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Selection for Preservation

Selection for Archival Collections

As in libraries, selection for preservation in archives often happens as part of other activities, such as acquisition, appraisal, arrangement, and description. The process of selection for preservation is closely related to archival appraisal, since it involves identifying the value and importance of collections. (Note that this use of the term has little to do with the work of a professional appraiser, who would place a monetary value on historical books or other items.)

While many of the criteria libraries use to select printed collections for preservation can be used in the context of archival collections, identifying important historical and archival collections also requires consideration of types of value specific to those collections. Since archivists have no more time or resources than librarians, they cannot save everything. Thus, they have developed methods for deciding which records have long-term research value and which do not.

Types of Value for Archival/Historical Collections

Most archivists follow, at least in a general sense, the guidelines for value T.R. Schellenberg established at the National Archives in the mid-1950s. (His article is referenced in Additional Resources.) On the most basic level, Schellenberg distinguished between primary value and secondary value. The primary value of records is their ongoing business value for the organization that created them, to assist in carrying out its administrative, financial, legal, and operating activities; this is referred to as administrative, fiscal, or legal value. Secondary value refers to the value records may have to external organizations and/or private researchers.

Schellenberg defined two types of secondary value: evidential value and informational value. Note that these two types of value are not mutually exclusive: a record may be valuable for both evidential and informational purposes.

Evidential value refers to the value of records in documenting the organizational structure and functions of the institution or the activities of the individual that created them. Who created the records? Do they accurately reflect the activities of the organization or person? Do the records provide evidence of the structure and policies of the organization or institution or evidence of the changing interests of the person? In the case of an organization, are these records also maintained (in a similar or different form) elsewhere within the organization? Do the records reflect policymaking or implementation of functions?

Informational value refers to the subject content of the collection (e.g., information contained in the records about persons, events, places, etc., with which the institution or person dealt). Types of informational value include:

• Uniqueness—The information in the records must be more complete and useful than that found on this topic in other existing sources, whether public or private. The records should also not be duplicated elsewhere, an occurrence that is fairly common in modern public records.
• Form—Records that provide concentrated information (e.g., some information about many people, as in census records; or in-depth information about a few people, as in case files) are the best candidates for retention. The form of the record is also important: can it be accessed and understood easily by researchers?
• Importance—Value for long-term scholarly and public research is difficult to determine. Archivists generally try to document those subjects, people, and events that are considered important by the society within which the records were created.

Other types of value commonly encountered are:

• Intrinsic Value—This refers to records with characteristics that require them to be retained in their original form. They may be valuable because of their age (in general, older records have more significance, but this is not always the case), because the records have a unique physical form or aesthetic quality, because the records are directly associated with people or events of historical significance, because they might be useful for exhibition, etc.
• Historical Value—This term is used in many different ways; it might refer to materials that are valuable because of their age or association, or it might encompass both evidential and informational value.

Both value and condition must be considered in selecting archival and other historical collections for preservation. Additional considerations include whether the records are duplicated or maintained in another form elsewhere; whether they are complete (fragmentary materials can be frustrating for research); whether they need to be retained in their original form, or whether they can be reformatted (e.g., onto microfilm); and whether there are donor or other restrictions on the use of the records.

Take a few moments to consider the following scenario. Click on Show Answer for a discussion of the options.

  See a Selection for Preservation (Archival/Historical Materials, Collection Level) Worksheet (PDF, 444k).

For information on determining whether or not archival materials have intrinsic value (e.g., whether they should be retained in their original form), see Intrinsic Value in Archival Material.

For more information on determining the value of archival and other historical records, see Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts, referenced in Additional Resources.