Archives and

RecordsManagement:

Tomaro Taylor and Gail Donovan

Society of Florida Archivists

Florida Gulf Coast ARMA Chapter EventSt. Petersburg, FL

20 March 2012

A Long

History

1884: Historians split from the ASSA to form the AHA

Whither Archivists and Records Managers?

1934: Congress passes a bill to create a National Archives of the United

States

In 1889, an Act of Congress incorporates the AHA “for the promotion of historical studies, the collection and preservation of historical manuscripts and for kindred purposes in the interest of American history and of history in America.”

From 1935-1940, National Archives staff identify…3 million cu. ft. of

records4 million running ft. of filmmillions of negatives

and mapsThey also uncover

inconsistent filing methods,

poor storage environments, unsupervised

records creation and duplication,

and bad recordkeeping

practices.

1939: Records Disposal Act

1936: SAA emerges from

AHA

1948: Presentation of Leahy Report1949-1950:

GSA Federal Records Act

1955: Records management groups in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, New York and Los Angeles merged to form ARMA

2005Adapted from Scanlan, K.A. “ARMA v. SAA:

The history and heart of professional friction.” The American Archivist, 74(Fall/Winter2011): 428-450.

Archives and Archives Management

Archivists … • appraise, acquire, arrange, describe, preserve and ensure access to records of enduring value

• provide intellectual and physical control of materials in accordance with archival standards

• engage in outreach activities and donor relations

An Archivist’s Life

Librarian & Archivist: collect, preserve, and make accessible materials for research; but significant differences exist in the way these materials are arranged, described, and used.

Records Manager & Archivist: the records manager controls vast quantities of institutional records, most of which will eventually be destroyed, while the archivist is concerned with relatively small quantities of records deemed important enough to be retained for an extended period.”

The work of an archivist is related to, but distinct from, that of certain other

professionals.

Adapted from The Society of American Archivists’ “So You Want to Be an Archivist: An Overview of the Archives Profession.” http://www2.archivists.org/profession

“State-of-the-art automation will never beat the wastebasket when it comes to speeding up efficiency

in the office.” Ann Landers, Gem of the Day, July 27, 1994

The Life Cycle of an Archives Professional

Benefits

Challenges

Professional Organizations

• Founded in 1936. • Serves educational and informational needs of individuals and institutions. • Provides leadership to ensure the identification, preservation and use of records of historical value.

• Founded in 1989. • Independent, nonprofit certifying organization of professional archivists who demonstrate continuing professional commitment beyond education and experience.

• Founded in 1983.• Dedicated to the dissemination of information about historical records and about sound archival methodology.

“Time present and time pastAre both perhaps present in time future,And time future contained in time past.

If all time is eternally presentAll time is unredeemable.”

-T. S. Eliot

Thank you ...Tomaro Taylor, tomaro@usf.edu

Gail Donovan, gdonovan@ncf.eduSociety of Florida Archivists,

http://www.florida-archivists.org/