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Frank Lambert Karen F. Gracy School of Library and Information Science Kent State University

Who’s Ready to Surf the Next Wave? Perceived Challenges to Implementing New and Revised Standards for Archival Description. Frank Lambert Karen F. Gracy School of Library and Information Science Kent State University. What’s the “Next Wave”?. Revised DACS standard (2 nd ed., 2013)

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Frank Lambert Karen F. Gracy School of Library and Information Science Kent State University

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  1. Who’s Ready to Surf the Next Wave?Perceived Challenges to Implementing New and Revised Standards for Archival Description Frank Lambert Karen F. Gracy School of Library and Information Science Kent State University

  2. What’s the “Next Wave”? 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 Revised DACS standard (2nd ed., 2013) Revised EAD standard (currently in beta, slated for 2014 release) EAC-CPF (2011, mostly early adopters at this stage) RDA (2010, replaced AACR2, impacting MARC records for archival collections)

  3. Convergence! 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • New/revised standards mean: • Increased interoperability among archival, library and museum information systems; • Improved sharing of archival information about records and creators; • Improved access to archival information about records and creators; • Opportunities to link archival information to outside data sources.

  4. Are We Ready? 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • What are the barriers to acceptance of new standards? • New knowledge, skill sets, and resources • How can we overcome these barriers? • What will it take to get buy-in, or get “over the hump” of adapting and adopting to change?

  5. Goals for This Study 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 Assess archivists’ familiarity with current descriptive standards; Gauge archivists’ perceptions about readiness to adapt to changes in standards and new standards; Identify possible technical challenges (affecting workflows and systems); Identify other institutional barriers, such as needs for additional human or financial resources, or for CE/in-house training in the application of the new standard.

  6. Research Questions 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • What types of challenges do information organizations responsible for the care of archives encounter when adopting a new standard for describing information resources in a collection? • What sorts of pressures, if any, are placed on the organization’s: • a) staff and personnel; • b) financial resources; and, • c) technological resources and tools used for organization and access to archival information? • What problems are perceived as barriers to successful adoption of new standards and adaptation to change in existing standards?

  7. Survey Methodology 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Population for this study: SAA members • Exclusions: students, faculty, and retirees • Sample size = 1,724 members • Number of valid, completed questionnaires = 345 (20% response rate) • Findings have 95% degree of confidence, ± 5%

  8. Findings 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Level of Education as Independent Variable • Strong predictor of: • likelihood that the archivist has knowledge of and about FRBR (X2=6.804)* • likelihood that the archivist has knowledge of and about RDA (X2=17.004)* *p<0.05

  9. Findings, 2 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Typeof Education as Independent Variable • Strong predictor of: • likelihood that archivists create finding aids, inventories, MARC records, etc. (X2=5.601)* • likelihood that the archivist will use or has used DACS (X2=4.121)* • likelihood that the archivist has knowledge of and about FRBR (X2=6.804)* • likelihood that the archivist has knowledge of and about RDA (X2=17.023)* *p<0.05

  10. Findings, 3 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Length of time using DACS as an Independent Variable • Strong predictor of: • likelihood of one’s organization adopting the updated 2012 version of DACS (rs=.299)* • an archivist’s greater confidence in the possibility of having to use the updated 2012 version of DACS (rs=.303)* • an increased likelihood of using EAD (X2=22.158)* • with an increased likelihood of having heard about or encountered RDA (X2=11.538)* *p<0.05

  11. Findings, 4 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Use of EAD in archivesas an Independent Variable • Strong predictor of: • likelihood that archivists use EAC also (X2=5.750)* *p<0.05

  12. Conclusion 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • Archivists are most familiar and comfortable with changes to the standards landscape if they had a firm grounding already in the purpose, nature, and implementation of standards. • Standards adoption is often dependent on graduate education in LIS, archives, or a related field, or through previous experience in the field with a standard such as DACS. • What about other factors, such as … • the type of archive and its relation to a parent institution? • technical and financial limitations that may preclude standards adoption? • the amount of support provided by the archive or parent institution to provide training to its staff?

  13. Thank You! 2013 SAA Research Forum, #saa13 • For more information, please contact: • Frank Lambert, flamber1@kent.edu • Karen F. Gracy, kgracy@kent.edu

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