A Practical Guidebook to Trauma-Informed Archival Practice - by Michelle Ganz & Veronica L Denison (Hardcover)

About the Book Using case studies and examples, this book helps archivists understand the different ways trauma can present in archival workers, patrons, and donors. Book Synopsis A Practical Guidebook to Trauma-Informed Archival Practice: Best Practices and Case Studies explores trauma in archival work from the archivists' perspective. It examines how trauma can manifest not only when processing collections but also in donor relationships, researcher interactions, and professional practices. This guide offers strategies for creating policies and workflows to reduce harm and foster trust throughout the archival process. The authors highlight practical approaches to minimizing trauma across archival work, including:

• Supporting grieving donors throughout the donation process
• Identifying trauma in archival workers, support staff, volunteers, and students before, during, and after exposure
• Understanding the effects of trauma on the body and brain and offering short- and long-term solutions This book is a practical guide for archivists seeking to implement trauma-informed practices that benefit everyone who engages with archival materials.

Review Quotes

"This collection offers powerful, concrete examples of trauma in archival work across varied perspectives and organizations. It provides invaluable insight for new archivists and much-needed validation for experienced professionals, while making important contributions to our field's ongoing conversations about archival labor. I recommend it to academics, archivists, and students alike!" --Leah T. Dudak, MLIS, Ph.D candidate at Syracuse University, USA and Community Care and Support Coordinator for Urban Librarians Unite " A Practical Guidebook to Trauma-Informed Archival Practice is a beautiful meditation on the intersections of grief, memory, and forgetting. Each chapter shares a new facet in understanding trauma in archives, with representation from religious archives, indigenous archives, academic archives, managers, student workers, archival donors, and people accessing the archives. Reading this book is both instruction and invitation: to learn from many perspectives, to dream of a more person-centered and empathetic profession, and to find community in grief as an inevitable and shared experience." --Lydia Tang, Senior Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Lyrasis and former co-chair of the SAA Accessibility and Disability Section

About the Author Michelle Ganz is the Archives Director for the Dominican Sisters of Peace, USA. Veronica L. Denison is Assistant Professor, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at the Rhode Island College James P. Adams Library, USA.