Introduction

1. This chapter will outline methods and criteria, as well as practical approaches, that an archivist should use in appraising records containing personal information. Such appraisal operates on two levels:

-- for the large majority of case file series which have value primarily for their collective or evidential character (and thus have been identified for further appraisal using the macro-appraisal model in Chapter 3); and

-- for those series which only contain certain informational value about specific persons, places, and things.

The chapter begins by recommending a comprehensive approach as the only logical way to make sound appraisal decisions. This is followed by general and specific appraisal criteria, the latter both for special files in a series (informational value) and for series as a whole (evidential value, leading to the broader sharpening of the societal image). Various practical and preservation issues are next addressed, and then various appraisal options, including a brief summary of sampling, are presented.