Title: Navigating Archival Backlogs: Strategies for Success
Editors: Heather Gilbert, College of Charleston and Claudia F. Willett, Stanford University
Publisher: Bloomsbury
We are excited to invite chapter proposals for Navigating Archival Backlogs: Strategies for Success, a double-blind peer reviewed edited volume to be published by Bloomsbury. Please email the editors at navigatingarchivalbacklogs@gmail.com with any questions.
About the Book
Nearly every archive has an accessioning and/or processing backlog. It is an almost universal truth accepted by the profession. This situation reflects long-standing issues in the profession: limited staffing, resourcing, space, and institutional support. We know the consequences of archival backlogs: they prevent accessibility and discoverability of our collections and, therefore, our history, and they contribute to archival silences and obstruct researchers. However, the practical and physical extent of this problem is often left undiscussed, and the residual issues are left unaddressed.
This edited volume will provide contemporary case studies of the development and implementation of successful backlog reduction strategies. It will address a range of backlog material types (including both physical and digital backlogs) and a spectrum of resource availability (including institutions with little to no budget to address their backlog issue). Readers should come away fortified with practical and accessible solutions that they can use to address their specific backlog problem(s).
Call for Chapter Proposals
Proposals are invited from individuals working in archival and cultural heritage institutions who have experience navigating, working with, managing, or addressing archival backlogs. Case studies and exploratory research are invited and welcome, as are essays that incorporate scholarly writing with personal narratives. Final chapters should be between 2,500 – 5,000 words. All selected chapters will undergo double-blind peer review prior to publication. This is not an exhaustive list, so do not feel limited by the following suggested topics.
Section 1: Physical backlog strategies
Themes for this section could include:
- Processing, accessioning, deaccessioning, and/or proactive collecting practices and strategies as a function of backlog management.
- “More product, less process” processing style (MPLP) and/or extensible/efficient processing as a means of addressing a backlog.
- Backlog workflow creation, implementation, and management and/or software and/or tools used in these processes.
Section 2: Digital backlog strategies
Themes for this section could include:
- Born digital processing, accessioning, deaccessioning, and/or proactive collecting practices and strategies as a function of digital backlog management.
- Building cross departmental collaborations and workflows.
- Software and/or tools used in addressing digital backlogs.
Section 3: Hybrid backlog strategies
Themes for this section could include:
- Discussion of the extent of hybrid collections (and their backlogs) and the unique challenges they present
- Resource and knowledge sharing that leverage collaborative solutions
- Personnel proficiency requirements for successful hybrid backlog resolution.
Section 4: Leadership & Management
Themes for this section could include:
- Change management related to backlog management
- Large scale project management for backlogs
- Conflict resolution and personnel and donor management as related to backlog issues
- Impacts of having an archival backlog
Proposal Instructions
Please submit your proposals using the Call for Chapter Proposals Google Form by June 2, 2025. The proposal should include all contributing authors, a working title, 3-5 keywords describing your proposed topic, which book section you believe your proposal fits best, and a description of your proposed chapter that does not exceed 500 words.
Authors will be notified of acceptance by August 15, 2025. See below for the full project timeline. Please email the editors at navigatingarchivalbacklogs@gmail.com with any questions.
Project Timeline
- CFP closes June 2, 2025
- Authors notified of acceptance by August 15, 2025
- Chapter outlines sent to editor by September 15, 2025
- First drafts due January 1, 2026
- Draft reviews completed and feedback provided to authors by March 2, 2026
- Final drafts due April 1, 2026
- Publication anticipated August 2026
Publishing in the Archives Profession 