Keywords

administrative structures of academic libraries, archival processing, library organizational structure

Abstract

This paper reviews the results of two studies of the administrative structures that support archival processing functions in academic libraries, assessing benefits and drawbacks of current models. With this research, the authors sought to determine whether best practices exist for the placement of processing units within academic libraries and whether these structures correlate with other statistical measures. The first study examined staff directories and organizational charts on Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member library websites. A follow-up study gathered qualitative data from ARL libraries, examining library administrators' experience with their organizational structure. The research results were used to inform an administrative reorganization of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Original Publication Citation

Nimer, C.L. and Wiederhold, R.A. (2020). Cross-functional Collaboration: The Placement of Archival Processing in ARL Libraries. Society of American Archivists--Research Forum 2020. https://files.archivists.org/annual-meeting/2020/research-forum/Nimer_Wiederhold.pdf