To read this content please select one of the options below:

Reappraising archival practice in light of the new social history

Melinda Van Wingen (Everett Public Library, Everett, Washington, USA)
Abigail Bass (Fiction Department, Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington, USA)

Library Hi Tech

ISSN: 0737-8831

Article publication date: 21 November 2008

3411

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the relationship between historiography and archival practices. It takes the new social history approach to history as a case study for examining how historians' changing theories and methods may affect solicitation, acquisition, appraisal, arrangement, description, reference, outreach, and other aspects of archival administration.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a review of the archival and historical literature since the late 1970s.

Findings

The paper finds that many aspects of archival administration have been and continue to be affected by the new social history trend in historical scholarship. The paper suggests that archivists and archival educators be trained in historiography as a way to understand historians' craft and develop strong documentation strategies to anticipate future archival needs.

Research limitations/implications

Because the paper is primarily a literature review, it does not test real‐life examples or case studies that would be useful in understanding the relationship between historians and archivists.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the development of archival administration and education strategies.

Originality/value

The paper draws from a range of literature to consider the impact of scholarly practices on professional archival work.

Keywords

Citation

Van Wingen, M. and Bass, A. (2008), "Reappraising archival practice in light of the new social history", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 575-585. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830810920905

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles