Hiring An Archival Consultant
The services of a consultant may prove beneficial to an organization considering the creation of a records management or archival program.
From a consultation, those who oversee the records and archives project should derive a general sense of the existing historical record of the organization — the story documented and the types of documentation. What kind of story do the records tell and how fully? What do the records show of the organization’s beginning, of developments during periods of relative quiet and during periods of change? What are the possible reasons for scant documentation of certain periods? To what extent do the records document the individuals who participated in the development of the organization, and to what extent do the records offer documentation of policies and programs and successes and failures, relatively unleavened by a sense of individual actors?
A consultant can best assist with evaluating the character of the historical record by surveying the documents and reporting on their subject matter, and by suggesting what kind of history might be reconstructed and written from the records. The consultant may also offer suggestions as to the documentation’s significance for telling a story or stories beyond the history of the organization. A consultant can help organizational officials determine whether using the historical documentation will be useful in formulating policy and program — whether history may become a tool of administration. In general, neither a consultant nor an archivist will propose additions to the historical record, with the possible exception of preparing an oral history program. Oral history can supplement and complement the written record. In addition, conducting interviews with individuals currently and recently active may serve to emphasize staff awareness of a records management or archives program.
A consultant should also assess the volume of records for archival storage, as well as the rate at which records are likely to be transferred to archival storage. A storage cost per cubic foot should be calculated. In appraising the physical condition of the records, a consultant should consider the level of processing the records should receive.
The consultant should, to the extent feasible, identify records needing special attention, such as deteriorating paper which should be photocopied, placed in mylar sleeves, or in extreme cases, fumigated. A consultant also should consider whether any records should be microfilmed. Filming is costly, but it permits enormous savings of space. Material most suitable for filming is usually that which must be retained over a long period either because it is of historical value or because it is needed to meet legal requirements. To be filmed, records should be in consistent order and should be legible.
A consultant should, insofar as possible, have experience in both archival management and historical research. It may be appropriate to consult both an archivist, who may have less than optimal experience in historical research, and a historian, who may lack experience in archival administration. The professional association to which most archivists belong is the Society of American Archivists, while many American historians belong to the Organization of American Historians. The address and telephone numbers of these and other useful organizations are listed at the end of this book.
In addition to the professional organizations, many local libraries, historical societies, museums, and business corporations that have started records management or archives programs may also help identify potential consultants. Departments of history at local universities may also constitute a source either of consultants or advice on locating consultants.
Thomas E. Rosenbaum has been an archivist at the Rockefeller Archive Center since 1976. A specialist in Asian history, he is the author of The Archives of the China Medical Board and the Peking Union Medical College: Some Sources on the Transfer of Western Science, Medicine, and Technology to China During the Republican Period (1989).
