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Accounting for Disposition: a Comparative Case Study Of ACCOUNTING FOR DISPOSITION: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF APPRAISAL DOCUMENTATION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, AND THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA by Jennifer Alycen Marshall B.S.L.S., Georgetown University, 1994 M.L.I.S., University of Pittsburgh, 1999 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Library and Information Science of the School of Information Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2006 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Jennifer Alycen Marshall It was defended on December 20, 2006 and approved by Toni Carbo, Department of Library and Information Science Terry Cook, Department of History, University of Manitoba Ellen G. Detlefsen, Department of Library and Information Science Dissertation Director: Richard J. Cox, Department of Library and Information Science ii Copyright by Jennifer Alycen Marshall 2006 iii ACCOUNTING FOR DISPOSITION: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF APPRAISAL DOCUMENTATION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, AND THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA Jennifer Alycen Marshall, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2006 Society delegates responsibility for the selection and preservation of records of continuing value to archivists. In accepting this charge, the archival profession enters into a relationship with society in which ensuring public trust through accounting to society for the responsible management of records becomes essential. For archivists to maintain this public trust and to be accountable for appraisal, they must create, maintain, and provide access to documentation of how this process is carried out and of why particular disposition decisions are reached. Documentation that reflects that archivists have weighed relevant legislation, institutional policies, professional best practice, and societal values during the appraisal decision- making process enables archivists to demonstrate that they have arrived at responsible decisions in their selection of records for disposal or for continued retention in archives. Appraisal documentation serves as a safeguard which ensures that disposition of records occurs according to standard procedures and protects against the arbitrary and capricious destruction of records. This dissertation explores the relationship between appraisal documentation and archival accountability through a comparative case study of the units tasked with making disposition decisions at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States, iv Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and the National Archives of Australia (NAA). The research developed detailed descriptions of how appraisal is documented at each of the host institutions. Using a content analysis of documentation and interviews with archivists at NARA, LAC, and NAA regarding the appraisal documentation produced by their respective institutions, the study also assessed archivists’ views regarding what constitutes documentation of appraisal that is adequate to permit archivists to be held accountable for appraisal in government archives. This comparative analysis produced preliminary guidelines for accountable documentation of appraisal that serve as a starting point for future research related to archival accountability for this core professional function. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface........................................................................................................................................x List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xii I. Problem Statement.................................................................................................................1 A. Overview of the Study ....................................................................................................1 B. Core Concepts for the Study ...........................................................................................2 C. Background for the Study ...............................................................................................8 D. Hypotheses and Research Questions.............................................................................16 E. Significance of the Study...............................................................................................17 II. Literature Review...............................................................................................................18 A. Archival Appraisal ........................................................................................................18 1. Birth of Appraisal Theory: Pre-1970s.....................................................................19 2. Beyond Jenkinson and Schellenberg: 1970s-Mid-1980s........................................21 3. “The Third Way:” 1986-Present ..............................................................................25 4. Multiple Perspectives: Recent Appraisal Monographs...........................................34 B. Archives and Accountability.........................................................................................38 C. Accountability in Archival Appraisal ...........................................................................46 D. Documentation of Archival Appraisal ..........................................................................50 III. Methodology......................................................................................................................63 A. Site Selection.................................................................................................................66 B. Phases of Research........................................................................................................68 vi C. Data Collection and Analysis............................................................................................69 1. Content Analysis......................................................................................................70 2. Interviews.................................................................................................................73 D. Limitations of the Study................................................................................................74 E. Summary........................................................................................................................75 IV. Appraisal Documentation at the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States (NARA) ............................................................................................76 A. NARA’s Statutory Authority for Records Disposition and Appraisal..........................76 B. NARA’s Primary Contributions to Appraisal Practice .................................................79 C. Accounting for Appraisal at NARA..............................................................................82 1. Program-level Documentation.................................................................................83 2. Initiating the Appraisal Process ...............................................................................85 3. Documenting Appraisal Decisions ..........................................................................88 4. Accountability in Appraisal .....................................................................................93 D. Summary .....................................................................................................................100 V. Appraisal Documentation at Library and Archives Canada (LAC).................................102 A. LAC’s Statutory Authority for Records Disposition and Appraisal...........................102 B. LAC’s Primary Contributions to Appraisal Practice...................................................108 C. Accounting for Appraisal at LAC ...............................................................................114 1. Program-level Documentation...............................................................................115 2. Initiating the Appraisal Process .............................................................................118 3. Documenting Appraisal Decisions ........................................................................124 4. Accountability in Appraisal ...................................................................................135 D. Summary .....................................................................................................................141 vii VI. Appraisal Documentation at the National Archives of Australia ....................................143 A. NAA’s Statutory Authority for Records Disposition and Appraisal ..........................143 B. NAA’s Primary Contributions to Appraisal Practice..................................................152 C. Accounting for Appraisal at NAA ..............................................................................157 1. Program-level Documentation...............................................................................158 2. Initiating the Appraisal Process .............................................................................170 3. Documenting Appraisal Decisions ........................................................................171 4. Accountability in Appraisal ...................................................................................174
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