388 American Archivist / Vol. 48, No. 4 / Fall 1985 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021

The New Social History: Implications for Archivists

DALE C. MAYER

Abstract: According to a recent survey by the Organization of American Historians, the fastest growing field of historical research is social history. Although many social historians use computers, this is not the most significant feature of the New Social History (NSH). More important implications for archivists and manuscripts curators arise from the use of new kinds of source materials and from a new approach to social inquiry and interpretation. Archivists who have attempted to respond to the challenges posed by NSH have tended to attack the problem piecemeal, dealing only with isolated aspects. Recognizing the highly interactive nature of archival functions, this study provides an overview of NSH's impact on all major aspects of archival practice and management. Traditional archival concerns such as solicitation strategies, appraisal criteria, provenance, and arrangement and description options are re-examined to assess the impact of NSH, point out some serious implications for archivists, and provide a starting point for institutional self-assessments and in- tegrated planning.

About the Author: Dale C. Mayer is an archivist at the Hoover Presidential Library where he supervises arrangement and description projects including the presidential papers of Herbert Hoover and, currently, the papers of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover. He has an undergraduate degree in education and received anM.A. in history from the University of Michigan in 1963. A former high school history teacher and part-time instructor of history at St. Francis College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he became a National Archives staff member in 1969. He is a member of SAA and the Midwest A rchives Conference (MA C) and was a co-founder of the Iowa Historical Materials Preservation Society (IHMPS). During IHMPS's formative years, Mayer was a member of Council and also served several terms as program chairman and vice-president. In 1981 he was named to the American Library Association's Who's Who in Library and Information Services. He has been a frequent speaker at meetings of MAC, IHMPS, and other professional organizations. The New Social History 389

Introduction searched. One can also point to such MORE THAN FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED developments as the in-service training since the Journal of American History workshops for high school teachers called attention to the fact that a new ap- which Peter Stearns and Mildred Alpern Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 proach to the writing of social history, have conducted for the past several years utilizing computer assisted statistical at the Carnegie-Mellon Institute. Perhaps analysis, had become most popular an even more significant indicator lies in among doctoral candidates. In its report College Board tests which now routinely on new dissertations, the Journal pointed include questions designed to assess NSH out that more Ph.D. candidates had awareness and interpretative skills. chosen social history topics than any Clearly NSH has arrived as a signifi- other area. The combined number of cant research trend worthy of response dissertations in the traditional fields of from the archival community. Archivists economic, political, diplomatic, and and manuscripts curators ought to be military history barely exceeded those in very concerned about this major shift in social history by the narrow margin of the research interests and techniques of a 214 to 203.' large segment of their clientele. The prob- Another indication that this new ap- lem is to determine what kinds of proach or New Social History (NSH) is responses are possible and desirable. thriving may be found in the prolifera- In addressing this problem, archivists tion of journals devoted exclusively to are obliged to examine all areas of ar- social history phenomena. No less than a chival practice and management for these dozen are being published with such areas are inextricably linked in a manner familiar titles as Social History, Journal that is often highly interactive. For exam- of Ethnic Studies, Social Forces, and ple, decisions made while appraising and Journal of Family History. Another arranging collections often have signifi- dozen are devoted to the history of cant implications for subsequent ac- blacks, women, and agriculture. Even the tivities such as description and reference. traditionally-oriented Journal of Ameri- Thus it does not seem advisable to focus can History and American Historical on one or two isolated areas of practice Review have been publishing NSH ar- or management. What is needed, rather, ticles with increasing frequency, and ad- is an overview of all aspects of archival ditional articles on social history and an- practice and management. This is the on- nouncements concerning social history ly way to appreciate the full significance conferences and workshops appear in of the challenges inherent in NSH. almost every issue of the AHA News- A detailed analysis of NSH's impact letter. Furthermore, the titles of recent on historical methodology is beyond the dissertations, articles, and conference scope and intent of this discussion, but a papers clearly indicate that NSH disciples brief summary of some of the more im- have taken over the field of social portant contrasts between the traditional history. approach to social history and NSH These developments suggest that NSH seems appropriate as a basis for the has already achieved a great deal of ac- remarks that follow. Table 1 may be used ceptance within the historical community to facilitate these comparisons and to and that it has already influenced the way suggest some challenging implications for in which history is being taught and re- archivists.

"'Recent Dissertations," Journal of American History 68 (December 1979): 774-783. 390 American Archivist / Fall 1985

TABLE 1

COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL HISTORY AND NEW SOCIAL HISTORY Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021

Traditional Approaches to History New Social History Approach Contributions of leaders, great Ordinary people in groups; men, and elites ("classes"). changes in their environment, customs, values, status, economic well-being, and the in- stitutions they set up ("masses").

Usually focused on a specific inci- Focused on changes over a period dent, issue, or time period. of time.

End product is based primarily on Systematic use of quantifiable literary sources such as corre- data that can be interpreted spondence or diaries. satistically.

Narrative, descriptive accounts. Studies the structure and process May be a bit intuitive or impres- of societal change to produce ac- sionistic. counts that are analytic and com- parative.

Immigration history from the Stresses resistance to assimila- perspective of the "melting pot." tion, self-assertiveness, and con- Stresses assimilation of groups flict with mainstream. Persistence and their efforts to get along in a of ethnic culture regarded as an new environment. Accomoda- important measure of the "suc- tionist. Shows influence of cess" of a group. Often praises Frederick Jackson Turner and cultural pluralism, but some William A. Beard who stressed awareness of danger in un-critical rapidity of assimilation and how acceptance of all cultural traits. the result was better for all. In- dians and Mexicans sometimes seen as being obstacles to pro- gress and given short shrift.

Themes include political, Group experiences, intergroup economic, military, diplomatic, conflicts, intrafamily and in- and traditional approaches to tragroup relationships, social cultural and social history. In- mobility, community structure, terest in groups confined to voting cultural landscapes, and regional behavior and labor union activity studies. and growth.

Fields of investigation growing Fields still evolving at rapid rate (generally in a chronological with new areas being opened up scheme, i.e., recent diplomatic, all the time. Considerable interest political, military history) but fairly in examining interrelationships well established in contrast to between the principle themes NSH. especially in cases of labor, fami- ly, and women's history. The New Social History 391

NSH involves several new approaches chival activity is affected, especially if ar- to historical research and utilizes new chivists view their professional respon- kinds of source materials along with an sibilities in connection with the life cycle

entirely new orientation which em- of a document from the point of its crea- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 phasizes "history from the bottom up." tion on through solicitation, appraisal, New social historians are not interested in preservation, arrangement, and reference the extraordinary accomplishments of a service. In each instance managers face few, but in the common, everyday strug- challenges that cannot be ignored without gles and experiences of groups of or- detriment to the long range welfare and dinary people. Cultural assimilation does professional reputations of their institu- not interest them, but the persistence of tions. Managers should question whether ethnic cultural patterns does. The desired their present programs are fully respon- end product is a factual analysis—often sive to the needs and research interests of based on the processing of quantifiable the new wave of social historians. The data—rather than a narrative that they question is not whether priorities should regard as intuitive, impressionistic, and be adjusted, but how—in what directions lacking in both objectivity and precision. and to what extent? The new social historians use data in a A reallocation of manpower resources manner that is entirely different from is one obvious place to begin, but first an their traditionally-oriented predecessors. institution must engage in a certain Their approach—including the questions amount of self-evaluation. What are the that are important to them—is strengths and weaknesses of its present dramatically different. A further com- holdings? How well is it serving its plication, which archivists may find both traditionally-oriented clientele? Does it annoying and threatening, arises from have any commitments to its present the rejection of what some NSH practi- clientele or benefactors that would tioners refer to as elitist, narrative sources preclude a meaningful reallocation of (i.e., diaries and correspondence).2 resources? Do existing collections have Regardless of their attitude toward elitist any potential for NSH research? What materials, new social historians require sort of change in collecting policy would new and different sources of information be necessary to accommodate NSH in- that have not been utilized before; and it terests? Are any new sources of funding is this difference—not the use of com- likely if the institution attempts to im- puters—that raises most of the challenges prove its services to social historians? for archivists and manuscripts curators. After addressing questions such as these, managers will be in a better posi- tion to reallocate manpower and to pro- Effect of NSH on Archival Management vide additional training for their staffs. Seen first from the perspective of In attempting to upgrade staff training, management, NSH will have a con- two additional factors should be con- siderable impact on program planning. sidered: the increasingly significant role Virtually every aspect of professional ar- of computers in historical research and

2Lawrence Vesey, "The New Social History in the Context of American Historical Writing," Reviews in American History 7 (March 1979): 2. This attitude, which reflects the biases of some NSH practitioners, is most unfortunate for it overlooks the existence of perfectly valid and very useful NSH data in the consti- tuent mail files that are often a part of so-called elitist collections. Equally valuable reports and studies may also be found in the papers of many upper-middle-class reformers. 392 American Archivist / Fall 1985

the lack of an overall conceptual frame- available to interact with researchers. work for NSH. Management should develop the staff's One of the more intriguing possibilities ability to relate more directly to NSH of NSH lies in its holistic approach to clientele and to recognize the potential Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 human history. Yet it is a curious con- for NSH research in collections. Ar- tradiction that, despite a lip service com- chivists who lack this sort of awareness mitment to seeing history whole, virtually will be unable to relate to a growing nothing has been done to provide a con- number of researchers and will be severe- ceptual framework or agenda for future ly handicapped in their ability to make in- research in the field. Because the field is formed decisions regarding solicitations, still evolving in a dynamic and uncon- appraisal, arrangement, and description. trolled fashion, no one has bothered or Because of their heavy reliance upon dared to define the limits of NSH as a the computer, NSH researchers and the field of endeavor or to suggest an agenda archivists who serve them should be very of subjects to receive priority considera- concerned about other problems and tion. issues, some of them technological in Considering its potential for direct im- origin and others involving ethical con- pact on current social policy, this is truly cerns, which are associated with the com- regrettable, for perhaps no other field has puter revolution. The Records Appraisal the same potential for demonstrating the Division at the National Archives and relevance of historical research to current Records Administration became aware of problems. One of the risks inherent in some of the problems in the late 1960s trying to frame such an agenda, as Peter when it became painfully obvious that Stearns reminds us, is that we may focus agencies using computers had not been on the wrong areas, picking problems paying sufficient attention to such essen- that may soon become irrelevant or less tials as proper storage environments, urgent. Stearns does offer, however, software documentation, and the com- some interesting consolation and possible patibility of software from one genera- guidance in his observation that "family tion of computers to another. history is currently at the top of the heap None of these problems has been dealt 3 —as well it should be." The problem with satisfactorily. Archivists still have a for archivists is that without an agenda, it hard time convincing people to keep is hard to plan solicitation strategies, ap- records which would explain why a pro- praise collections, and provide reference gram was designed and how well it met service. For the time being it appears that their needs. These general problems will archivists will have to compile and be be aggravated in the future as more social guided by their own view of the NSH welfare agencies and businesses com- universe. puterize their records. Historians and ar- No discussion of NSH-generated com- chivists alike need to assert themselves plications for management would be and make sure that their needs are con- complete without reference to the role of sidered and understood by computer the computer. It is not a matter of which analysts and records managers. equipment to buy, but rather a matter of The prospect of an office that does not staff training and development to insure produce or rely on permanent paper that knowledgeable staff members are records is challenging to say the least.

'Conversation with Peter Stearns during Denver regional seminar, American Association for State and Local History, 1 June 1981. The New Social History 393

While this may be more of a problem for should be kept, arranging it to facilitate archivists in the future, that future is not use, and describing it fully. A very basic very far off. The underlying concern— prerequisite, if all of these goals are to be that the computer and the word processor met, is that an institution's staff be en- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 will play a progressively larger role in couraged to keep up with NSH literature records creation, revision, analysis, and and research trends. storage—should command the profes- Good reference service begins with a sion's wholehearted attention now. One carefully thought out solicitation policy. of the greatest concerns regarding com- Archives usually have little control over puter produced records is the survival of what they receive and, theoretically, do these records and their reliability and in- not solicit materials at all. There are ob- tegrity. When computer produced viously some exceptions. Medical, materials are lost, two questions im- religious, corporate, and university ar- mediately arise: what and how much was chives do solicit materials from doctors, lost? Anyone who tries to assess the board members, clergy, executives, pro- character and attributes of a historical fessors, and other leaders in their respec- period and its people will be highly tive communities for the simple reason disturbed by the loss of substantial quan- that their papers are not automatically tities of condensed data and by their in- routed to the archives. The time has come ability to determine the extent of the loss. to broaden the range of these solicitations Equally alarming are the prospects for and to exercise greater restraint and selec- altering and revising records. The ease tivity in regard to the records of elites. with which additions, erasures, deletions, Archivists in social history and other and wholesale revisions can be made is theme related repositories may discover one of the most heavily touted features of that they have unwittingly collected only word processors. If substantial quantities the papers of elite, middle-class blacks, of future records are preserved on com- leading feminists, prominent minority puter tapes and discs, the question of the businessmen, successful farmers and reliability and completeness of these labor union leaders, and executives. It is records becomes a sobering one. George important to collect their papers, but Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, with its special efforts must be made to obtain cynical rewriting of history to conform to those less readily available records which the expediency of the moment, is no document the lives of poor blacks, or- longer a novelist's fantasy. The Nixon- dinary women, small farmers, poor im- Sampson agreement seems to have con- migrant families, and labor's rank and vinced archivists and Congress that both file. One way to fill some of the gaps is by the technology and motivation for a new collecting the records of fraternal, ethnic, and sinister kind of historical revisionism insurance, cultural, and benevolent are available and in place. organizations. Other devices include oral Effect of NSH on Reference Service histories and family histories. Oral histories can be an excellent Many of the complications arising source of group and community history. from NSH have direct implications for The Baltimore Neighborhood Project reference service. Good reference service utilized an innovative and imaginative is impossible unless all of the in- approach. Long-term residents of termediate steps have been attended to Baltimore's older neighborhoods were very carefully. This means soliciting all of recruited to take part in recorded group the right materials, recognizing what interviews. The group setting served to 394 American Archivist / Fall 1985

relax the participants and provided some management. Relations between ar- very spirited and lively exchanges. It also chivists and records managers have provided a means of validating and deteriorated markedly in recent years, sharpening the participants' recollections and the influence of archivists, especially Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 of common and shared experiences. in such areas as data processing, has de- Eventually the transcripts were fed into a clined even more precipitously. If these computer and subjected to name and trends are not reversed, the historical subject indexing. Elaborate projects such record of the 1970s and 1980s will suffer as this are probably beyond the means of irretrievable losses. many local or county historical societies, The second step to good reference ser- but many of the basic features can be vice involves the appraisal and disposi- worked into a less expensive project that tion of records. This area of archival will yield much valuable ethnic and practice has always been controversial, neighborhood history. but the growing popularity of NSH has Another approach to documenting intensified the controversy in two ways: community history has been suggested by by suggesting new ways to use materials Frederic Miller, who observes that the that were previously thought to be of 5 development of suburbia has been minimal value and by raising the very neglected as a field of investigation. He distinct possibility that uses may be also calls attention to the need for studies found in the near future for materials on the "impact of various government that were previously destroyed as entirely programs—from education through useless to anyone. This latter category in- transportation—on the neighborhood cludes some of the housekeeping and level."4 If historians of the future follow facilitative records of individuals, his lead, they will demand more records businesses, and government agencies as of programatic planning and activity at well as the constituent mail files of con- the operational level and fewer records of gressmen and state legislators. policy makers at higher levels. This Included in the minimum value would necessitate a significant departure category are census records, ship's from previous doctrine which holds that passenger lists, records of school the records of policy makers are the most districts, and the case files of a wide spec- valuable and that records of lower trum of social welfare agencies. These echelons of the bureaucracy are of pro- records have much to tell about the range gressively lower value. Implications for and incidence of social problems and how archivists abound. society chose to deal with them. They Records management practices also also reveal a great deal about family have a bearing on solicitations. Histori- structures and relations between family ans and archivists should take a much members; about societal attitudes greater interest in word processing and in towards various problems and aid reci- the preparation of retention schedules pients; about the experiences and posi- along with other aspects of records tion in society of children, women, and

'Frederic M. Miller, "Social History and Archival Practice," American Archivist 44 (Spring 1981): 118. 5A very interesting case in point is Carole Shammas's investigation of the evolution of domestic environ- ment in colonial America. Drawing heavily on estate inventories in probate court records, this study incor- porates a very interesting interpretation that makes the highly esoteric computer output meaningful. "The Domestic Environment in Early Modern England and America," Journal of Social History 14 (Fall 1980): 3-24. The New Social History 395

minorities; and even about such things as Some institutions are severely pressed the persistence of cultural values and pat- for space and have serious appraisal terns, social mobility, and cultural problems. It has recently been proposed

pluralism. that many old records in the National Ar- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 The research potential of these case chives should be reappraised, utilizing files is enormous. More importantly, they new sampling techniques, and that large relate to issues which society so quantities of records should be desperately needs to understand and with destroyed.6 While this approach may be which society must come to grips. Yet helpful in the future, sampling should be these case files are often withheld due to used cautiously and with great restraint privacy considerations and automatically until archivists have a better understand- targeted for destruction. Some state ar- ing of trends in NSH research and the chivists have persuaded their legislatures manner in which social historians, in par- and state agencies to adopt procedures ticular, use raw data. that will enable researchers to obtain the Another hope for the future lies in a information they need without compro- revitalized records management program mising the privacy of individuals men- to contain the problem and reduce tioned in the files. There is a need to re- pressure on the overall system. Careful educate the public and state legislators in management of word processing and the those states where the law still provides other aspects of machine readable data for destruction of the records without processing will have to be achieved, any provision for access to the informa- however, if records management is to tion. succeed. Developing better sampling Some archivists believe that more techniques will help, but we should not sophisticated sampling techniques can be put all of our eggs into one basket. Addi- developed which will allow them to ex- tional research is desperately needed with tract the most important data from respect to records management tech- repetitive case files, prepare profiles of niques and the development of improved their characteristics, and then destroy microform technology and storage whole series of records. Many archivists systems for paper records. and historians are convinced that sam- The final step to high quality reference pling techniques cannot be devised which service involves two closely related areas: will adequately satisfy the need for raw, arrangement and description. In recent undigested data. They point out that years archivists have become progressive- sampling techniques, no matter how ly more frustrated with the growing sophisticated, produce data that has been realization that their options with respect processed and partially digested. Infor- to arrangement and description appear to mation obtained in this fashion may have be limited by certain inherent characteris- certain uses, but its potential for further tics of records groups and manuscript analysis by researchers is dramatically collections. reduced. One troublesome characteristic is the

'Leonard Rapport, "No Grandfather Clause: Reappraising Accessioned Records," American Archivist 44(Spring 1981):143-150. For an entirely different point of view see Karen Benedict, "Invitation to a Bon- fire: Reappraisal and Deaccessioning of Records as Collection Management Tolls in an Archives," American Archivist 47 (Winter 1984): 43-49. For further counter-reaction to Benedict see Richard J. Cox's letter to the editor in American Archivist 47 (Summer 1984): 225-226. Another significant contribution to the literature concerning appraisal is David R. Kepley's "Sampling in Archives: A Review," American Ar- chivist 47 (Summer 1984): 237-242. 396 American Archivist / Fall 1985

tendency of records groups and many from the false assumption that all of the larger manuscript collections to docu- information concerning a given policy, ment organizational activity, ad- program, or area of responsibility will be

ministrative history, and personal found in the files of a given bureaucratic Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 biography. When combined with the entity. Obviously, such is not the case, principle of provenance, the result has and the uninformed or careless researcher been arrangement and descriptive efforts will find provenance more of a hindrance that are heavily biased in favor of than a help. organizational history and oriented to the While some archivists and manuscripts needs of records creators rather than curators may overreact in disregarding those of historians and other researchers. provenance entirely, it is probably the Manuscript collections share this majority who have overreacted by erec- tendency, for even the smallest collec- ting false totems to provenance and put- tions reflect the activities of their ting words into the mouth of Theodore creators. Larger collections are often ar- Schellenberg. His disciples have been ranged and described much like records overzealous on the one hand and, on the groups, especially when provenance is in- other, have disregarded his highly signifi- tact and large runs of files focused on cant observation that there is a higher law business or organizational activity have than provenance, namely, "usability."7 survived. Papers of politicians, reform- The difficulty with "usability" is that in ers, and other "do-gooders" often con- practice archivists have not been able to tain materials which reflect their par- reconcile it with provenance and have ticipation in organizing and leading social chosen to disregard it. welfare movements and organizations, If archivists and manuscripts curators and, as a result, the papers have a pro- are to reconcile these two principles, res- nounced bureaucratic flavor. Regardless pond to the needs of social historians, of the reason, both records groups and and make their materials more usable, personal papers share organizational they will have to find ways to provide bet- characteristics and descriptive practices ter subject access to the materials in their which are not responsive to the needs of care. One way for manuscripts curators researchers in general and social to provide better subject access involves historians in particular. These character- the creation of subject file series in the istics also inhibit archivists when arrange- papers they are arranging. This approach ment and descriptive options are being assumes some rearrangement of materials considered. and more than a little disregard for prov- Clearly, some new options are needed. enance, but few curators encounter many The only way to discover these new op- arrangements that are reasonably intact tions is by coming to grips with the dilem- and very few of those merit retaining. In ma raised by provenance. Specifically, many cases provenance is an illusion and archivists need to come to a new under- a memory. standing of the relative unimportance of The traditional approach to badly dis- provenance in the arrangement and arranged materials has been to arrange description of personal papers and record them chronologically or by the names of groups. One of the problems with prov- correspondents on the assumption that enance as an arrangement principle arises those approaches are less demanding in-

'Theodore R. Schellenberg, "Archival Principles of Arrangement," American Archivist 24 (January 1961): 24. The New Social History 397

tellectually and less time consuming than dotal material in the administrative the creation of subject files. Except for history or in descriptions of series and searches involving specific incidents, sub-groups. Unfortunately, it is very dif-

issues of limited duration, or biographi- ficult—perhaps impossible—to prepare Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 cal research, files arranged alphabetically administrative histories of readable or chronologically may be difficult for length which include all of the insights some researchers to use. Subject file ar- that archivists would like to share with re- rangements have the advantage of ad- searchers. dressing a wider range of research in- The basic idea of providing the re- terests while permitting emphasis on im- searcher with additional insights and sub- portant episodes in the life of the records ject matter access points is a valid one, creator. nevertheless. Relying too heavily on the Another traditional approach involves administrative history—or the scope and supplementing chronologically arranged content note, for that matter—is a series with card indexes for subjects. This mistake. A better location for such in- approach takes much more effort than sights is in expanded sub-group and series arranging the material into subject files descriptions. There is no reason why and requires the services of experienced these cannot be longer, and they may well and highly paid archivists as indexers. prove easier to prepare than a similarly The traditional objection to the creation enhanced administrative history. of subject files, apart from their Furthermore, researchers are more likely theoretical violation of provenance, has to read material that has been inter- been that their arrangement is difficult spersed throughout a finding aid. Scope and time consuming. Experience shows, notes at the beginning of a register or in- however, that even very large collections ventory are quite often ignored. usually have a rather restricted range of Successful enhancement of these de- subjects and that, consequently, subject scriptive notes depends upon sensitivity files are not particularly difficult to ar- to the needs of social historians, to trends range. Once a collection has been ar- in NSH research, and on a growing ranged as a subject file, it is an extremely familiarity with the literature of the field. simple matter to prepare card indexes for While processing collections and record correspondents and individuals men- groups, archivists and their counterparts tioned in the correspondence. This ap- should be particularly alert for social proach to indexing is quick and easy and history data in a series or case file which has the added virtue of being appropriate ordinarily would not be considered a like- for clerks and typists rather than highly ly source of NSH data. Correspondence, paid archivists. surveys, statistics, demographic informa- Archivists may have fewer options tion, or any other indicators of with respect to description than their preference, tendency, or habit ought to counterparts in manuscript repositories. be mentioned as potential sources. In the case of current records, they often Finally, provenance can be preserved feel that they must give priority to the while providing additional subject access needs of records creators rather than through a combination of cross- those of researchers. Even so, improved referencing and rearrangement of the col- subject matter access can be achieved lection on paper—or in the computer— without abandoning original order or the while leaving the physical arrangement traditional preliminary inventory. This intact. Whether it is described as a system can be done by incorporating more anec- of artificially created files, superimposed 398 American Archivist / Fall 1985

finding aids, or notional rearrangement, discussions and controversy over ap- the results are the same. The potential of praisal standards and sampling tech- the computer in this aspect is beginning niques. Unfortunately, much of the 8

to be recognized; and it is encouraging to discussion has failed to acknowledge the Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 discover that the computer, which seems needs of NSH researchers and seems to have created so many new problems mired in the traditional approach to for archivists, may also provide a solu- social history. Perhaps the most signifi- tion to one of their oldest. cant omission from these dialogues is a recognition of the new social historians' emphatic preference for undigested, raw Conclusion data. Not everything can be saved, but Four years ago the American Associa- archivists need a better understanding of tion for State and Local History con- what is needed to support various NSH ducted a series of four regional seminars research scenarios before they can design centered around the theme "Re- intelligent sampling and appraisal 9 examining the Past: The New Social strategies. History and Interpretative Programs." NSH interests have been largely ig- These seminars were well received and, nored as institutions have begun to index judging from articles and announcements and cross-reference via computer. Such in History News, have already borne fruit projects will be seriously flawed if those in the form of enhanced exhibits and in- in charge of thesaurus development re- terpretative programs. In the same period main unaware of the needs and interests of time, archivists have done very little to of new social historians. A number of respond to the challenges of NSH. social history thesauri have been Only a few archivists and manuscripts developed, and most are designed to ac- curators appear to have more than a commodate additional subject descrip- superficial understanding of NSH. Most tors. Archivists must seize this opportuni- are vaguely aware that computers are ty to provide better subject access for all somehow involved, but few have any real users, including practitioners of the new understanding of the revolution that has social history. taken place in the researching and writing One mistake which should be avoided of social history. It is no wonder that in- at all costs is the failure to plan. Beset by stitutions have not reassessed their a variety of pressures, archivists may find solicitations strategies, appraisal criteria, it very tempting to respond in a piecemeal arrangement practices, or descriptive fashion rather than to take time to study techniques. all of the ways in which NSH challenges Recent meetings and professional jour- their current practices. Archival manage- nals have featured some very interesting ment and practice may not be a science,

'W. Theodore Diirr, "Some Thoughts and Designs about Archives and Automation, 1984," American Archivist 47 (Summer 1984): 271-289 contains some intriguing insights and a look at one possible software scenario. 'Such insights can be readily absorbed by reading articles in the journals mentioned in the beginning of this article. The Shammas article referred to in footnote 5 above provides a good example of some of the re- search being done. Other worthwhile readings include: Peter N. Stearns, "Toward a Wider Vision: Recent Trends in Social History," in Michael Kammen, ed., The Past Before Us: Contemporary Historical Writing in the United States (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980); John Modell, "Changing Risks, Changing Adaptations; American Families in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries," from Allan J. Lichtman and Joan R. Challinor, eds., Kin and Communities: Families in America (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979), 19-44; and Leonard Dinnerstein and David M. Reimers, Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration and Assimilation (1975). The New Social History 399

but it is a highly interactive undertaking, with the basic management concerns and those who ignore this fundamental mentioned earlier. fact will eventually find themselves in The challenge of NSH is a difficult one

trouble whether they are processing col- because it requires readjustment, or at Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/4/388/2747302/aarc_48_4_l107660916858k13.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 lections or making policy for the entire least study, in many areas. The challenge institution. can be met, however, if archivists will If archivists understand how the take time to plan and will open their various aspects of archival management minds to discover new ways of thinking and practice interact and how NSH af- about their most basic responsibilities. fects these interactions, they are ready to The first hurdle to be overcome is con- begin the process of self-evaluation. Each tained in that familiar phrase: "We have institution will approach this process dif- never done it that way before." ferently, but each would do well to begin