语言教学 | 普渡大学写作教学系列Research&Citation14-Archival Research(3)

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5、Handling Materials

Archival materials are collected and housed in archives because they are rare and unique. Because of this quality, these materials often cannot be replaced. If archival materials are damaged, the historical content that they contain may be lost forever. Therefore, it is important to practice care when using archival materials. Below you will find guidelines on how to use specific kinds of archival materials in ways that protects and preserves them for future researchers.

General Guidelines

• DO NOT eat or drink while using archival materials. This protects the materials from oils, juices, and other liquids that might damage them.

• DO use a pencil when taking notes for research. DO NOT use a pen. This protects the materials from permanent ink stains.

• DO keep your notes and archival materials separate. DO NOT place your notes on top of archival materials. If you do this, you may accidentally write on your notes page. This could transfer your writing to the archival materials underneath, leaving permanent indentations or other marks that damage the materials.

• DO write down information about the location of materials you are using, such as the box and folder number, so that you can properly cite the materials in your research.

• DO NOT place anything on the materials that might damage them, including paper clips, staples, post-its, or tape. This protects the materials from damage caused by adhesives and metals.

• DO NOT rearrange materials in folders or boxes. Maintain the original order in which you found the materials.

• DO NOT remove any materials from the archives. Check your folder and notebooks before you leave to make sure no archival manuscripts or photographs accidentally got mixed in with your materials.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts are various forms of papers, including (but not limited to) correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, speeches. Manuscripts may be in the form of fragile or brittle paper. Older manuscripts may be vulnerable to tears and crumbling. Some manuscripts are copies printed on onion-skin paper, which is also easy to tear. Furthermore, manuscript collections are also vulnerable to disorganization. Oftentimes manuscript materials are housed in folders with a specific order that is important to understanding how the creator of the collection used the materials. The organizational information is also important for researchers. In order to protect the materials physically and organizationally, following these guidelines:

• DO keep the manuscripts in the order they appear in the folders. This can be accomplished by placing the open folder and pages on a flat surface in front of you and turning the pages like a book.

• DO turn pages slowly. This protects them from tearing.

• DO NOT wear gloves while handling manuscripts unless the archivists request that you do so. Archival gloves can do more damage to manuscripts by increasing the possibility of tearing the pages.

Rare Books

Rare books are published or unpublished volumes that are limited in number. Often rare books will also be old and fragile; however, some rare books are new but were not printed many times. Regardless, you should treat rare books with care, being sure to follow these guidelines:

• DO use a book support or a book pillow to support the binding of the book. These supports can reduce stress on the spine and keep the book from becoming unbound.

• DO use book rope or book snakes to hold pages down. These materials also maintain the binding of the book.

• DO turn pages slowly to avoid tearing, folding, or crinkling. This helps preserve the content for future researchers.

Photographs

Photographs in archival collections may come in a variety of forms, including daguerroeotypes, cyanotypes, and other obsolete formats of photography. Some collections may also contain negatives, either in film or glass form. All of these forms are fragile and vulnerable to oils from skin that can accumulate and damage the photographic materials. To use these materials in a safe way, follow these guidelines:

• DO wear cloth gloves when handling photographs and negatives if the archives staff ask you to do so. This protects the photographic materials from oil damage.

• DO maintain the original order of the photographs. This helps future researchers find the materials they are looking for.

• DO NOT take photographs of the materials without permission. Flashes from cameras can damage the photographs. Furthermore, the photographs may be copyrighted and taking photographs of them may violate copyright.

Oversized Materials

Oversized materials come in many forms, but they all share the same feature of being larger than normal manuscripts. Materials that are often oversized include maps, portraits, and posters. These materials should be handled similarly to their manuscript counterparts. However, there are few extra guidelines to keep in mind when using oversized materials:

• DO NOT fold oversized materials. Folding materials can damage the paper and make it difficult to read some of the content printed on them. However, if the materials were folded when you found them, it may be acceptable to fold them. Ask the archives staff for help regarding oversized materials.

• DO use two hands when turning pages of oversized materials. This reduces risk of tearing them.

• DO keep your notes and materials separate. Because oversized materials take up more space than normal materials, it is easy to mistakenly place note paper and notebooks on top of them. However, if you write on top of the materials, the indentations from your pencil can damage them.

• DO keep the materials flat on a hard surface.

• DO NOT walk while holding the oversized materials. This keeps the materials from tearing.

Artifacts

Artifacts come in many formats. In general, any three dimensional object that is not in a manuscript, photographic, or book form may be an artifact (there may be some exceptions). Artifacts are often stored in boxes or are wrapped with tissue paper or bubble wrap to protect them from accidentally being bumped or accumulating dust. Because the types of artifacts vary so much, there are few universal rules for handling them beyond what has already been mentioned. Ask the archives staff about proper use of artifacts in research.

Even though these rules may seem daunting, archivists are on hand to help you through the process of handling materials. Please remember, these rules exist to preserve archival materials for future use.

6、Citing Archival Resources

Once you have determined which materials are relevant to your research, you will need to know how to reference them properly in your paper or project. Citation is one important challenge you must face when working with archives. Because archivists strive to preserve the unique order of collections when they are donated, universal guidelines for citing archival sources have not been established. However, we suggest the following methods based on best scholarly practices.

How to Cite Archival Materials

You have two viable options for citing archival sources.

1. Check the archives website or contact them for a preferred citation.

2. Use the adapted MLA citation we propose below.

If you choose Option 1, first check the website of the library or archival system, which may contain guidelines, or LibGuides, for referencing their artifacts. Here's an example of a Purdue University LibGuide.

You may also call or email the archival staff to obtain or ask questions about preferred citation practices.

If you choose Option 2, you will need to adapt the MLA citation format to meet your needs. To start, refer to the MLA citation practices most relevant to the particular genre of your materials. For example, the most recent MLA handbook will contain citation guidelines for comic books, film strips, commercials, photographs, etc. Next, include as much detail as possible to help a fellow researcher locate your artifact in a given archive. Depending on the system in place, you should refer to box numbers, folders, collections, archives name, institutional affiliation and location. Since archives are dynamic in the sense that collections may be sold, donated to another archives, reorganized and in extreme cases damaged or lost, you should also include the date accessed.

The following example is based on a combination of MLA citation practices and the Purdue LibGuide:

Genre-appropriate MLA Citation. Box number, Folder number. Unique identifier and collection name. Archives name, Institutional affiliation, Location. Date accessed.

Summers, Clara. Letter to Steven Summers. 29 June 1942. Box 1, Folder 1. MSP 94 Steven and Clara Summers papers. Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. 20 May 2013.

While these two citation options are recommended, you should consult with your publisher or instructor to determine what information they value most in your citation.

7、Digital Archives Materials

Many archives have collections that are available for use in a digital format. These may be called e-archives or digital archives. The digital materials may include photographs, documents, and maps, as well as “born-digitally” materials, such as websites and applications. Many archives also make these digital materials available through their websites.

Digital archives can be convenient research tools because they provide researchers with content from a collection without the requiring the researcher to physically be in the archives reading room. When using digital archives in your research, you may use the following tips as a guide:

• If the digital archives are available online through the archives website, begin by orienting yourself to their content. Digital archives often provide access to many different kinds of collections. In order to determine if the digital archives have materials relevant to your research question, you should attempt to locate a description of each collection. Although some archives may be physically large, they may only have a small portion of their materials available digitally. Therefore, it is important to determine which collections are available digitally. This will help you determine if the digital archives will be useful for your research.

• Be aware of copyright policy for each item in the collection. Because digital archives are often available online, it is easier for researchers to make copies of the materials. However, before you make copies, you should be aware of the copyright policy of digital materials. Archives may or may not have copyright over the materials they make available digitally. In some cases, the archives may only have permission from the copyright holder to make the materials available digitally; the archives may not hold the copyright for the materials themselves. Many archives will provide copyright information online about digital collection items. If you are unsure about the copyright use policy on a particular item, contact the digital archivist at the archives.

• Be patient with using digital materials, as some interfaces may be challenging or slow. Digital archives aim to provide researchers with access to archival materials that, at times, can use a large amount of computer memory. The size of the files in a digital archives often reflect the fact that the digital archivists and staff members have attempted to provide scans of materials at a high resolution, which gives the researcher a more realistic experience in viewing the collection. However, the large file size may also slow down the experience of viewing the collection. Furthermore, some digital archives interfaces may be difficult to navigate. Digital archivists are usually available at the archives and are happy to assist you if you have questions. Send them an email or give them a call.

• Use the archives’ preferred citation for digital collections. If the archives does not specify a preferred citation, use the one below. Citing digital items is sometimes challenging because the web address for a particular item may change over time. In order to provide a more stable reference point for digital items, Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and Archival Resource Keys (ARK) were developed. DOIs and ARKs are unique strings of numbers, letters, and symbols that link to a single digital object or item. A DOI or ARK does not change even if the web address for an item does change. Some digital archives use a DOI or ARK number to link to specific items in their collections.

Some archives also have their own system of assigning unique identifying numbers for digital items. If a digital item has a unique number assigned to it, you should include it as the first element in your citation. This should be followed by the collection’s unique identifier and collection name. Then include the archives name, its institutional affiliation, and location. Finally include digital reference information: the DOI, if available; a general URL for the archives, such as www.universityarchives.edu, and a date accessed. Below is a model along with an example from Purdue University’s Karnes Archives and Special Collections:

Genre-appropriate MLA Citation. Unique item number. Collection unique identifier and collection name. Archive name, Institutional affiliation, Location. DOI. General URL, Date accessed.

Earhart, Amelia. Letter to George Palmer Putnam. 1937. MS. b4f49i1. The George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers. Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. ark:/34231/c6kh0k90. earchives.lib.purdue.edu, 28 July 2013.

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