Archival Theory: myth or banality?

Authors

  • John Roberts National Park Service, National Archive, Washington, DC, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26512/rici.v13.n3.2020.33102

Keywords:

Archival theory., Archival practice., Archival Science., Historiography.

Abstract

Archival theory too often is trivial, overwrought, unnecessary, or irrelevant. While theory in other disciplines can produce new insights and stimulate intellectual progress, theory in archives cannot play an analogous role and cannot advance the archival profession. It tends to oversimplify that which is complicated and to overcomplicate that which is simple. Much archival theory is public relations Babbitry that threatens to over- stratify the profession.

 

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Author Biography

John Roberts, National Park Service, National Archive, Washington, DC, USA

Sobre o autor: Aposentou-se como arquivista sênior do National Park Service. Exerceu a função de arquivista do National Archives dos Estados Unidos. Possui doutorado em História dos Estados Unidos pela University of Maryland. À época que produziu o presente artigo, John Roberts era arquivista do Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, D.C. e fora convidado a preparar o documento para o Congresso Anual da Sociedade Americana de Arquivistas em Atlanta, Geórgia, em agosto de 1988, a fim de expandir seu artigo de 1987, publicado na revista American Archivist "Teoria Arquivística: muito barulho por nada".

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Published

2020-09-13

How to Cite

Roberts, J. (2020). Archival Theory: myth or banality?. Revista Ibero-Americana De Ciência Da Informação, 13(3), 1039–1054. https://doi.org/10.26512/rici.v13.n3.2020.33102

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2020): Revista Ibero-americana de Ciência da Informação

Section

Documents

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Copyright (c) 2020 john Roberts

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