Reference, Access, and Outreach: An Evolved Landscape, 1936-2011 (Session 406)

Abstract

A b s t r a c t Reference, access, and outreach are conceptually and functionally tied together in ways that were largely unexamined and unarticulated in the mid-1930s. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, archivists see these entities not only from a custodial perspective, but also as central to both repository identity and how the broad spectrum of society understands and supports archival work. The evolution of each of these functions and the cumulative impact of their interaction is discussed. I n t r o d u c t i o n K a t h y M a r q u i s I n my years in the archival profession, I have seen our hot-button issues move from appraisal, to all things electronic, to processing priorities, and lately, to the potential use of social networks to promote archives. Of course, the central-ity of the researcher to the entire archival enterprise has always been asserted— even presumed. And yet, it has never sparked the sort of frenzy observable by counting the number of sessions at an annual meeting containing phrases like " electronic " or " MPLP, " for example. We are indebted to our three speakers for T h e A m e r i c a n A r c h i v i s t , V o l . 7 4 (2 0 1 1 / S u p p l e m e n t) : 4 0 6 : 1 – 4 0