Forums

This site hosts a number of discussion forums for archivists to share how they use RAD, explore changes to descriptive practice, and converse with other archivists about arrangement and description. Users can also comment on specific sections of RAD through this website, if they prefer.

To comment on this site you will need a GitHub account. To create an account, all you need is an email, username, and password. You can create an account here or follow this tutorial for additional instructions.

When you want to comment, sign-in to Github using your account credentials. When you comment, your GitHub username will be displayed and your account will be connected to any comments you make.

More information about GitHub is included below, but all you need to comment on this website is an account. You do not need to use the GitHub platform or have a robust understanding of how it works to use this site, but guidance is provided for those who are interested.

Featured Forums

Examples

The purpose of this forum is for people to share examples of how they have applied RAD in their work. This may be include more creative approaches or those directly following guidelines.

Reconciliation and Indigenizing Archives

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) Calls to Action includes a call to “review archival policies and best practices”¹ in collaboration with Indigenous communities. While this site and these forums by no means fulfill our professional responsibilities to fulfill these calls to action, it is essential that we keep reconciliation at the forefront of all discussions pertaining archival practice.

Site Recommendations

Please use this forum to make suggestions for changes to this website. This may include requests for addtional forums, questions about how to use the site, or reporting technical difficulties like broken links.

Key Issues

Participatory Archives

The purpose of this forum is to discuss participatory archiving. This may include sharing examples and guidance based on experience with participatory archiving or suggestions and ideas from those who have not yet integrated participatory approaches into their work.

Provenance

The purpose of this forum is to discuss the principle of provenance and its subprinciples of respect des fonds and original order.

Reparative Description

The purpose of this forum is to discuss reparative description. This may include sharing examples and guidance based on experience with reparative description or suggestions and ideas from those who have not yet integrated reparative approaches into their work.

User Design

The purpose of this forum is to share ideas about how to adapt arrangement and descriptive practice to better suit archival researchers.

Formats

Audio-Visual Materials

The purpose of this forum is for people to discuss the arrangement and description of audio-visual materials, which includes both moving images and sound recordings.

Born-Digital Records

The purpose of this forum is for people to discuss the arrangement and description of born-digital records, as well as other digital records (ex. digitized records), which face the same descriptive challenges.

Photographs

The purpose of this forum is for people to discuss the arrangement and description of photographs.

Systems

Access to Memory (AtoM)

The purpose of this forum is to share arrangement and descriptive recommendations and challenges specific to AtoM. Please note that this site is not affiliated with any platforms of vendors and cannot directly address any of the issues that may be raised about AtoM.

Collective Access

The purpose of this forum is to share arrangement and descriptive recommendations and challenges specific to Collective Access. Please note that this site is not affiliated with any platforms of vendors and cannot directly address any of the issues that may be raised about Collective Access.