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

disposa1.50
In 1991, however, at the annual meeting of the Association
of Canadian Archivists in Banff, Alberta, Booms modified his
concept of documentation plans as being too complicated and
theoretical, and "not practical enough to be usable."51 His new
proposal is noteworthy for the synthesis he achieves between the
seemingly contradictory notions of pertinence and provenance:
"The process of appraisal entails the immediate transition from
the content of the historical events, of subject matter, to
provenance."52 Beginning with the idea of pertinence, the
initial concept of the historical grid is adapted to the
formulation of a contemporary chronicle that notes, but does not
interpret, dates of important and essential events that occurred
during the time in which the records were created. From an
understanding of the society contemporary to the records, the
archivist moves directly to provenance in a structural analysis
of the records creator, which provides an administrative
chronicle of record-creating functions. Booms states
unequivocally that in order to preserve the archival nature of
records,
provenance must^remain the immutable
foundation of the appraisal process. . • •
50 Booms, "Society," 87-88.
51 Hans Booms, "Uberlieferungsbildung: Archives-Keeping as a
Social and Political Activity," paper presented at the annual
meeting of the Association of Canadian Archivists, Banff,
Alberta, 23-25 May 1991, Lmanuscr.ipt], 18.
52 Booms, "Archives-Keeping," 20.
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