Access and reference services are central to engaging with historical resources. As more people encounter archives for scholarly and avocational research, as part of creative pursuits, or to exercise their rights as citizens to access records, the possibilities for how collections are used will continue to evolve. Archivists need to be familiar with who their users are, understand why they're using archival collections, and engage in outreach so that they can provide excellent reference services.
Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts outlines the various components of:
- providing physical, intellectual, and virtual access,
- acquiring reference knowledge and skills,
- navigating legal regulations and ethics, and
- designing use policies and effective outreach.
Cheryl Oestreicher contextualizes how all of these components fit within other archival functions and offers strategies and detailed practices for creating comprehensive reference programs that archivists can adapt for any type of institution.
Both new and experienced archivists will find Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts a solid foundation on which to add their own ideas for how to bring people into the archives as well as bring archives to the people. Readers are encouraged to examine these concepts and practices in conversation with others and to consider how archivists can continue to advance reference and access.
About the Author: Cheryl Oestreicher is the head of Special Collections and Archives and associate professor at Boise State University. She has a PhD in modern history and literature from Drew University and an MLIS from Dominican University. She previously worked at Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History at Emory University, the University of Chicago, Drew University, and Princeton University. Oestreicher has taught introduction to archives, archives management, reference, and research methods at Georgia State University, Clayton State University, and Boise State University. She has been actively involved in SAA by serving on the Publications Board, Manuscripts Section Steering Committee, 2016 Annual Meeting Program as co-chair, and the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force to Revise Statement on Access. She was the 2015 recipient of the Emerging Leaders Award. For the Academy of Certified archivists, she was a member of the Recertification Review Task Force and Nominating Committee, and serves on the Exam Development Committee focusing on Domain 3: Reference Services and Access. She has served as a grant reviewer for the Council on Library and Information Resources, National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is a former editor of Provenance, the journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists.
