Integrated Archives and Records Management Programs at Professional Membership Associations: A Case Study and a Model

Abstract

Professional membership associations present special problems for archivists because of the highly dispersed nature of their activities (and hence recordkeeping) and the constant turnover of actors. This paper presents a case study and a model for addressing archives and records issues in these types of settings, based on the conception of the archivist as a coordinator of others' activities and not a curator of records. The strategy and tactics employed here may also work well in an era when organizational hierarchies are being eliminated and when electronic recordkeeping systems are becoming dominant.