ABSTRACT

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), campus as it stands today appears as an architectural mash-up of midcentury modern institutional buildings, both low rise and high rise; a smattering of World War II–era wooden buildings; 1970s-style double wide trailers; and new science buildings built by a who's who of internationally famous architects. In this case study, the author shows how the UCSB campus's architectural history mirrors the post–World War II boom in educational facilities throughout California and the social, cultural, and architectural history of the region as a whole. The key to discovering this history is archival research, both at the University Archives at the UCSB Library, as well as at the architecture-specific Architecture and Design Collection at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum on campus. In this case study, the author explains how the architectural history can be traced through the archival records to more fully understand the history of the campus.

ABSTRACT

Over a decade ago, the Harvard University Property Information Resource Center (PIRC) began digitizing its entire collection of more than a hundred thousand architectural drawings documenting the construction of the oldest university in the United States. Challenges and successes materialized throughout the project relating to the PIRC's mission, service level, and collection dependencies. Continuing to meet users' demanding needs while learning and revising best practices was ambitious yet ultimately achievable. In addition to producing high-quality images for digital preservation, secondary positive outcomes of the project were the conservation of drawings, improvements to the reference process, and the ability to expand these services beyond the traditional user group. To achieve the project goals, staff created a flexible workflow that ameliorated the condition of physical drawings in the collection while allowing them to uphold an established user service level agreement.

ABSTRACT

This article explores the area of born-digital design records and visual literacy with an aim of demystifying these records and empowering archivists to appraise, describe, preserve, and provide access to them. It does so in a stepwise manner, guiding the archivist or researcher through the process of preparing, opening, viewing, exploring, and understanding these files. While at first the technical aspects of born-digital design records, such as computer-aided design (CAD) and building information modeling (BIM), can seem challenging, archivists should not be deterred. The article introduces crucial historical context and a methodology for unpacking the contents of born-digital design records, which together enable archivists to better see and decipher their significance and meaning. Also discussed are records creators, software preferences, processing workflows, and the visual interpretation of rendered images and the software interfaces. This then leads to a discussion around how to contextualize and understand the built form being communicated through drawings and models. The article also points to the array of teaching tools and interest groups that support archivists who wish to learn about the design community's practices, with the aim of lowering the barrier to engagement with these records. Visual literacy should be recognized as a vital skill, useful both in understanding these records and in decision-making around retention and preservation, so that stories of the places and people they reflect can be told.

EDITOR

Amy Cooper Cary (2020–2023), Marquette University
Sumayya Ahmed (2019–2023), Simmons University
Benjamin Goldman (2019–2023), Pennsylvania State University
Katharina Hering (2019–2023), German Historical Institute
Eric Hung (2020–2024), Music of Asian America Research Center
Shadrack Katuu (2019–2022), United Nations Mission in South Sudan

Reviews Editor

Bethany Anderson (2015–2021), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jessican Lacher-Feldman (2020–2024), University of Rochester
Mark Matienzo (2021–2025), Stanford University Libraries
Marlee Newman (2021–2025), Archival Consultant
Kathryn Puerini (2020–2024), Archival Consultant
Sylvia Welsh (2020–2024), Harvard University

GENERAL INFORMATION

American Archivist (ISSN 0360-9081) is published