adj.of an archival resource, in an unprocessed stateJones 2003, 15While statistics show steady and dramatic growth in the use of special collections by diverse groups of users, the status of the backlogged “hidden collections” has not changed. Such hidden resources mean that scholarly projects may well be missing some crucial information that could affect research results and the very nature of the project.Miller 2013, 521This article explores the idea of coupling robust collection-level descriptions to mass digitization and optical character recognition to provide full-text search of unprocessed and backlogged modern collections, bypassing archival processing and the creation of finding aids.Meissner and Greene 2016, 220Because, ultimately, what good is preserving every item if our researchers cannot find or gain access to the many backlogged collections that will inevitably pile up while awaiting Phillips’s approach to preservation?Anderson-Zorn 2019, 560With grant funding, they were able to launch their university archives with staff dedicated to the task of processing backlogged collections, acquiring new materials, and working with multiple partners on centennial celebration activities.
