This post was written by Alice Griffin, who has worked in La MaMa’s Archives since November as the Metadata/Digitization Assistant. She’s leaving La MaMa at the end of July to pursue a …

Very theoretical; some discussion of ethics.

The archivist behind #archivesforblacklives and A People’s Archive of Police Violence in Cleveland talks about sustainability and the individual and institution's role in archiving difficult stories.

This work examines the historic and current policies regarding Native American archives, detailing the broader historic landscape of information services for tribal communities, the initiative to develop tribal archives in Indian Country, and the activism surrounding the proper care and management of Native American archive collections at non-Native repositories. Utilizing Vine Deloria's "Right to Know" call to action, the paper analyzes major activities and achievements of the national indigenous archives movement with a specific focus on archival activists and tribal communities in the American West who were at the forefront of a grassroots movement to establish and develop tribal archives, return and secure tribal history and rights during the restoration era, and establish training and best practices for the respectful care of indigenous collections. Possible next steps are suggested for decolonizing Native American archives within the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

President Obama's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts will follow the exiting leader out of the Oval Office, leaving a blank slate for his successor.

Archivist Leslie Johnston on how NARA deals with the ever-changing nature of digital records.

Critical Work: Archivists as Maintainers - hillelarnold.com

One of the highest priorities for the DocNow project is to address the ethical issues around the collection, preservation, and sharing of…

What makes a record a "human rights record"? What types of records fall under this umbrella term? How and why might we develop a typology of such records? What is at stake—ethically, theoretically, and practically—in the ways in which and the reasons why we define and classify records as such? This article seeks to answer these questions by delineating a typology of human rights records. First, this article will provide a literature review exploring the history of conceptions of human rights records in archival studies, as well as the ongoing discussion in information studies more broadly about the politics of the organization of information. Next, this paper will outline the chosen methodology of conceptual analysis and describe the ways such methodology will be employed to de/construct the term “human rights record.” This paper will then provide a typology of human rights records, positing that such records can be examined according to five interlocking vectors: who created them, why, and when, where they are currently stewarded, and how they are being put to use. This paper will then analyze two keys examples of human rights records using the proposed typology. Finally, this paper will conclude by examining the ethical, political, and professional implications of the proposed typology and suggest ways in which this rubric can be used in the future.

At a time when the preservation and replication of antiquities has never been easier, art has never been more vulnerable.