Analyzing Archival Intelligence: A Collaboration Between Library Instruction and Archives

Abstract

Although recent archival scholarship promotes the use of primary sources for developing students’ analytical research skills, few studies focus on standards or protocols for teaching or assessing archival instruction. Librarians have designed and tested standards and learning assessment strategies for library instruction, and archivists would do well to collaborate with and learn from their experience. This study examines lessons learned from one such collaboration between an instructional services librarian and archivist to evaluate and enhance archival instruction in the University Archives’ Student Life and Culture Archival Program (SLC Archives) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. Based on evaluative data from a student survey and in-depth interviews, the authors offer strategies for successfully meeting and exceeding learning outcomes for archival intelligence.