Intro to Archival Science: Developing an Undergraduate Archival Elective Outside of a LIS Program

Abstract

This case study describes the development and implementation of a three-credit undergraduate archival science course at Mount St. Mary’s University. Offered through the university’s Department of History, this course was designed to prepare students for positions in archives-related careers, unlike most research-based undergraduate archival electives. Benefits of the course to both students and the archivist profession will be discussed.

Keywords:

• LIS undergraduate education
• archival science
• Mount St. Mary’s University

Notes

Notes on contributor

Ms. Whitmore is the Director of the Library at her alma mater, Mount St. Mary’s University. She has an MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. through Concordia University Chicago.

Notes

1 Jessica J. Whitmore, “HIST 297 B: Intro to Archival Science Syllabus,” (2018), copy in possession of the author (Appendix).

2 Richard J. Cox, “Educating Archivists: Speculations on the Past, Present, and Future,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science 39, no. 5 (1988): 341.

3 Ibid.

4 Luciana Duranti, “The Society of American Archivists and Graduate Archival Education: A Sneak Peak of Future Directions,” The American Archivist 63 (Fall/Winter 2000): 241.

5 Eleanor Mitchell, Peggy Seiden, and Suzy Taraba, eds. Past or Portal?: Enhancing Undergraduate Learning through Special Collections and Archives (Chicago: ACRL, 2012).

6 Sandra Roff, “Archives, Documents, and Hidden History: A Course to Teach Undergraduates the Thrill of Historical Discovery Real and Virtual,” The History Teacher 40, no. 4 (August 2007): 554.

7 Ibid., 535.

8 Ibid., 554.

9 Cory Nimer and J. Gordan Daines III, “Teaching Undergraduates to Think Archivally,” Journal of Archival Organization 10, no. 1 (2012): 9.

10 Ibid., 6.

11 Ibid., 8–9.

12 Jessica J. Whitmore, “History 297 B Intro to Archival Science Syllabus” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

13 Richard Pearce-Moses, A Glossary of Archival Records and Terminology (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005).

14 Lois Hamill, Archives for the Lay Person: A Guide to Managing Cultural Collections (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2013).

15 Ibid., p. vii.

16 Society of American Archivists, “SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics,” accessed January 13, 2018, https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics (accessed January 13, 2018).

17 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Archival Ethics Essay,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

18 Society of American Archivists, “So You Want to Be an Archivist,” accessed January 13, 2018, https://www2.archivists.org/careers/beanarchivist

19 The author would like to acknowledge and thank Mrs. Clare Tauriello, Director of the Career Center at Mount St. Mary’s University, for sharing her time and expertise.

20 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Locating Job/Internship Opportunities Assignment,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

21 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Organizing the Collection Assignment,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

22 Hamill, Archives for the Lay Person, 31–36.

23 NEDCC, Preservation Leaflets, accessed January 13, 2018, https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/overview

24 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Disaster Plan Essay,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

25 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Preservation Project,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

26 NEDCC, “Preservation Education Curriculum,” accessed January 13, 2018, https://www.nedcc.org/curriculum/lesson.introduction.php

27 Elizabeth R. Leggett, Digitization and Digital Archiving: A Practical Guide for Librarians (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).; Brian Lavoie, The Open Archival System (OAIS) Reference Model: Introductory Guide (2nd Edition) (Digital Preservation Coalition, 2014), https://www.dpconline.org/component/docs/doc_download/1359-dpctw14-02.; Adrian Brown, Practical Digital Preservation: A How-To Guide for Organizations of Any Size (London: Facet, 2013).

28 Kristen R. Eschenfelder et al., "What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Sustainability of Digital Archives, Repositories and Libraries?" Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology 53, no. 1 (2016): 1–6.

29 Jessica J. Whitmore, “Digital Curation Essay,” (2018), copy in possession of the author.

30 Ibid.