Do Archives Have Value?

This book will explore ways of establishing value and measuring in the archives and specials collections. There is a vast literature about ways of measuring value for cultural heritage assets as a whole, particularly museums and visitor attractions, but archives and special collections in libraries have largely been overlooked. They have been very poor at garnering statistical data and devising ways of measuring the impact of what they do, unlike museums and visitor attractions with their much heavier footfall. Do Archives Have Value? discusses the various valuation methods available, including contingent valuation, willingness to pay and value chain, and assesses their suitability for use by archives and special collections. The book also assesses the impact of the transition to the digital in archival holdings, which will transform their character and will almost certainly cost more. The discussion will be set in the context of changing societal expectations of the archive in the wake of numerous scandals where records to address grievances must be kept irrespective of cost. Value is explored in a range of different cultural and organizational contexts with case studies from a range of countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Malawi, Kenya, Russia and Thailand. There are contributions from Nancy Bell, Head of Conservation at The National Archives, Louise Craven, one of the leading UK archival scholars, Paul Lihoma, National Archivist of Malawi, Helen Morgan from the University of Melbourne, Pak Te Lee of the University of Hong Kong and Richard Wato from the National Archives of Kenya. There is a vast literature about ways of measuring value for cultural heritage assets as a whole, particularly museums and visitor attractions, but archives and special collections in libraries have largely been overlooked. They have been very poor at garnering statistical data and devising ways of measuring the impact of what they do, unlike museums and visitor attractions with their much heavier footfall. Do Archives Have Value? discusses the various valuation methods available, including contingent valuation, willingness to pay and value chain, and assesses their suitability for use by archives and special collections. The book also assesses the impact of the transition to the digital in archival holdings, which will transform their character and will almost certainly cost more. The discussion takes place in the context of changing societal expectations of the archive in the wake of child abuse and other scandals where records to address grievances must be kept irrespective of cost. Value is explored in a range of different cultural and organizational contexts with case studies from a range of countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Malawi, Kenya, Russia and Thailand. There are contributions from Nancy Bell, Head of Conservation at The National Archives, Louise Craven, one of the leading UK archival scholars, Paul Lihoma, National Archivist of Malawi, Helen Morgan from the University of Melbourne, Pak Te Lee of the University of Hong Kong and Richard Wato from the National Archives of Kenya. Key topics include - the value of the Clinton emails for research; - the value of Russian archives before and after revolution; - the value of archives in public inquiries - the case of the Hillsborough tragedy; - the value of Find & Connect - Australia's response to child abuse; - the Chinese long tradition of record keeping; - why and how to value; - valuing digital content; and - the commercialization of archives.

This book will explore ways of establishing value and measuring in the archives and specials collections.

There is a vast literature about ways of measuring value for cultural heritage assets as a whole, particularly museums and visitor attractions, but archives and special collections in libraries have largely been overlooked. They have been very poor at garnering statistical data and devising ways of measuring the impact of what they do, unlike museums and visitor attractions with their much heavier footfall.

Do Archives Have Value? discusses the various valuation methods available, including contingent valuation, willingness to pay and value chain, and assesses their suitability for use by archives and special collections. The book also assesses the impact of the transition to the digital in archival holdings, which will transform their character and will almost certainly cost more. The discussion will be set in the context of changing societal expectations of the archive in the wake of numerous scandals where records to address grievances must be kept irrespective of cost.

Value is explored in a range of different cultural and organizational contexts with case studies from a range of countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Malawi, Kenya, Russia and Thailand. There are contributions from Nancy Bell, Head of Conservation at The National Archives, Louise Craven, one of the leading UK archival scholars, Paul Lihoma, National Archivist of Malawi, Helen Morgan from the University of Melbourne, Pak Te Lee of the University of Hong Kong and Richard Wato from the National Archives of Kenya.

This book will explore ways of establishing and measuring value in the archives and special collections. There is a vast literature about ways of measuring value for cultural heritage assets as a whole, particularly museums and visitor attractions, but archives and special collections in libraries have largely been overlooked. They have been very poor at garnering statistical data and devising ways of measuring the impact of what they do, unlike museums and visitor attractions with their much heavier footfall. Do Archives Have Value? discusses the various valuation methods available, including contingent valuation, willingness to pay and value chain, and assesses their suitability for use by archives and special collections. The book also assesses the impact of the transition to the digital in archival holdings, which will transform their character and will almost certainly cost more. The discussion will be set in the context of changing societal expectations of the archive in the wake of child abuse and other scandals where records to address grievances must be kept irrespective of cost. Value is explored in a range of different cultural and organizational contexts with case studies from a range of countries, including Australia, China, Japan, Malawi, Kenya, Russia and Thailand. There are contributions from Nancy Bell, Head of Conservation at The National Archives, Louise Craven, one of the leading UK archival scholars, Paul Lihoma, National Archivist of Malawi, Helen Morgan from the University of Melbourne, Pak Te Lee of the University of Hong Kong and Richard Wato from the National Archives of Kenya This book will explore ways of establishing value in the archives by using a variety of methodologies and exploring a range of contexts. 0In the United Kingdom DCMS uses various valuation matrices to allocate resources, whilst other organizations both internationally and domestically (such as local authorities and universities) are following suit. In some contexts in the UK, other developed countries, and particularly developing countries, archives have an evidential value to redress grievances and to assist in the fight against fraud and corruption. The retention of records for evidential value demands the retention of case papers relating to individuals that until now have not normally been retained. As more and more record keeping becomes digital, costs of preservation will inevitably increase which makes developing methodologies to justify additional costs urgent, particularly in poorly resourced developing countries which have been encouraged to go digital by aid agencies and donor countries.0This book will be useful reading for professional archivists and students on archival studies courses. In the wider world of cultural heritage valuation is of increasing importance in justifying services and bidding for scant resources. As a result, 'Do Archives Have Value?' will also be of interest to senior management with oversight of libraries and museums, owners of collections and external funders This book will explore ways of establishing value in the archives by using a variety of methodologies and exploring a range of contexts. In the United Kingdom DCMS uses various valuation matrices to allocate resources, whilst other organizations both internationally and domestically (such as local authorities and universities) are following suit. In some contexts in the UK, other developed countries, and particularly developing countries, archives have an evidential value to redress grievances and to assist in the fight against fraud and corruption. The retention of records for evidential value demands the retention of case papers relating to individuals that until now have not normally been retained. As more and more record keeping becomes digital, costs of preservation will inevitably increase which makes developing methodologies to justify additional costs urgent, particularly in poorly resourced developing countries which have been encouraged to go digital by aid agencies and donor countries. This book will be useful reading for professional archivists and students on archival studies courses. In the wider world of cultural heritage valuation is of increasing importance in justifying services and bidding for scant resources. As a result, Do Archives Have Value? will also be of interest to senior management with oversight of libraries and museums, owners of collections and external funders.