Professional Standards & Ethics Flashcards

An archivist at a private institution is pressured by administrators to deny access to records that reflect poorly on the institution's history. The ethical response is to:

Answer: Advocate for legitimate access while following proper procedures for any legally justified restrictions

Archivists should advocate for appropriate access and work within proper channels to challenge restrictions that are not legally or professionally justified, rather than either complying unquestioningly or taking unauthorized unilateral action.

In the context of digital preservation, which ethical obligation distinguishes archivists from IT professionals?

Answer: Archivists must ensure long-term authentic and reliable access to records as evidence

While IT professionals focus on technical data integrity, archivists have a distinct ethical obligation to preserve the authenticity and evidential value of records across time.

A researcher requests records about their own family member who was institutionalized in the 1950s. However, the records are restricted for 75 years. The archivist should:

Answer: Explain the restriction policy and explore whether a formal access review or FOIA request is applicable

Archivists must clearly explain restrictions and help researchers understand their options, including formal review processes or applicable freedom of information laws, rather than making ad hoc exceptions.

The ethical concept of 'due diligence' in archival practice most closely relates to which activity?

Answer: Thoroughly researching provenance, copyright, and privacy concerns before acquiring or providing access to materials

Due diligence in archival practice means thoroughly investigating relevant legal, ethical, and professional considerations—particularly provenance, copyright, and privacy—before acquisition or access decisions.

When an archivist encounters materials in a collection that appear to have been stolen from another institution, the ethical obligation requires them to:

Answer: Notify appropriate authorities and work toward restitution to the rightful institution

Archivists must not knowingly retain stolen materials; professional ethics and often law require notification of authorities and cooperation in restitution efforts.

The SAA statement on diversity and inclusion primarily obligates archivists to:

Answer: Actively work to document and preserve the records of all communities, not just dominant groups

The SAA diversity commitment means archivists should actively address historical gaps in archival documentation by working to preserve the records of historically underrepresented communities.

An archivist who also conducts personal historical research discovers in the course of their work an unpublished document that would significantly benefit their own scholarship. The ethical obligation is to:

Answer: Process the document normally, provide equal access to all researchers, and disclose any potential conflict of interest

An archivist's personal research interests must never take precedence over professional duties; the document must be processed normally with equal access, and any conflict of interest should be disclosed.