n.the usefulness, significance, or worth that determines a record’s retentionPosner 1940b, 263His definition of document, record, muniment, and archivist, and his sharp distinction between the record value, administrative value, and historical value of records would seem to belong to those parts of the book which are less palatable to archivists of other countries.Baumhofer 1950, 122Not until the period of World War I was the record value of photographs generally recognized. Although many photographic records had been created prior to that time, they were not often preserved in a cohesive form, but were scattered in library corners or miscellaneous reference files.Baumhofer 1952, 25Although this test film is definitely of record value, its permanent value varies considerably. Photographs of test flights of experimental aircraft or test runs of ships may have clearly continuing value to the Government and the public, but many photographs of tests of parts of equipment or tests of stresses and strains may not.Lovett 1956, 42From time to time I would notice that crates had been broken open, and I could only surmise that persons unknown were hoping to find stamps. It would appear that, unless custodians of large masses of correspondence meet this problem with some sort of plan, unauthorized persons will solve it their own way, with considerable damage to record values in the process.Plavchan 1978, 353Although most of the articles deal with various Bavarian themes, there are two articles relating to non-Bavarian subjects. Eberhard Weiss describes (pp. 239–46) the contributions of the archives in France to secondary education, and Harald Jørgensen explores (pp. 247–55) modern archives buildings in Scandinavia. An article of more general application is Gerhard Heyl’s discussion (pp. 172–76) of the archival record value of military aerial photographs.Ham 1993, 7The basic concept that underlies appraisal practice is record value. The concept hypothesizes that certain values inhere in records, that these values are primarily defined by use, and that the archivist should be able to identify and measure these values.Schellenberg 1996, 26The archivist’s judgments on values, of course, have a bearing on how complete a documentation is preserved on any particular matter, but the way records are kept for current use determines how accurately record values can be assessed.NARA 2010, 3From a records value perspective, web 2.0 content is best analyzed based on the function and use of the information, not solely by the platform or tool. The study describes the tools based on their major functions and use, such as public outreach and engagement, internal and interagency collaboration, and social networking. The following specific characteristics were identified as affecting the record value of the information: • Extensive duplication of information • Ability to record increasing aspects of process • Syndication of content to reach new audiences • Added structure and context • Overall perceptions of the authoritativeness and longevity of content.
Notes
Although little used in current literature, archivists used this term relatively frequently in the 1950s as a synonym of the general archives sense of “value.”
