Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives

Since its original publication, no text has served as a better overview of the field of archives than Hunter’s manual. Newly revised and updated to thoroughly address our increasingly digital world, it remains the most comprehensive guide to the discipline.

Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives covers such key topics as:

a history of archives, including the roles of historical societies and local history collections in librariesnew sections on community archives, diversity, and inclusionconducting a survey and starting an archival programselection, appraisal, acquisition, accessioning and deaccessioningimportant points of copyright, privacy and ethicsarrangement of archival collections, with a discussion of new theoriesdescription, including DACS, EAD and tools such as ArchivesSpaceaccess, reference, and outreach, with a look at how recent innovations in finding aids can help researcherspreservation, including guidance on how to handle rare books, maps, architectural records and artefactsdigital recordsdisaster planning, security, and theft preventionmetrics, assessment, establishing employee procedures and policies, working with interns and volunteers and other managerial dutiespublic relations and marketing, from social media and the Web to advocacy andprofessional guidelines and codes such as the newly developed SAA Statement of Core Values of Archivists.Providing in-depth coverage of both theory and practice, this manual is essential for archivists at all levels of experience and of all backgrounds.