This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of Carolyn Heald, “Is There Room for Archives in the Postmodern World?”American Archivist 59, no. 1 (1996): 88–101, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.59.1.u854130x02844653; and Mark Greene, “The Power of Meaning: The Archival Mission in the Postmodern Age,” American Archivist 65, no. 1 (2002): 42–55, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.65.1.l914668v881wv19n. By Patrick McGee, CUNY Queens College … Continue reading The Peasant’s Shoes: Confronting the Historiography of Postmodernism in Archival Theory

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of James M. O’Toole, “On the Idea of Permanence,” American Archivist 52, no. 1 (Winter 1989): 10–25, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.52.1.3x85283576r43387. By Sara Ludewig, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full Text] In his 1989 article “On the Idea of Permanence,” James M. … Continue reading On the Lack of the Idea of Permanence: Finding Archival Comfort in a World with No Guarantees

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of Helen Willa Samuels, “Who Controls the Past,” American Archivist 49, no. 2 (Spring 1986): 109–24, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.49.2.t76m2130txw40746; and Anke Voss-Hubbard, “‘No Documents—No History’: Mary Ritter Beard and the Early History of Women’s Archives,” American Archivist 58, no. 1 (1995): 16–30, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.58.1.hr300127g3142157. By Melissa Smith, Church … Continue reading Reappraising Appraisal in a Post-Custodial Era

By Rose Buchanan and Stephanie Luke, Reviews Co-Editors [PDF Full Text] "If anything troubles archivists, it is change. Our days are devoted to minimizing the effects of change upon the materials we care for. . . . We pay homage to permanence, to constancy, to stability, and to structure. . . . but in the … Continue reading Intergenerational Conversations 2026: Reflecting on Change

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. By Rose Buchanan and Stephanie Luke, Reviews Co-Editors [PDF Full Text] “It’s hard not to feel a sense of stagnation when looking back. Archives and archivists are still underfunded, understaffed, and under constant scrutiny by institutions and the public, all of them ready to justify cutbacks and demand … Continue reading In Review: Year Two of Intergenerational Conversations

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of F. Gerald Ham, “The Archival Edge,” American Archivist 38, no. 1 (1975): 5–13, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.38.1.7400r86481128424. By Liz Bedford, Independent Archivist, Archive Worthy [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full Text] In 1974, F. Gerald Ham addressed the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in his presidential … Continue reading Has F. Gerald Ham’s 1974 Archival Edge become the Archival Center?

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of William D. McCain, “The Value of Records,” American Archivist 16, no. 1 (1953): 3–11, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.16.1.r33453401378773j. By Courtney Bailey, Records Officer, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full Text] William D. McCain, the eighth president of the Society … Continue reading A Well Constituted Store

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of Waldo G. Leland, “The Archivist in Times of Emergency,” American Archivist 4, no. 1 (1941): 1–12, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.4.1.027021201325xq18. By Shirley Franco, Professor and Coordinator of the Archival Science course at the University of Brasilia's College of Information Science, Brazil [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full … Continue reading Keeping Leland in Perspective: Archival Teachings Across Times and Boundaries

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of Margaret Cross Norton, “Some Legal Aspects of Archives,” American Archivist 8, no. 1 (1945): 1–11, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.8.1.241151083v607381. By Heather Briston, University of California, San Diego [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full Text] The major themes of “Some Legal Aspects of Archives” by Margaret Cross Norton … Continue reading A Window on the Past: Measuring How Far We Have Come in Eighty Years

This post is part of the Intergenerational Conversations series. Review of David Gracy II, “Our Future Is Now,” American Archivist 48, no. 1 (Winter 1985): 12–21, https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.48.1.4p700782677307t3. By Ashley Williams Clawson, Oregon State University [PDF Full Text] | [PDF Article + Full Text] “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” That was my first … Continue reading Our Future is Still Now: Revisiting David Gracy’s Presidential Address