Kathryn Coldiron

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April 29, 2015
As an archivist selected to develop a plan for the management of the archival records of
the Mercedarian Sisters Archives, one must consider a number of various factors. One must first
asses the components of the collection; one must appraise the archives and determine what is to
be included in the archives; one must determine what is to be available for access the public, and
how it will be accessed; one must determine how the property is to be stored and organized; and
one must determine how the entire project will be paid for. Many steps are involved in the
planning and management of an archive and it up to the archivist to use all his or her available
knowledge and skills to create the most up to date, well functioning archive. Both the initial
appraisal, organization, and the funding of the project are major components to consider and will
dictate much of what will be possible as far as what technologies and techniques can be used for
storage, management and access. Because the archive consists of many diverse types of material
it is necessary to use the most up-to date preservation and digitization methods available to
preserve and share the material with future generations.

Upon encountering the Micronesian Mercedarian Sisters Archives, the first step to the
management of the archives would be to assess and appraise the material (Couture, 84). It is
necessary to inventory, describe, and arrange the material in an orderly and systematic way. This
process of arrangement and evaluation will ultimately help determine which materials are going
to be kept for the archive and future exhibits, either online or in-person. Because the archive
consists of different types of materials including journal articles, correspondence, Hi8 tapes,
scrapbooks, magnetic tapes, microfilms, cassette tapes, photos, newspapers, etc., many of the
materials may be in various states of decomposition and there may be different volumes of each
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type of material. It would be necessary to evaluate each type of material on its own and assess
each based on its own merit.
A major question that must be addressed at the outstart is what the purpose of the archive
is meant to be: is it meant to educate the public? Is it meant to preserve the history and culture of
the Micronesian Mercedarian Sisters? Is it meant to do both? Defining the mission of the archive
project will ultimately help with the assessment and evaluation of the materials and help the
archivist choose the material to be included.

The material should be organized according to standard archival organizational

techiniques based off the original appraisal by the archivist. A user-friendly finding-aid should be
created that makes locating material within the archive simple for patrons. Should the collection
be digitized, which would allow for greater access to the archive, an online version of the finding
aid using the standard language of EAD should be made available. Newer features available in
online finding aids may be considered such as links from the online finding aid directly to
digitized material from the collection. Features such as these will take time to implement and
may make more sense if the purpose of the digital archive is meant for educational purposes,
decisions which can and should be made a the assessment and planning phase of the project.
An archivist should manage the online and material content of the archive though the
Micronesian Mercedarian Sisters should have input into the content and the way it is displayed.
The digitized archives, should the purpose of the collection be for preservation and education, be

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available to all users. Access of the archives, both the physical and digitized should be discussed
by the sisters and the archivist.

The archives should follow the Internation Council on Archives guidelines that allow
access to all individuals as much as possible, however whether the sisters choose to create an
open access website or a user-name and password protected accessible website only may be
discussed (ICA). Allowing for an open-content website would ultimately create more support for
the archive and increase awareness for the history of the Mercedarian Sisters. Issues may arise
with open source access. With the variety of material that is digitized and available online
through the archive there may be issues of copyright and ownership of material such as video
and photographic content. The archivist of the project may take precautions against issues like
this by issuing a statement indicating that any challenged material will be taking down and
removed. It must also be decided how and when individuals will be able to access the physical
archives. Guidelines should be drawn up that patrons must follow when visiting the archives that
outline rules for the handling of the property. Archivists or staff should always be present and
monitoring patrons while they are present. According to the internation council on access to
archives, all individuals should have access to the archives and should be made aware of their
existence (ICC).

The online exhibit of the archive as well as the physical storage space housing the
material should be as up to date as possible. The storage of the physical material will vary

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depending on the type of media. Most property will need protective boxes, protection from light,
and temperature control. Archivists should be the only individuals to handle the material and
particularly with photographic and video material, gloves should be worn when touching it. The
creation of the digitized exhibit will require making digital master copies and secondary copies
of the material in order to preserve the originals from over-copying. These digital copies will
need to be maintained and frequently copied for various online exhibits. Storage and exhibition
requires funding that is quite costly. Basic precautions such as protecting materials from sunlight,
storing papers off the floor, and wearing gloves, can be taking without spending much, but in
order to have a modern, state of the art archive facility, it is necessary to have major funding.
In order to receive funding for a project such as the Micronesian Mercedarian Sisters
Archives, a project leader may write a grant application to a foundation such as the National
Endowment for the Arts. Another more recent source of funding that has proven successful has
been crowdsourcing. The Micronesian Mercedarian Sisters may consider appealing to followers
on Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media site where private individuals may donate to
the cause of the archive.

Many factors must be considered when presented with an archival collection that has not
been organized or shown to the public in the past. The archivist must consult with the owner of
the material to determine what their intent is and what the mission of the archival project will be,
and from there it is possible to develop a management plan that both preserves the archival
documents and serves to educate future generations about their contents. It is necessary to
appraise and organize the contents of the archive, generate funding for the storage and
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preservation of the material, and develop a plan for the organization, management and display of
the property. Both physical and digitized collections are wonderful options for preserving and
educating users about archives in todays world and though many factors must be considered to
implement these exhibitions, many generations can benefit from them.

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April 29, 2015
References:
http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12502/13624
Conway, Paul. Modes of Seeing: Digitized Photographic Archives and the Experienced Use.
American Archivist 78 (Fall/Winter 2010): 425-462.
http://www.carli.illinois.edu/sites/files/digital_collections/documentation/guidelines_for_images.
pdf)
http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html
International Council on Archives. Principles of Access to Archives
http://www.ica.org/13619/toolkits-guides-manuals-and-guidelines/principles-of-access-toarchives.html