The Practical Archivist

The Practical Archivist: MARAC Technical Leaflet Series (Provisional Electronic ISSN assigned 2834-3867) consists of member-authored guides that provide practical instruction for specific archival tasks not commonly addressed in professional literature.

Call for Proposals

The Communications Committee is seeking new submissions and suggestions for The Practical Archivist: MARAC Technical Leaflet Series, (Print ISSN and Electronic), a double-blind, peer-reviewed serial publication that provides practical guidance for specific archival tasks not commonly addressed in the professional literature.

Since 2018, the Editorial Board of The Practical Archivist has been aiming to produce at least two publications per calendar year (spring and winter). Topics of particular interest for future publications may include:

  • Accessibility
  • Creating and maintaining acquisition, control, and accession files
  • Curation and storage of oversize objects and realia
  • Digital audio-visual materials workflow
  • Digital scholarship in the archives
  • DEI initiatives for archives
  • Handling of classified or proprietary materials in a government or corporate repository
  • Oral history in archives 
    • Transcription

    • Cataloging

  • Preservation, handling, and description of any of the following:
    • 19th-century photographs
    • Audio-visual materials
    • Datasets
    • Email
  • Repatriation of archival materials in collaboration with tribes, First Nations, and Indigenous communities
  • Trauma-informed practices for outreach
    • Exhibitions
    • Instruction
Please submit any proposals or topic suggestions to the Editors-in-Chief. Publication guidelines for submissions are available on this page.  Authors are encouraged to observe a soft limit of 25-30 pages of content. Submissions are open on a rolling basis throughout the year. All proposed submissions will be reviewed for acceptance by members of our Editorial Board for publication in 2025. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your leaflet ideas further, please contact us. 

 

Current Editors

Heidi Abbey Moyer, Co Editor-in-Chief
Email icon  [email protected]

Renae Rapp, Co Editor-in-Chief
Email icon  [email protected]

Molly Tighe, Editor

Emily Johnson, Editor

Technical Leaflets

No. 15 (2022): Preparing and Digitizing Brittle 19th- and 20th- Century Newspapers, Mark Coulbourne, Bryan L.W. Draper, and Robin Pike.

No. 14 (2021): Preserving Scrapbooks, Colleen Bradley-Sanders and Slava Polishchuk

No. 13 (2018): Compiling a Disaster Plan for Archival Collections, Elizabeth Shepard

No. 12 (2018): Digital Exhibitions: Concepts and Practices, Grace L. Barth, Laura Drake Davis, Amanda Mita

No. 11 (2004): Architectural Records: Arrangement, Description, and Preservation, Susan Hamburger

No. 10 (1999): Understanding the Record-Keeping Practices of Scientists, Kalpana Shankar

No. 9 (1994): Photograph Preservation: Basic Methods of Safeguarding Your Collection, Peter Mustardo and Nora Kennedy

No. 8 (1992): Archival Sampling: A Method of Appraisal and a Means of Retention, James Gregory Bradsher and Bruce I. Ambacher

No. 7 (1992): Identifying and Handling Classified Documents in Archives [obsolete], Kenneth Schlessinger and Marvin F. Russell

No. 6 (1990): Involving Volunteers in Archives, David W. Carmicheal

No. 5 (1990): Developing Archival Exhibitions, Shawn Aubitz and Gail F. Stern

No. 4 (1989): Processing Congressional Collections, Mary Boccaccio and David W. Carmicheal

No. 3 (1989): Planning for Archival Programs: An Introduction, Bruce W. Dearstyne

No. 2 (1989): Computing the Total Cost of Archival Processing, Thomas Wilsted

No. 1 (1989): Appraisal of Social Welfare Case Files [obsolete], Thomas E. Mills

Last revised November 2023