The two Archival Theories by John Roberts: a contribution to the fundamentals of the field

Authors

  • Shirley Carvalhêdo Franco UnB
  • Icléia Thiesen UniRio
  • Georgete Medleg Rodrigues Universidade de Brasília (UnB)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5433/1981-8920.2017v22n3p35

Keywords:

Archival Studies, Files, Records and Archival Science, Archivists, Source of Information

Abstract

Introduction: review of the literature on archival science fundamentals. Goal: to present some of the points addressed by authors specialized in records and archival science as they relate to the "principle of provenance" and to the concept of "fund", and the problems mentioned by some of these authors, especially the thought of the American archivist John Roberts. Methodology: analyze of 23 scientific works, including books and articles, and covering the period between 1922 and 2015.  Results: a concise chart organized by "year", "author", "title of the work" and "country of origin of the Author", dividing classical and contemporary authors.  Conclusion: classical authors reaffirm the validity of archival foundations, contributing to the construct of the discipline; conversely, however, contemporary authors criticize the concept of fund, propose its reformulation, and aim to expand the understanding of the principle of provenance, for example, by proposing the "notion of ramification". Among the contemporary authors, John Roberts, an American professor specialized in Records and Archival Science, produced a set of three texts which criticise consecrated elements of archival theory. Based on his answers to the three questions, he presented the genesis of his ideas and formulated a synthesis of two archival theories denominated as "necessary" and the other "superfluous".

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Author Biographies

Shirley Carvalhêdo Franco, UnB

Doutora em Ciência da Informação pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Professora da Faculdade de Ciência da Informação da Universidade de Brasília (UnB)

Icléia Thiesen, UniRio

Doutora em Ciência da Informação pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Professora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biblioteconomia da Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UniRio)

Georgete Medleg Rodrigues, Universidade de Brasília (UnB)

Doutora em História pela Université de Paris (Paris IV- Sorbonne). Professora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação da Universidade de Brasília (UnB).

References

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Published

2017-12-31

How to Cite

Franco, S. C., Thiesen, I., & Rodrigues, G. M. (2017). The two Archival Theories by John Roberts: a contribution to the fundamentals of the field. Informação & Informação, 22(3), 35–63. https://doi.org/10.5433/1981-8920.2017v22n3p35

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Section

Artigos