November 4, 2021 Discussion - ArchivesSpace User Documentation

This discussion focused on creating ArchivesSpace documentation at individual organizations.

This discussion was offered by the ArchivesSpace Member Engagement Sub-team in collaboration with ArchivesSpace User Documentation sub-team with members of both teams present.

Regina Carra (ArchivesSpace Member Engagement Sub-team and User Documentation Sub-team) of the American Folk Art Museum and Jessica Crouch (ArchivesSpace Community Engagement Coordinator) discussed the ArchivesSpace documentation, the user manual, how to access and navigate the manual, and what the user manual does and doesn’t provide to members. 

Their slides are available at


After, Joanne Archer of the User Documentation Sub-team and Liz Caringola presented on the user documentation they drafted and maintain at their institution, the University of Maryland, and show how they utilize the ArchivesSpace User Manual in their work. 

Their slides are available at


After, we opened the floor to questions. There was a great discussion of how ArchivesSpace user manuals often double as processing manuals. Many organizations use Google Docs, OneNote and various Microsoft products to maintain their manual, though platforms with more collaborative tools are preferred. We intend to keep the discussion going on the Member Match listserv.

 

The following example documentation was shared:

 

University of Oklahoma Libraries: https://guides.ou.edu/c.php?g=1017426

American Folk Art Museum: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1up57ynqfWDoVTafuzTkxx9QtOxN_6bre/edit

Awesome ArchivesSpace List: https://github.com/archivesspace/awesome-archivesspace#trainings-and-documentation