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Concepts Op Value in the Archival Appraisal Literature

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Concepts Op Value in the Archival Appraisal Literature CONCEPTS OP VALUE IN THE ARCHIVAL APPRAISAL LITERATURE AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS bv RICHARD KLUMPENHOUWER B.A., Calvin College/ 1981 M.A., University of Western Ontario, 1982 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHIVAL STUDIES in THE FACULTY OF ARTS School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies and the Department of History We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October 1988 © Richard Klumpenhouwer, 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. 1 further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT Archival appraisal is the most challenging and at the same time the most improtant task performed by archivists. The complex meaning, varied form, and massive volume of modern documentary information, which now occupies the lion's share of archivists' attention, present immense challenges during the appraisal process. Yet it is precisely these factors which make archival appraisal such an important activity, for it is the responsibility of archivists to preserve and make available a documentary record that is both usable and complete. This thesis works on the premise that archival appraisal involves a process of applying value concepts to the preservation or destruction of records. Therefore, it is a critical examination of the nature and development of value concepts throughout the history of archives in western civilization from the Middle Ages to the recent past. The preservation of archives before the late nineteenth century depended upon the political, legal, and military values of the original record-creators which persisted over a relatively long period of. time. From the 18 80s to the 19 3 0s, the value of archives as historical sources became dominant and appraisal followed theories of archival administation based on historicist concepts. From 1930 to 1980, the quality and quantity of records being generated by institutions forced archivists to develop management systems for appraisal and to define value which best conformed to the structures and processes of such systems. Especially in the last two chapters, which deal with modern archival appraisal in the United States and Europe respectively, the analysis of theories and practices serves to reveal inconsistencies and problems in the application of value concepts. From such an examination, certain patterns emerge which suggest directions for the future development of archival appraisal theory. - iii - TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 Chapter I: The Value of Documents and Their Preservation Before the Twentieth Century 5 Chapter II: Appraisal and the Rise of Archival Theory, 1880-1930 35 Chapter III: Archival Appraisal as a Management Function, 1930-1980: The United States 61 Chapter IV: Archival Appraisal as a Management Function, 1930-1980: Great Britain, France, and Germany 10 5 Conclusion 152 Bibliography 156 - iv - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the encouragement, insights, and suggestions provided by my colleagues in the MAS program, my thesis supervisor Terry Eastwood, and my wife Minnie Joldersma. - v - 1 INTRODUCTION Archival appraisal, as a self-conscious, professional archival function, is essentially a twentieth-century concept and practice. Yet, the documentary record left to us by societies before this century is also primarily the product of a process whereby documents judged valuable have been preserved and those judged valueless destroyed. The thinking and motives which lay behind this process as it was applied in earlier times may appear arbitrary, unselfconscious, or simply incorrect to present-day archivists, but the effects have been the same. In fact, the key to understanding these changes in the reasoning behind archival appraisal in all periods in the history of modern archives will be found in identifying the implicit or explicit standards of value to which the appraisers necessarily referred. It becomes clear that the history of appraisal theory and practice follows closely the changing and developing role of archives, the archivist and archival institutions within modern society. Therefore, archival appraisal, which has as its purpose the identification and preservation of documentary records which have an enduring and constant value, is an historically relative process. Nevertheless, it is possible to perceive certain historical patterns in the relationship between archivists, on the one hand, and the records creators and society on the other operating within the appraisal process. 2 From these perceptions, a more profound insight into present- day theoretical problems surrounding appraisal may emerge. The history of archival appraisal can be divided into three major periods: 1) the premodern period to 1880, 2) 1880- 1930, and 3) 1930-1980." These periodizations represent phases in the development of archivists as controllers of the appraisal process and, increasingly, as conscious interpreters of archival value. More importantly, each period is characterized by major changes in attitudes toward determining archival value related to the historical context within which they occurred. In dealing with the subject of archival appraisal, one is immediately and constantly in danger of being overwhelmed by the both physical and conceptual proportions of the problem. Therefore, in an effort to avoid the worst effects' of this situation, it has been necessary to define the terminology and limits of the topic. First of all, the term "appraisal" as used will correspond to the definition given in the Dictionary of Archival Terminology: "a basic archival function of determining the eventual disposal of records based upon their archival value; also referred to as evaluation, review, selection, or selective retention."1 The concept of appraisal as it is understood in this thesis should therefore not be confused with the appraisal of archives to determine monetary value, which is a completely separate process carried out for 1 Peter Walne, ed. (Miinchen: K. G. Saur, 1984), p. 21. 3 much different purposes. Along the same lines, "archival values" can be defined simply as those values used to justify the indefinite or permanent retention of documents or records. Secondly, it should be emphasized that the major concern is with concepts or theories of archival value as opposed to the techniques or methods used in the appraisal process. To be sure, it is not always possible or desirable to separate value concepts from methodology -- indeed, an important point in the analysis of modern appraisal theories is that appraisal techniques themselves determined the nature of the value criteria used -- but it should be clear that explanations of techniques or systems in this thesis are made only for the purpose of revealing the inherent archival values used by archivists in implementing such systems. Thirdly, although the temporal and geographical scope of the thesis is quite broad, the thesis is by no means an exhaustive treatment of the literature relating to archival value and appraisal. Material which presents formative ideas or clear statements on archival value have been selected and that which is derivative, descriptive, and concerns itself totally with practical techniques, excluded. As a result, the theories and examples mainly refer to the manually-produced textual records and archives of government institutions. This is not to dismiss the importance and uniqueness of appraisal problems relating to non-textual media or documents produced by private individuals and organizations, but the quantity of the literature dealing with such material is small, the topics 4 confined to practical methods of appraisal analysis, and the value criteria presented by and large similar to those developed in government archives. 5 CHAPTER I THE VALUE OF DOCUMENTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION BEFORE THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Record-keeping is as old as civilization itself. However, it is neither possible nor desirable for us to consider ancient archives and the value they held for the societies which they served: for one thing, while archival historians such as Ernst Posner have completed important works on archives in the ancient world,1 the sources for a study of archival value in the ancient period are very scarce, and our understanding of the cultural context very limited; for another, European record-keeping activity in the middle ages represents a clearer and logical starting-point in the process of linking the structures, principles, and values of modern archival practice with those of the past. The period from about 1200 to the nineteenth century is vast, and the changes in the nature and value of archives during this period are proportionally broad and complex. Yet, such an overview provides the necessary context for a discussion of issues, policies, and practices of archival appraisal in the modern period. 1 Ernst Posner, Archives in the Ancient World (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1972). 6 Recorded documentation
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