Aisha M. Johnson PhD StudentCo-Director/Manager of Archival Services School of Library & Information StudiesBlack Archives, Research Center & Museum Florida State UniversityFlorida A&M University
Collection Acquisition (traditional) Types of Living Archives Challenges and Benefits Acquiring Living Archives Review
Collections were typically acquired after death Typically archives protect sensitive information such as ◦ SSN and addresses Changes in the type of collections being acquired ◦ Enter living collections Collections are now being built while stored by at an archive
Individual Collections ◦ Literary Figures and scholars (Maya Angelou) Organizational Records ◦ Orphanages, churches Political Records ◦ Civil Rights activists of the 1950s and 1960s ◦ Presidential papers and other political leaders Community Archives Digital Collections ◦ Social media (fb, tumblr, twitter, etc)
Traditional challenges still exist ◦ Building trust for the archives ◦ Storage (how big will the collection become) ◦ Other necessary means of handling a collection Donor input Protecting those whom are living in the collection ◦ Example: orphanages, church records, etc Processing for access ◦ Now or Later?
Donor input ◦ No guessing games on sensitive information ◦ Provenance Community Involvement! ◦ Archives can build trust with the community and acquire more collections. Embracing change as an opportunity instead of a challenge
Policies and procedures in place specifically for living collections Recognize what could be considered sensitive information of individuals presently “living” in the collection, if not protected or indicated by the Deed of Gift. Examples of sensitive information Acquisition methods
Collection acquisition is changing New wave of living collections There are challenges as well as benefits Archivists must embrace and understand the rules of engagement when acquiring living collections. With the necessary precautions in place, archives can build trust with the community and acquire more living collections.