Reflections on the Goal of Archival Appraisal in Democratic Societies

  • Terry Eastwood

Abstract

This is a reflective essay on ideas that animate archival appraisal in democratic societies. The author examines some recent strains in thinking about appraisal and some ideas about the basic concepts of democratic governance in preparation for a discussion of the goal of appraisal in democratic societies and the difficulties in the way of achieving that goal. On the one hand, he argues that appraisal serves the goal of retrospective understanding of the actions of government as one of the means of fostering enlightened understanding in a democratic polis. On the other, he advances the view that appraisal must attend to the need that pluralistic democratic societies have to foster the recognition and identity of cultural communities in their midst. He concludes that archivists must continue to concern themselves with the integrity of the material they select while serving this dual goal of appraisal in democratic societies.

RÉSUMÉ
Cet article fournit une réflexion sur les idées qui sous-tendent l'évaluation archivistique dans les sociétés démocratiques. L'auteur examine quelques courants de pensée récents relatifs à l'évaluation et aux concepts de base de la gouvernance démocratique, afin de lancer une discussion sur les buts de l'évaluation dans les sociétés démocratiques et sur les difficultés d'atteindre ces buts. D'un côté, il fait valoir que l'évaluation sert à comprendre rétrospectivement les actions des gouvernements, ce qui constitue un des moyens de promouvoir la connaissance éclairée dans la cité démocratique. De l'autre, il avance que l'évaluation doit satisfaire le besoin de reconnaissance et d'identité des communautés culturelles au sein des sociétés démocratiques pluralistes. L'auteur conclut que les archivistes doivent continuer de se préoccuper de l'intégrité du matériel qu'ils sélectionnent, tout en servant cette double finalité de l'évaluation dans les sociétés démocratiques.

Author Biography

Terry Eastwood
Terry Eastwood is Associate Professor and Acting Director of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia. From 1981 to 2000, he served as Chair of the School’s Master of Archival Studies program. Before that, from 1973 to 1981, he was an Archivist in the Government Records and Manuscript Division of the Provincial Archives of British Columbia. He has written widely on a number of archival subjects, but in recent years he has taken a special interest in the theory and methodology of archival appraisal. He teaches a course on the subject, and was Chair of the Appraisal Task Force of the InterPARES I project on long-term preservation of authentic electronic records.
Published
2002-01-01
How to Cite
Eastwood, Terry. 2002. “Reflections on the Goal of Archival Appraisal in Democratic Societies”. Archivaria 54 (January), 59-71. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12855.
Issue
Archivaria 54 (Fall 2002)
Section
Articles

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