A STUDY OF THE THEORY OF APPRAISAL FOR SELECTION By ...

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usefulness."32 His manual does not provide a re-assessment of appraisal, but, instead, merely presents a synthesis of accepted ideas, augmented by practical suggestions, focusing on Schellenberg's uncritical amalgamation of structural and content analysis. Several have argued for the introduction of a new archival function, referred to as re-appraisa1.33 But the notion merely accentuates the failure of archivists in the North American tradition to identify an appropriate timing for the selection of records for preservation. A major attempt to alter appraisal methods was presented in 1985 by Frank Boles and Julia Young.34 But it, too, suffers from the fragmentation of knowledge into unconnected parts, and the entrapment of the selection process in a subjective assessment of value from the perspective of present use. Boles and Young construct a model that attempts to "incorporate in a logical form all the significant parts of appraisal, both those traditionally acknowledged by archivists and those factors which are often 32 Maynard J. Brichford, Archives and Manuscripts: Appraisal and Accessioning (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1977): 1. 33 The first to do so was Leonard Rapport, "No Grandfather Clause: Reappraising Accessioned Records," American Archivist 44 (Spring 1981): 143-150. Rapport suggests reappraisal every twenty to thirty years, which is similar to the timing for initial and archival appraisal advocated in 1954 by Sir James Grigg in England. 34 Frank Boles and Julia Marks Young, "Exploring the Black Box: The Appraisal of University Administrative Records," American Archivist 48 (Spring 1985): 121-140. 105
unarticulated."35 ^ In the American tradition, the model's theoretical framework is limited by practical concerns about cost, political pressure and access issues. The model's three general categories include value of information, costs of retention, and political and procedural implications of the appraisal recommendations. Theoretical concerns of appraisal, however, are found only in the first category. The suggested method by which the value of information is identified is a reconstruction of Schellenberg's approach that attempts to reduce the tension between evidential and informational value. Its emphasis on "circumstances of creation" parallels traditional structural analysis that identifies the evidential value of the records under consideration. Appraisal is then balanced by a content analysis of information, which "takes place within a universe defined by the archivist's experience and knowledge. "36 In actual practice, however, the complex intellectual process of appraisal is unacceptably reduced to mathematical quantification.37 Boles and Young maintain Schellenberg's primary focus on use, but extend the equation of value and use to the extreme: Records may^contain information that necessitates the restriction of their use. . • •^Whatever the scope of the restrictions, 35 Ibid, 137. 36 Ibid, 129. 37 The practical application of the Boles and Young model is analyzed in, Robert Sink, "Appraisal: The Process of Choice," American Archivist 53 (Summer 1990): 452-458. 106
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A STUDY OF THE THEORY OF APPRAISAL
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ABSTRACT Appraisal for selection is
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I gratefully acknow
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the troublesome question of the rel
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principle of pertinence is commonly
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problems such as the availability o
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theoretical framework.^In this mann
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CHAPTER 1: THE PROBATIVE NATURE OF
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doctrine of stare decisis.3 The hie
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The courts thus enter the realm of
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the conduct of society, but to expl
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lives."16 Because the present inesc
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judiciary has developed a complex s
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creation, is inherently reliable. 2
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authority. "31^Public records can t
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whole or any part of any book, docu
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consist of all documentary records
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issue. German archivists have been
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information.2 It is, however, the F
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Importance of historical value as a
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intuitive ability to appraise recor
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objectivity is irrelevant. Content
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is supported by the many examples o
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that documented important historica
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ecords through a structural analysi
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is, the political issue of extent a
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appraisal. But, instead of rejectin
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provide archivists with the necessa
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theory of appraisal, which, in his
Page 59 and 60: For it is the task of archivists in
Page 61 and 62: the European understanding of the n
Page 63 and 64: to appraisal theory, the following
Page 65 and 66: of the Rolls has been required 'fro
Page 67 and 68: Schedule."13 In 1889, rules regardi
Page 69 and 70: their legitimate successors.17 His
Page 71 and 72: the administrator.22 Their meaning
Page 73 and 74: the connexion in which they were or
Page 75 and 76: fears, archivists and historians wh
Page 77 and 78: diminished from its previous absolu
Page 79 and 80: that had been used since the mid-ni
Page 81 and 82: preserved."52 Thus, the Report main
Page 83 and 84: series.59 The Report also notes tha
Page 85 and 86: The Grigg Report concludes its asse
Page 87 and 88: in the equation of historical value
Page 89 and 90: paradigms created by European theor
Page 91 and 92: seriously challenged since it was a
Page 93 and 94: the usefulness of existing resource
Page 95 and 96: CHAPTER 4: NORTH AMERICAN TRADITION
Page 97 and 98: ecords, from creation to dispositio
Page 99 and 100: possess it not as individual docume
Page 101 and 102: accomplished. As Hans Booms has cle
Page 103 and 104: and activities of the creating orga
Page 105 and 106: the next logical step: the identifi
Page 107 and 108: that they are needed for an underst
Page 109: archivists bring to research by the
Page 113 and 114: Cook's emphasis on relating the pro
Page 115 and 116: oader concept of information data s
Page 117 and 118: provenance. They also offer an inte
Page 119 and 120: content analysis as the primary met
Page 121 and 122: CONCLUSION After all is said and do
Page 123 and 124: the intervention of archivists in t
Page 125 and 126: ecords. The analysis seeks to ident
Page 127 and 128: according to an ideological underst
Page 129 and 130: previously, Hans Booms projects tha
Page 131 and 132: administrative and historical value
Page 133 and 134: BIBLIOGRAPHY Advisory Committee for
Page 135 and 136: Cook, Terry. "Improving our Disposi
Page 137 and 138: Haas, J. et al. Appraising the Reco
Page 139 and 140: Raffel, Stanley.^Matters of Fact: A
Page 141 and 142: GLOSSARY OF ARCHIVAL TERMS ACQUISIT
Page 143: PUBLIC RECORDS: Documents issued by
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