Failure Is an Option: The Experimental Archives Project Puts Archival Innovation to the Test

Abstract

This case study examines the mission and work of the Experimental Archives Project at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. The project developed from the first Radcliffe Workshop on Technology and Archival Processing in 2011, where a group of archivists and technologists brainstormed about innovative ways to scale up manuscript processing and improve access for researchers. The Experimental Archives Project, staffed by a team of Schlesinger archivists, tested direct-to-digital processing with no arrangement of physical materials, database-driven access to content, and systematic electronic redaction, all with the goal of improving processing rates and providing technologically enhanced access to researchers. The team completed five experiments. This case study explores in detail the challenges, failures, and successes of two of the projects: Redaction Redux with the Addenda Papers of Elizabeth Winship and Traditional-to-Tagging with the Records of That Takes Ovaries.