Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Appraisal and disposal > Practical solutions advocated by the Paradigm Project

Practical solutions advocated by the Paradigm Project

Developing tailor-made appraisal criteria

Aside from straightforward rules such as removing duplicates, and material that has no long-term research potential, each professional group will have its own concerns. The types of records created by politicians will be quite different from those created by an author or scientist. Selection criteria should be subject to regular review - record series may change over time and new types of documents may become significant. Examples of evolving records include personal websites/blogs and personal digital video, often stored by web services.

Paradigm found it useful to consider the paper records of politicians held in Oxford and in Manchester in order to scope the structure of hybrid personal archives; this information was used alongside the records survey of digital archives to establish key records series for politicians.

Main record groups found in a politician's office:

  • Biographical information.
  • Central party circulars.
  • Correspondence.
  • Engagement diaries.
  • Election material.
  • Financial records.
  • Manifestos.
  • Photographs (digital and hard copy).
  • Policy documents.
  • Press releases.
  • Press cuttings.
  • Printed matter.
  • Reports.
  • Speeches.
  • Staffing (job descriptions are useful the rest can probably be discarded).
  • Subject files.

Files which should not be accessioned:

  • Casework files.*
  • Cheque book stubs (paper).
  • Copies of personal expense claims.
  • Ephemera (paper).
  • Membership databases.*
  • Miscellaneous newspaper cuttings (paper).
  • Office templates.
  • Personal files of office staff.
  • Routine requests for information.

*There are good arguments for keeping such information, which would be of interest to local and family historians, but it was deemed beyond the scope of Paradigm.