Reflections on the Goal of Archival Appraisal in Democratic Societies
Résumé
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.
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