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

considered exceptional.7 In this manner, the government affirmed
its commitment to historical value and promoted the concept that
the basic import of appraisal was to be preservation.
During the same period in Germany, the approach of
archivists to appraisal reflected their understanding of
historical study. Such study focused on an empirical analysis of
documentary sources, and was combined with practical experience
and intuitive insights that resulted in knowledge and
understanding of society and past events. Theoretical
constructions were seen to intrude upon the authenticity and
clarity of analysis and understanding provided by the historical
perspective. For this reason, there was an inherent tension
between theory and practice that naturally affected appraisal
decisions. Many archivists intuitively related the concept of
permanent value to records that were pertinent to historical
research. Historical value was thus linked directly to present
and potential research use, and was identified by content
analysis of the sources. In effect, the implicit guiding
standard of appraisal was the principle of pertinence.
This traditional approach to appraisal was publicly
supported at the Second German Archives Congress held in Dresden
in 1900. At the conference, Friedrich Meinecke argued that
historian-archivists possessed a "feeling for historical life"
through education and experience that equipped them with an
7 Theodore Schellenberg, Modern Archives: Principles and
Techniques, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956), 134.
35