Article
Disruption of academic archival practice: A preliminary examination of finding aids
Comma - International Council of Archives (ICA)
(2024)
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate researcher use of finding aids to access archival holdings. The investigators examined a set of institutional data from a large Canadian academic archives to determine how users interact with finding aids which are available via the institutional website. Creation of finding aids is a long-standing part of archival practice and in fact finding aids have traditionally been perceived as the primary tool used to access archival holdings.However, technology has brought forward several new ways of creating and providing access to descriptive data ;for example, online public access catalogues along with database and website keyword searching. This research project, which builds on previous research in this area, explores the idea that the traditional tool of finding aids may not be meeting user’s needs. Preliminary analysis revealed that some researchers do interact with finding aids whereas other researchers prefer to email the archives directly to ask for assistance. User needs are complex and the traditional structure and presentation of finding aids may not be meeting these needs. Archivists need to conduct more in-depth research into user experience and consider disrupting traditional academic archival practice by revisiting the format and presentation of finding aids to meet evolving user needs.
Keywords
- Finding Aids,
- Technology
Disciplines
Publication Date
Winter January 1, 2024
Citation Information
Lisa Lawlis and Anne Quirk. "Disruption of academic archival practice: A preliminary examination of finding aids" Comma - International Council of Archives (ICA) Iss. Special Issue (2024) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lisa-lawlis/4/