Safeguarding the Future: NARA’s Digital Preservation Strategy

Creating digital strategy

Anderson Archival strives to stay up to date on the standards and practices of leading archival organizations. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the primary archive for the US federal government and the organization that produced the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI), which most US archives use as the standard guide to […]

The Conflict: Preservation vs Access

Book locked away

The management of cultural artifacts is a complex task that requires the right balance between the preservation of the object and the public’s accessibility to that object. The main purpose of preserving items, documents, and other historical materials from damage or deterioration is to ensure they are available for public viewing and study. In other […]

ROT and Prioritizing Materials for Digitization

books covered in cobwebs

By Digital Archivist Alyssa Voss When planning to digitize a collection, it’s important to suppress the urge to jump right in and scan everything. Not all items are created equal; some may be more fragile or rare, while others may have greater historical or cultural significance. Prioritizing the materials in your collection can help you […]

Ancestry Interred

washington park cemetery at sunset

by Andrea Glazer Above photo by Andrea Glazer, 2022. Communities are built on cultural touchstones like churches and common meeting places, parks and schools for children to learn and play, and cemeteries to lay ancestors to rest and revere their legacies. We’ve talked in the past about the importance of cemetery records to cultural heritage. […]