Real-Life Decision Making
An important part of an archivist's job is knowing what to keep and what
not to keep.
"One of the things that can be fairly difficult to deal with is determining
what types of records and information meet the scope of your archives," says
archivist Donna Murphy.
For example, if someone famous approaches you about a donation of records,
you have to determine if what they are offering is appropriate for your collection
or institution.
"It's as important to know what not to keep as it is to know what to keep,"
says Murphy.
You are an archivist for a place that collects manuscripts, photographs
and letters of local authors, and you are approached with a donation of diaries,
letters and quilts. The donor is a wealthy contributor and the articles belonged
to his great-grandmother.
"On the surface, this is easy," says archivist Susan Box. "The potential
donation is clearly outside the scope of the [institution's] written statement
and collection policy. However, you risk alienating the donor and he has been
a big fund-raiser for your repository."
What do you do?