangedindifferentways,

fromtheverysimpletothehighlycomplex,dependingon

thecollectionitself.

Archivaldescriptionistheprocessofcapturingorcollating

informationthatservestoidentifyandlocatethematerials,

particularlyforresearchaccess.Descriptionisoftena

complexprocessincorporatingstandardizedprograms,

toolsandsystems,forexample,findingaids,inventories,

listingsandothersystemsthatlistanddescribethe

collection.However,basicdescriptiveinformationabout

thecollectionoughttoberecordedutilizingadatabase

orprogramofyourchoosing.Somequestionstoaddress

whendescribingthecollectionare:

Doyouknowwhocreatedthematerials

orcollection,andwhy?

Whatisthedaterange?

Whatisthescopeofthecollection?

Whataretheformats(paper,electronic)?

Whatisthephysicalcondition?

Howisthecollectionarranged?

Whatisthevolumeorsize(cubicfeet,linearfeet,

numberofboxes)ofthecollection?

Whereisitlocatedinthearchives?

Arethereanyaccessrestrictions?

Thisisnotacomprehensivelist.Formoreinformation

aboutdescribingthecollectionorcreatingfindingaidsand

inventories,contacttheG.S.O.Archives.

Facilities, Equipment and SecurityExperienceshowsthatA.A.archivesaregenerallyhoused

ineitherarentedspaceorinaroomthatadjoinsacentral

office,intergrouporotherA.A.entity.

Regardlessoflocationorsize,itisimportantthataccess

beavailabletoallA.A.members.Itisalsovitallyimportant

toensurethatthecollectionsareadequatelysecured.

Followingaresomequestionstoaskyourselftoseeifyour

facilitymeetsminimalrequirementsforbuildingorroom

condition(internalandexternal)andappropriatesecurity

controls:

Isthebuildingorspacegenerallyingood

condition?

Ifthereisahistoryofproblemswiththespace(e.g.,

leaks,flooding,electrical),havetheseproblems

beenaddressed?

Isthereevidenceofrodents,insectsormold?

Doyouhaveadequatestorageshelvingunits?

(Materialsshouldnotbeplaceddirectlyonthefloor

ortooclosetoceilings.)

Doyouhaveanareaforresearchers?

Doyouhaveawrittendisasterplaninplace?

Areyouabletomaintainarelativelystable

temperatureandhumidity(below70degreesFand

between30and50percentrelativehumidityyear-

round)?

Isthereamechanismforproperaircirculation?

Howmuchlightexposuredothecollectionsreceive

(artificialornatural)?

Whohasaccesstoandwhatarethecurrent

proceduresforaccesstothecollections

byarchivescommitteemembers(paper

anddigital)?

Doesthebuilding/roomhavelocksandother

securitymeasuresinplace?

Arethereworkingfireandsmokealarms?

Aretherefireextinguishersontheproperty?

Security of Electronic RecordsInadditiontoworkingwithhardcopiesofmaterials,

digitalfilespresentauniquechallengeforanyarchivist.

Digitalfilesmayincludedocuments,photographs,film

andaudiorecordings.G.S.O.ArchiveshasGuidelineson

Digitizationthatcoverbasicconsiderationsinplanning

andmanagingdigitalcollections.Thefollowingchecklist

providesbasicquestionswhenassessingmaintenanceof

electroniccollections:

Whohasaccesstothesystemandforwhat

purposes?

Howoftenarepasswordschanged?

Istherearecordofalterationstoanyrecord?

Arethereresourcesinplaceforlong-term

maintenanceandcareofelectronicrecords?

Aretheelectronicrecordsinfileformatsthatare

easilyexportable?

Doyouhaveanymediathatareexpectedto

becomeobsoleteinthenearfuture?

Aretherecordsbackeduponaregularbasisand

ondurablemedia?

Isthereaplaninplaceforsuddenpowerfailuresor

networkconnectivityloss?

Isthereaninventoryofallelectronichardwareand

softwaresystems?

Preservation and StorageArchivistsemploytechniquestoprolongtheusefullife

ofarchivalmaterialsbyimprovingthephysicalstorage

environment.Preservationactionsincludereplacing

acidicstoragematerialswithmaterialsconstructedof

archivalquality(e.g.,bufferedoracid-freeenvelopes,

foldersandboxes),whichhelpstabilizeandprotectthe

historicalmaterialsfromdeterioration.Ifasituationarises

whereadocumentorartifactmustbetreatedchemically,

seekprofessionaladvicefromatrainedconservator.

Itisimperativetorememberthefirstruleofarchival

work:Do no harm.Besurethateveryactiondoneis

reversible.Correcthandlingofarchivalmaterialswillalso

aidinpreservingthem.Preservationisexpensiveand

timeconsuming,anditisnotalwayspossibletoachieve

optimalenvironmentalcontrols;thus,prioritiesmustbe

set.Ingeneral,identifymaterialsthathavelong-term

significancetothecollection(i.e.,itemsofenduringvalue)

orthatrequireimmediatecare.Formoreinformationon

preservingandhandlingarchivalmaterials,refertothe

ArchivesPreservationGuidelines.Thefollowingchecklist

doesnotfullyaddresspreservationandstorageneeds,but

itisahandystart:

Whattypesofobjectsareinthecollection?

Rarebooks

Scrapbooks

Oversizebooks

Historicalreferencebooks

Diaries

Documents

Photographs/negatives

Framedobjects

Newspapers

Artwork

Audio/visual

Other

Aredocumentsstoredinlimitedquantitiesin

archival-qualityfoldersorboxes?

Aredamagingfasteners(e.g.,rubberbands,metal

paperclips,binders)beingused?Where?

Arefoldeddocumentsfiledorboxed?Cantheybe

unfoldedwithoutdamage?

Whatisthegeneralconditionofthecollection?

Identifymaterialsthatarehighpriorityfor

stabilizing.Lookforthefollowing:

Waterstains

Mold

Soilandsurfacedirt

Aciddamage(e.g.,embrittlement,

deterioration,yellowing)

Lightdamage(e.g.,fading,discoloration)

Evidenceofpoorhandling(e.g.,tornormissing

pages,damagedbookspines)

Otherdamage

Arethematerialswellsupported?Arethematerials

overcrowdedontheshelves;areboxesoverfilled?

Areoversizematerialsstoredflatorenclosedin

neutralorbufferedtubes?

Areprintsandnegativesprotectedfromlightand

environmentalextremes?Aretheyindividually

enclosedinarchival-qualityenclosures?

Arenewsclippingsphotocopiedontopermanent

paper?Iforiginalclippingsareretained,arethey

storedinbufferedenclosures?

Doesthecollectionincludeanyfilmonanitratebase?

Whatisthegeneralconditionoffilmoraudio

materials?Isthereevidenceofvinegarsyndrome

(vinegarsmell),deterioration,orevidenceofsticking?

Howfrequentlyisthiscollectiontobeused?

Reference Services, Access Practices and OutreachAsstatedintheintroduction,archivistsidentifyand

preserverecordsofenduringvalue,but,mostimportantly,

theymakethemavailableforuse.Oneoftherolesan

archivistplaysinthiseffortisassistingpeopleintheir

researchandhelpingtoanswertheirquestions.Since

thematerialsthatarebeingreferencedareuniqueand

typicallyunpublishedhistoricalrecords,itisvitalthatyou

createsoundpoliciesthatgovernhowtheycanbeused.

ItisequallyimportantandhighlysuggestedthatallA.A.

archivistsandarchivescommitteesdevelopprocedures

andpoliciesthatstatethenecessityforprotectingthe

confidentialityofcorrespondenceandtheanonymityof

thecorrespondents.ResearchersworkingintheG.S.O.

ArchivesareaskedtoadherestrictlytotheAnonymity

Tradition—amongotherthings,tolistonlythefirst

namesandlast-nameinitialsofallA.A.members,livingor

deceased.Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyouprepare

andframepoliciesandproceduresthatgovernuseof

archivalcollections:

Haveyoudevelopedanaccesspolicy?

Doesyourpolicyincludeinformationabouthours

ofoperation,procedureprocess,regulationsfor

usingthearchives,andinformationregarding

copying?

Doesyourpolicyincludeaclearstatement

stipulatingtheresearcher’sresponsibilityto

determinecopyrightholderandtoobtainclearance

topublishcopyrightmaterials?

Doyouhaveacomfortable,workingenvironment

foronsiteresearchers?Isthespaceinfullviewofan

archivescommitteememberorsupervisingstaff?

Whoisresponsibleforoverseeingtheuseofthe

historicalrecords?

Doyoukeeparecordofthedocumentsaccessed

bytheresearcher?

Whatactivitiesdoyouengageintohighlightthe

activitiesofthearchivescommitteework?(Exhibits,

presentations,openhouse,publications,filmnight

andotherexamplesaccumulatedfromshared

experiencearelistedintheArchivesWorkbook.)

Arefacsimilesorduplicatesexhibitedwhenever

possible?

Dotheactivitiessupportandenhancethemission

ofyourarchives?

Thesection“ToolsandSuggestedActivitiesForArchives

Committees”intheArchivesWorkbookisagoodresource

foractivitiesthatwillhelpyougetthewordoutabout

yourarchive.

More Questions? For answers to any specific questions, and lists of additional resources, feel free to contact the G.S.O. Archives atarchives@aa.orgor (212) 870-3400. Other valuable information is available on G.S.O.’s A.A. website at aa.org.

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