UCLA

The third-party identification, evaluation, long-term preservation and retrieval of networked computer-mediated communications (CMC) such as electronic mail and social media have recently become subjects of much public debate. They also present persistent challenges for archivists. This chapter first offers a retrospective reflection on an applied research study that was conducted almost two decades ago investigating the possibilities of automating how university archivists appraise and acquire electronic mail. It describes the context of the study and the research design and methods that were employed. The latter included using bibliometrics to identify appraisal domain experts, acquiring and codifying knowledge from those experts, and the iterative development and testing of an expert appraisal system. The chapter then reflects upon what was learned from the study in terms of the utility of the methods and the aspects of this research approach that might remain useful for archival processing of documentation generated by social media such as Twitter, and email and cell phone communications today. It concludes by reflecting more broadly on how archival systems development research stands the test of time as technology evolves, institutional roles and conceptual frameworks shift, and methodological approaches gain or lose appeal.