n.an individual responsible for the records created or received by a parent institutionTrever 1952, 147–148Every profession, including our own, must have some vehicle for harmonizing and unifying the various elements of specialization within its confines. Our profession, composed as it is of government archivists, institutional archivists, manuscript curators, records administrators, and experts in the several fields of technology peculiar to the preservation, reproduction, and use of records, is especially in need of such a vehicle.Yakel 1989, 203There are three issues facing institutional archivists that merit careful consideration: the special dynamics of managing an archives in an institution whose main purpose is not the operation of an archival program; the importance of self-definition; and the continuous education of administrators and staff regarding the importance and utility of archives.Samuels 1991, 137While archivists have come to acknowledge and participate in such documentary activities, a similar professional consensus has not emerged about the legitimacy and even necessity of these activities as a regular part of the responsibility of any institutional archivist.Maher 1998, 261The problem for institutional archivists can be particularly acute if their parent institutions become uncomfortable with archivists who regard it as their mission to utilize historical documents to provide institutional accountability when the institutions desire instead warm nostalgia and just a retelling of past glories.Boles 2005, 102The documentary universe for an institutional archivist is largely found within the walls of the organization itself.Jimerson 2007, 280However, even archivists in institutional archives can effect some changes. Ensuring the protection of records required for legal accountability should be both a policy and a goal for all institutional archives and records programs. Institutional archivists could also consider retention and appraisal policies to ensure that records and documentation are preserved for all people affected by institutional activities, including workers, clients, and consumers as well as executives and stockholders.Van Ness 2010, 143Institutional archivists have decades of experience with appraising records in the field and preselecting and even preprocessing materials before they are accessioned.
