The Paper Chase: Legacy Collections’ Records

Summary

This is an abstract from the ""Re-excavating" Legacy Collections" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The analysis of legacy collections is often hampered by documentation that is fragmentary, preserved on obsolete media, or entirely absent. Like the physical material that makes up a legacy collection, the associated documents may be spread across institutions. This may include other museums, educational facilities, government agencies, and private firms. Some of these institutions may include those that do not actually curate the physical objects and specimens, like libraries. This presentation describes the processes used to locate legacy collections documents, as well as the legal and ethical issues related to collections and documents that are shared across institutions. Data management plans are now standard parts of research projects. Though just as necessary, codified plans for the long-term curation of associated documents are far less common. By focusing on the stability and tracking of these crucial collections components, institutions can facilitate better collaboration and research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Re-excavating" Legacy Collections   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24105