The Archival Documentation Strategy and Its Implications for the Appraisal of Architectural Records

Documentation strategy is an analytical approach to archival appraisal that looks not at individual records, but at the overall universe in which such records exist. It recognizes the inherent problem of volume with modern records, and provides a way for records creators, custodians, and users to work together to create a plan for which documentation will be preserved. Since it was first introduced in 1984, documentation strategy has met with mixed reactions from the archival profession, and has received its most theoretical examination from the Canadian archival community. With a role in the worlds of both archival theory and archival practice, documentation strategy can be applied to the appraisal of architectural records with the development of broad goals for documenting architecture through the coordination of records creators, custodians, and users, and through the creation of institutional archives.