- "Archival science, or archival studies, is the study and theory of building and curating archives, which are collections of documents, recordings and data storage devices."
The legal and ethical considerations relevant to archival practice, including intellectual property, privacy, and access restrictions.
Copyright Law: It is essential for archivists to understand how copyright law applies to the materials they collect and preserve. This involves learning about what constitutes copyrightable material, how copyright works, and how to comply with copyright laws.
Privacy Laws: Archivists may have to deal with sensitive materials that contain personal information, such as medical records, employment records, and personal correspondence. Knowledge of privacy laws is necessary to ensure that such information is protected appropriately.
Freedom of Information Law: Archivists need to be familiar with laws that govern access to public records and documents. This includes understanding the procedures for requesting and releasing information under these laws.
Records Management: This involves managing records, regardless of format, throughout their lifecycle from creation to final disposition. It includes processes for appraising, arranging, describing, preserving, and providing access to records.
Digital Preservation: With the increasing volume of digital records and the associated risks of loss or corruption, archivists must learn how to manage, preserve, and provide access to digital materials.
Authentication and Provenance: Archivists must verify the authenticity and provenance of materials in their collections to ensure that they are trustworthy and reliable sources of information.
Institutional Policies and Procedures: Archivists must be familiar with the policies and procedures of the institutions they work for regarding the management and preservation of records and documents.
Professional Ethics: Archivists must adhere to professional ethics that guide their conduct and decision-making, including confidentiality, honesty, and transparency.
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery: Archivists must prepare for and respond to disasters, such as natural disasters, fires, and floods, to protect the records and materials in their collections.
Cultural Sensitivity: Archivists must be sensitive to the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences of the materials they collect, preserve, and provide access to, and ensure that these materials are represented and interpreted accurately.
Access Restrictions: Archivists must ensure that access to records is granted within legal and ethical guidelines, and that restricted records are protected.
Copyright: Archivists need to ensure that they have permission to reproduce or use records under copyright, and that they are made available to users within copyright laws.
Privacy: Archivists must ensure that the right to an individual's privacy is protected and records that contain sensitive or confidential information are restricted or made available only under certain conditions.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Archivists must ensure compliance with the FOIA regulations, which grants the public the right to access records held by federal agencies.
Data Protection: Archivists must handle records that contain personal data securely, and make sure that their use complies with data protection laws and regulations.
Intellectual Property: Archivists must be aware of intellectual property laws and regulations, especially those surrounding trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.
Preservation: Archivists must ensure that records are properly preserved over time, as the information they contain may be important to society and to future generations.
Digital Preservation: Archivists must be aware of how to preserve digital records, which can be affected by a wide range of factors such as technology changes, software obsolescence, and data security threats.
Professional Codes of Ethics: Archivists must follow professional codes of ethics, including those developed by organizations such as the International Council on Archives, the Society of American Archivists, and the Association of Canadian Archivists.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Archivists must comply with various laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines, such as archival laws and regulations, the Freedom of Information Act, and data protection laws.
- "To build and curate an archive, one must acquire and evaluate recorded materials, and be able to access them later." - "Archival science seeks to improve methods for appraising, storing, preserving, and cataloging recorded materials."
- "In order to be of value to society, archives must be trustworthy." - "An archivist has a responsibility to authenticate archival materials, such as historical documents, and to ensure their reliability, integrity, and usability."
- "Archival records must be what they claim to be; accurately represent the activity they were created for; present a coherent picture through an array of content; and be in usable condition in an accessible location."
- "An archive curator is called an archivist." - "An archivist has a responsibility to authenticate archival materials, such as historical documents, and to ensure their reliability, integrity, and usability."
- "To build and curate an archive, one must acquire and evaluate recorded materials, and be able to access them later."
- "Archival science seeks to improve methods for appraising, storing, preserving, and cataloging recorded materials."
- "Archival records must be in usable condition in an accessible location."
- "An archivist has a responsibility to authenticate archival materials, such as historical documents, and to ensure their reliability, integrity, and usability."
- "Archival records must accurately represent the activity they were created for."
- "Archival records must be what they claim to be; present a coherent picture through an array of content; and be in usable condition in an accessible location."
- "The curation of an archive is called archive administration."
- "Archives are collections of documents, recordings, and data storage devices."
- "Archival science seeks to improve methods for appraising, storing, preserving, and cataloging recorded materials."
- "Archival records must be in usable condition in an accessible location."
- "In order to be of value to society, archives must be trustworthy."
- "An archivist has a responsibility to authenticate archival materials and ensure their reliability, integrity, and usability."
- "The curation of an archive is called archive administration."
- "Archival science seeks to improve methods for cataloging recorded materials."
- "An archivist has a responsibility to acquire and evaluate recorded materials."