Convergence or Collision? Archival Appraisal and the Expanded Role of Special Collections in the Research Library

Abstract

The deadpan comedian Steven Wright has a joke I have always been fond of. “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” My role today is to give perspective from special collections and archives within the research library as we consider the future of library collections writ large. Although I work increasingly in a library context, my professional roots are as an archivist and as I have thought more and more about what I might contribute to our discussion that won’t be represented elsewhere, I have found myself returning to archival appraisal. I recognize that archival appraisal theory has not been a fashionable topic in the profession for at least the last 15 years and that there may be some misunderstanding and misconception about it, so I’m entering this territory with trepidation. But I will ask you to trust me as I venture into this valley, as I argue that archival appraisal theory can contribute to our thinking about research library collections as a whole in the era of the collective collection. We need to address the main concerns raised and confronted by archival appraisal as the research library pivots more directly toward special collections and archives, a trend I will also discuss at some length.