The two Archival Theories by John Roberts: a contribution to the fundamentals of the field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/1981-8920.2017v22n3p35Keywords:
Archival Studies, Files, Records and Archival Science, Archivists, Source of InformationAbstract
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".References
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BEARMAN, David; LYTLE, Richard. The Power of the Principle of Provenance. Archivaria 21, p. 14-27,Winter 1985-86.
BERNER, Richard C. Perspectives on the Record Group Concept. Georgia Archive 4, nº 1, 1976.
CASANOVA, Eugenio. Archivistica. Lazzeri: Siena, 1928.
COOK, Terry. From information to knowledge: An intelectual paradigma for archives. In: NESMITH, Tom (Org.). Canadian archival studies and the rediscovery of provenance. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
DUCHEIN, Michel. Le principe de provenance et la pratique du tri, du classement et de la description en archivistique contemporaine. Janus, p. 87-100, 1998.
DUCHEIN, Michel. Le Respect des Fonds en Archivistique: principles théoriques et problèmes pratiques. La Gazette des archives Année. Volume 97, Numéro 1, p. 7196, 1977.
DURANTI, Luciana. The odyssey of records managers. In: NESMITH, Tom (Org.). Canadian archival studies and the rediscovery of provenance. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
DOUGLAS, Jennifer. Origins: evolving Ideas about the principle of provenance: In: EASTWOOD, Terry; MACNEIL, Heather (Org.). Currents of archival thinking. Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
EASTWOOD, Terry. What Is Archival Theory, and Why Is it Important? Archivaria 37 p.122-130, Spring 1994.
EASTWOOD, Terry. A contested realm: The nature of archives and the orientation of archival science. In: EASTWOOD, Terry; MACNEIL, Heather (Org.). Currents of archival thinking. Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
FENYO, Mario D. The Record Group Concept: a critique. American Archivist 29, p. 229-239, 1966.
FRANCO, Shirley Carvalhêdo. O “Mito” da Destruição Total de Documentos: um estudo dos arquivos relacionados à Guerrilha do Araguaia à luz de princípios e noções arquivísticas. Tese (Doutorado em Ciência da Informação). Universidade de Brasília, 2012.
FRANCO, Shirley Carvalhêdo. A Noção de Ramificação: uma proposta possível no cenário paradigmático dos fundamentos arquivísticos. Relatório (Pós-doutorado em História Social). Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), 2015.
FRANCO, Shirley. The Notion of Ramification of Archival Documents: The Example of the Fonds Related to the Brazilian Political Movement Araguaia Guerrilla. The American Archivist, Vol. 78, No. 1, p.133-153, Spring/Summer 2015.
HORSMAN, Peter. Taming the Elephant: An Orthodox Approach to the Principle of Provenance, in Swedish National Archives, The Principle of Provenance: Report from the First Stockholm Conference on Archival Theory and the Principle of Provenance, 2–3 September 1993 p. 51-63, Stockholm, 1994.
HORSMAN, Peter. The Last Dance of the Phoenix or The De-Discovery of the Archival Fonds. Archivaria 54, p. 1-23, 2002.
ISAD(G). General international standard archival description: adopted by the Committee on Descriptive Standards. Stockholm, Sweden, September 1999. JENKINSON, Hilary. A manual of archive administration. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922.
MENNE-HARITZ, Angelika. Appraisal or selection. Can a content oriented appraisal be harmonized with the principle of provenance, In: The First Stockholm Conference on Archival Theory and the Principle of Provenance, 2-3 September, 1993.
MILLAR, Laura, The Death of the Fonds and the Resurrection of Provenance: Archival Context in Space and Time. Archivaria 53, p. 1-15, Spring 2002.
MULLER, S.; FEITH, J. A.; FRUIN, R. Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1940.
ROBERTS, John. Archival Theory: Much Ado About Shelving. American Archivist 50/1 p. 66-74, Winter 1987.
ROBERTS, John. Archival Theory: Myth or Banality, American Archivist 53, 1990.
ROBERTS, John. Practice Makes Perfect, Theory Makes Theorists, Archivaria 37, p. 111-121, Spring1994.
RODRIGUES, Georgete M.; RABELLO, R. Prova documental: valores diplomáticos e formas de representação. Ibersid (Zaragoza), v. 9, p. 29-35, 2015.
SCHELLENBERG, T. R. Modern archives: Principles and techniques. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1975.
SCOTT, Peter J. The record group concept: a case for abandonment, American Archivist (Vol.29, No.4), p.495-496, October 1966.
THIESEN, Icléia. Documentos "sensíveis": produção, retenção, apropriação. Tendências da Pesquisa Brasileira em Ciência da Informação, v.6, n.1, p.1-15, 2013.
BEARMAN, David; LYTLE, Richard. The Power of the Principle of Provenance. Archivaria 21, p. 14-27,Winter 1985-86.
BERNER, Richard C. Perspectives on the Record Group Concept. Georgia Archive 4, nº 1, 1976.
CASANOVA, Eugenio. Archivistica. Lazzeri: Siena, 1928.
COOK, Terry. From information to knowledge: An intelectual paradigma for archives. In: NESMITH, Tom (Org.). Canadian archival studies and the rediscovery of provenance. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
DUCHEIN, Michel. Le principe de provenance et la pratique du tri, du classement et de la description en archivistique contemporaine. Janus, p. 87-100, 1998.
DUCHEIN, Michel. Le Respect des Fonds en Archivistique: principles théoriques et problèmes pratiques. La Gazette des archives Année. Volume 97, Numéro 1, p. 7196, 1977.
DURANTI, Luciana. The odyssey of records managers. In: NESMITH, Tom (Org.). Canadian archival studies and the rediscovery of provenance. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
DOUGLAS, Jennifer. Origins: evolving Ideas about the principle of provenance: In: EASTWOOD, Terry; MACNEIL, Heather (Org.). Currents of archival thinking. Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
EASTWOOD, Terry. What Is Archival Theory, and Why Is it Important? Archivaria 37 p.122-130, Spring 1994.
EASTWOOD, Terry. A contested realm: The nature of archives and the orientation of archival science. In: EASTWOOD, Terry; MACNEIL, Heather (Org.). Currents of archival thinking. Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
FENYO, Mario D. The Record Group Concept: a critique. American Archivist 29, p. 229-239, 1966.
FRANCO, Shirley Carvalhêdo. O “Mito” da Destruição Total de Documentos: um estudo dos arquivos relacionados à Guerrilha do Araguaia à luz de princípios e noções arquivísticas. Tese (Doutorado em Ciência da Informação). Universidade de Brasília, 2012.
FRANCO, Shirley Carvalhêdo. A Noção de Ramificação: uma proposta possível no cenário paradigmático dos fundamentos arquivísticos. Relatório (Pós-doutorado em História Social). Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), 2015.
FRANCO, Shirley. The Notion of Ramification of Archival Documents: The Example of the Fonds Related to the Brazilian Political Movement Araguaia Guerrilla. The American Archivist, Vol. 78, No. 1, p.133-153, Spring/Summer 2015.
HORSMAN, Peter. Taming the Elephant: An Orthodox Approach to the Principle of Provenance, in Swedish National Archives, The Principle of Provenance: Report from the First Stockholm Conference on Archival Theory and the Principle of Provenance, 2–3 September 1993 p. 51-63, Stockholm, 1994.
HORSMAN, Peter. The Last Dance of the Phoenix or The De-Discovery of the Archival Fonds. Archivaria 54, p. 1-23, 2002.
ISAD(G). General international standard archival description: adopted by the Committee on Descriptive Standards. Stockholm, Sweden, September 1999. JENKINSON, Hilary. A manual of archive administration. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922.
MENNE-HARITZ, Angelika. Appraisal or selection. Can a content oriented appraisal be harmonized with the principle of provenance, In: The First Stockholm Conference on Archival Theory and the Principle of Provenance, 2-3 September, 1993.
MILLAR, Laura, The Death of the Fonds and the Resurrection of Provenance: Archival Context in Space and Time. Archivaria 53, p. 1-15, Spring 2002.
MULLER, S.; FEITH, J. A.; FRUIN, R. Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1940.
ROBERTS, John. Archival Theory: Much Ado About Shelving. American Archivist 50/1 p. 66-74, Winter 1987.
ROBERTS, John. Archival Theory: Myth or Banality, American Archivist 53, 1990.
ROBERTS, John. Practice Makes Perfect, Theory Makes Theorists, Archivaria 37, p. 111-121, Spring1994.
RODRIGUES, Georgete M.; RABELLO, R. Prova documental: valores diplomáticos e formas de representação. Ibersid (Zaragoza), v. 9, p. 29-35, 2015.
SCHELLENBERG, T. R. Modern archives: Principles and techniques. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1975.
SCOTT, Peter J. The record group concept: a case for abandonment, American Archivist (Vol.29, No.4), p.495-496, October 1966.
THIESEN, Icléia. Documentos "sensíveis": produção, retenção, apropriação. Tendências da Pesquisa Brasileira em Ciência da Informação, v.6, n.1, p.1-15, 2013.
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2017-12-31
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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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