Section+3+International

=Section 3:=

The third section of our paper will focus on the results and effect of the University of Michigan’s Vatican Archives Project. We will determine this by examining, through an international perspective, the following:

1. What the directors of the Project understood the significance of their project to be at the time of publication.

2. A contemporary look at how the technological intents of their work have or have not been realized.

__Section III Abstract__: The Michigan Vatican Archives Project, which created a computer-based access system for the Vatican Archives represents the first attempt to apply the USMARC AMC format to a major European collection. User accessibility was the ultimate goal of the project: in particular, international accessibility by scholars. At the time of its creation, the database was comprised of two major elements: a complete listing of all Vatican agencies over time and a complete set of record series description. Even in the late 1980’s, the authors recognized that the project raised several larger issues regarding the application of new technology and the possibilities of scholarly collaboration is the design of the archival access system. Despite more that a decade passing since the publication of the text version of the Inventory and Guide, access to the ASV is still limited. Technologies for providing access to archives and supporting scholarly work have expanded: EAD enables to exchange of data about archival finding aids, online applications assist scholars in taking notes on sources and capturing citation information about primary and secondary sources. Thus, the results of the Vatican Archives Project face serious sustainability issues. The hopes of those who worked on the project to create a dynamic, comprehensive database of the Vatican archives has only been partially realized; in particularly because the data created was never deposited into the Vatican Library OPAC. The MARC records currently in existence are static and have not been updated to reflect recent changes. It is incredibly surprising that the evolving information technology has not been adequately used to enhance description and access to this important archival collection – a critical source for understanding the evolution of cultural and political history in Western society. Ideally, the efforts of the Vatican Archives Project group would be combined with the ASV website, and updated, to allow easier and more universal access.

(For some reason, Wiki won't let me format this outline properly - it keeps aligning it with the margin! I can email a document to whoever is updating our course wiki if need be! -C.)

__Outline of Section III__: __Part I: Original Goals__ I. Original Intentions of the Vatican Archives Project 1. Enhance International access and collaboration 2. Contribute to developing new archival access systems 3. Goals for the online database a. create a baseline that could be updated b. promote retrieval on-site and remotely c. connect the ASV with their counterparts II. Explanation of the Two Major Descriptive Elements 1. Listing of agencies/departments of the Vatican a. Helps researches understand the agency’s history b. Create links between agencies 2. Set of record series descriptions III. Integration of Descriptive Standards 1. How this project displays the advantages of a uniform format 2. Examples of other records that could use this system IV. Scholarly Use of the Vatican Archives 1. How scholars influenced the design of this project 2. The potential advantages of the project’s organization

__Part II: A Contemporary Look__ I. How to construct a digital access system 1. The technological advantages of using MARC ARC (in the 80s) II. Why the technological potential was not realized 1. Administrative reasons a. Historical events that affected the Archives b. Restricted materials III. How The Project could mesh with existing standards 1. International Standard Archival Authority - 2nd ed. (ISAAR) 2. Encoded Archival Context (EAC) 3. International Standard of Activities/Functions (ISAF) IV. Comparison to the ASV Website’s (limited) access 1. Differing “archival cultures” 2. Vocabulary problem – unfamiliar terminology 3. ASV uses a linear approach V. The International User 1. How international scholars would benefit from updated access 2. Advantages of Web2.0