Appraising Records

Authors

Maureen Cresci Callahan, University Of ConnecticutFollow
David Staniunas, Presbyterian Historical SocietyFollow

Document Type

Book Chapter

Disciplines

Archival Science | Collection Development and Management

Abstract

This chapter operationalizes archival appraisal as a values-driven, lifecycle activity that begins in pre-custodial conversations and continues through transfer, accessioning, stabilization, description, migration/reformatting, and, when warranted, deaccessioning. It reframes appraisal as both selection and retention, not merely separation, and offers guiding principles: assess long-term research value, preserve context, and acknowledge the rarity of true uniqueness. The authors translate strategy into practice through functional analysis and scaled prioritization (e.g., adaptations of the Minnesota Method), showing how to map organizational or personal functions to record types to widen evidentiary breadth. Practical tools include creator interviews, top-level surveys of born-digital environments, and structured box-level surveys that double as boundary objects for repository decision-making and later description. A detailed fictional case (a 1972 anti-displacement coalition) illustrates expanding beyond iconic items to identify rich bodies of documentation. The chapter also treats topical and format appraisal — balancing repository scope with documenting the “whole” creator, weighing originality, usability, re-use potential, and extra-textual qualities — and surfaces reflective questions to mitigate bias and reduce archival silences toward the goal of maintaining accountability to creator communities.

Recommended Citation

Cresci Callahan, Maureen, and David Staniunas. “Appraising Records.” In Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts, edited by Audra Eagle Yun and Chela Scott Weber. Archival Fundamentals, III. Society of American Archivists, 2025.

Recommended Citation

Cresci Callahan, Maureen, and David Staniunas. “Appraising Records.” In Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts, edited by Audra Eagle Yun and Chela Scott Weber. Archival Fundamentals, III. Society of American Archivists, 2025.