Appraisal Methodology
Research and Preparation: Before the Office Visit

Research and preparation is a critical and necessary stage in the appraisal process. Questions about the creation, maintenance, and use of records cannot be fully answered by reviewing only the records themselves. Before actual contact with the records, the appraiser needs to understand the context in which the records are created in order to make better informed decisions about their value.

The Smithsonian is unquestionably a large complex organization with many units producing great volumes of records in their daily business activities and transactions. The appraiser should find as much as he or she can about individual records creators and how they fit within the parent organization. Units at the Smithsonian do not work in isolation. They engage in a myriad of activities and tasks while carrying out the Institution's overall mission. The units communicate, work, and interact with one another, and they share resources, staff, equipment, and information. The appraiser should understand the role an individual office plays at the Institution, the significance of its activities, and the best way to document these activities. Are the activities of a smaller unit best documented in the records produced by its reporting office? Or is information about the office's activities found only in its own records? Are these activities significant enough for documentation to be maintained permanently at all? The appraiser should always keep in mind office interrelationships at the Smithsonian and understand the microcosm within the macrocosm of the Institution.

The appraiser conducts preliminary background research about a records creator to learn about its history, its mission and goals, and its staff. By understanding the records creator's activities, the appraiser will have a sense of the types of records it creates or maintains. In addition to conducting research into the records creator's history, the appraiser also engages in research about the types and categories of records that the Archives has taken in the past. Past appraisal decisions create a frame of reference to make consistent decisions about the value and retention of similar records.

Preliminary research answers general questions about a records creator and its activities and helps identify specific questions to be answered during the actual bureau/office visit and contact with the records themselves. This kind of preparation saves the appraiser's and the records creator's time. The appraiser is able to ask more informed questions about the office and its records, so meaningful discourse can take place. The preparatory work reveals to the records creator that the appraiser has great interest in its activities and that the appraiser acknowledges that its records may have potential historical and research value.

The following are some tools and resources at SIA that can assist the appraiser in gathering general information about the office. A detailed list of the tools and resources is attached as Appendix F.

The Appraisal Criteria

The Appraisal Criteria should be used throughout the entire appraisal process. It is an intellectual framework that keeps the big picture in mind while addressing the finer details. The Criteria identifies records creators that carry out the core functions of the Smithsonian and the types of records they produce. When the appraiser researches the history of a particular Smithsonian unit, he or she should refer to the Criteria to understand where the unit fits within the organization and its role in carrying out the Institution's core functions. At the same time, the appraiser should keep in mind that the Criteria is only a building block—an intellectual construct to initiate the appraisal process. Since the Criteria is a living document, the appraiser can revise, add, and delete information from it.

Information about Records Creators

Old Smithsonian annual reports and annals are two Institution publications that contain general information about an office's history. The Archives' Collection Management System, the General and Agreements File, and the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996, can also be used to find out about a specific office's functions, mission, staff, and organizational structure. Old telephone directories provide the appraiser with information about an office's staff, staff position titles, and office divisions. Many Smithsonian units have their own web sites that contain general information about themselves.

Information about Records

The Collections Management System, the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996, and the General and Agreements File contain information about records the Archives has taken in the past. They can also identify record categories or series. The Appraisal Log, record surveys, and record disposition schedules are recently created tools that document and justify decisions about which records offices should maintain permanently or temporarily. The appraiser can use these tools to make consistent retention decisions for similar records.

When evaluating electronic records, unit websites may also describe or provide access to electronic systems within the office.

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