Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Time: 10am-11am
Location: 2119 Hornbake
Title: "Appraising Appraisal"


Abstract:

The presentation will build on F. Gerald Ham’s oft quoted statement, 
“Our most important and intellectually demanding task as archivists is 
to make an informed selection of information that will provide the 
future with a representative record of human experience in our time. But 
why must we do it so badly?” Despite being more than three decades old, 
Ham’s pithy comment continues to outline the dilemmas archivists face 
when they appraise. Acknowledging that appraisal is important, what 
purposes do archivists serve through appraisal and what practice should 
be employed to implement that purpose? Thirty years after Ham’s 
challenge there is agreement on neither purpose nor practice, which 
creates both a fundamental problem for the archival community and a 
wonderful opportunity for meaningful archival research.

About the speaker:

Since 1991, Frank Boles has served as director of Central Michigan 
University’s Clarke Historical Library. With an operating budget of 
approximately $1 million, the Clarke documents regional history, 
children’s books with an emphasis on works read by young children to 
gain literacy, and serves as the CMU Archives. He is very active 
professionally, and is the immediate past president of the Society of 
American Archivists. Prior to coming to Central he worked at the 
University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library and the Chicago 
Historical Society. At Michigan he also served half-time as an adjunct 
professor in the School of Information, teaching archival courses. Boles 
received his archival training at Wayne State University, and was 
awarded a doctorate in history from the University of Michigan.

-- 

_____________________________
Jaime Oliver
Communications Coordinator
College of Information Studies
University of Maryland
4110 Hornbake Bldg
301-405-1260

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this e-mail by anyone
else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.