The Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS) announces three new articles:

“Community Defining Archives: A comparative view of community archives definitions,” written by Britney Bibeault.

Download the article: elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol12/iss1/11

Abstract: Defining community archives has been described as difficult in academic literature because of the wide range of activities the organizations do and who they represent, leading to a lack of an agreed-upon definition in the field. Until now, a comparison between how community archivists describe themselves and academic definitions of community archiving has not been undertaken. This paper explores the definitions of community archives given by practitioners in their digital community archives and compares them with academic literature. Using both qualitative thematic coding and quantitative word frequency counts, this study found Flinn (2007) and Flinn et al. (2009) definitions are commonly used in academic literature and highlights themes in practitioner definitions, like futurity and access, that provide insight into the values and goals of practitioners. The results indicate areas of improvement for community archives academics who hope to accurately portray community archives work and further highlight the importance of working with and supporting community archivists. Without the inclusion of practitioner definitions, descriptions, and ideas, academic literature about community archives is disconnected from the field, barring the creation of new ideas and methods.

“Associations among Trauma Exposures, Workplace Factors, and Distress Responses in Archivists,” written by Cheryl Regehr, Wendy Duff, and Rachael Lefebvre.

Download the article: elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol12/iss1/12

Abstract: A growing body of research addresses the emotional impact on archivists from working directly with materials that contain depictions of human suffering and from working with researchers and donors whose own lives are depicted in the records. This study sought to determine the impact of exposures to potentially traumatizing events and ongoing work stressors on symptoms of post-traumatic stress and burnout in archivists, as well as whether organizational factors, including trauma-informed practices, are associated with levels of post-traumatic stress and burnout. Seventy-seven archivists participated in a web-based survey. Findings reveal moderate to strong associations between a variety of potentially distressing workplace exposures and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, as well as between ongoing workplace stressors and burnout. Perhaps less expected were the associations found between ongoing workplace stressors and post-traumatic stress symptoms and the strong correlations between traumatic stress symptoms and burnout, suggesting that organizational environments can contribute to traumatic stress responses. However, trauma-informed organizational practices were significantly associated with lower levels of burnout and traumatic stress. This finding supports the implementation of trauma-informed practices not only to improve services to users, donors, and the community but also to improve the well-being of archival staff.

“Beyond Description: Interrogating Narrative Elements in Archival Finding Aids,” written by David J. Williams and Richard Kearney.

Download the article: elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol12/iss1/13

Abstract: As the archival profession evolves, attention is increasingly paid to the usability of its resources and services. User Experience, or UX, is a contemporary design practice gaining prominence among archivists interested in addressing usability. Information design, the process of organizing and presenting information for efficient and effective use, is a component of UX incorporating both the presentation and content of communication instruments, with plain language writing guidelines applied toward achieving this goal. A prominent information artifact produced by archivists is the finding aid, describing and inventorying archival collections. Those components of finding aids providing “access points” into collections-communicating the nature, history, and context of the materials-include several narrative elements, but how are they typically composed and how do they impact UX? Applying a series of readability and comprehension tests following plain language guidelines, we interrogate the usability and potential effectiveness of over 10,000 finding aids collected from 31 different archives. Our analyses suggest that finding aids offer fewer general audience access affordances than the format can support, and our research suggests that plain language writing is a manageable and measurable technique for improving the usability and experience of both finding aids and the archival collections they represent.

The Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS) also announces two new book reviews:

“Review of Dissonant Records: Close Listening to Literary Archives,” written by Rachel C. Poppen.

Download the article: elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol12/iss1/9

Abstract: In Dissonant Records: Close Listening to Literary Archives, Tanya E. Clement addresses the 150-year legacy of these audio records and provides a call to action for digital humanists and literary scholars to recognize the research value of archival audio records and to integrate close listening into their research practices. Consisting of case studies on five aspects of close listening (amplification, distortion, interference, compression, and reception), Clement uses these topics to discuss the method of close listening, the use of audio records in research, and access issues to audio recordings in archives.

“Review of Archiving Cultures: Heritage, Community and the Making of Records and Memory,” written by Emily Homolka.

Download the article: elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol12/iss1/10

Abstract: This short, but densely packed, book aims to extend the disciplinary boundaries of archival studies and the ‘archive’ from its focus on tangible history, most commonly the written word, towards a more holistic understanding which allows for the inclusion of intangible, living culture in the ‘cultural archive.’ Archiving Cultures: Heritage, Community, and the Making of Records and Memory by Jeannette A. Bastian takes an interdisciplinary, transhistorical approach to reframe archivists’ understanding of a ‘record’ with the goal of creating archival equity between tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

JCAS is a peer-reviewed, open access journal sponsored by the New England Archivists, Yale University Library, and Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.