The document discusses how archives are transitioning to participate in the digital environment by making materials available online, using technologies like chat and social tagging, while still protecting authenticity and original order. It questions how arrangement and description activities are affected and how archivists can participate in this transition. Examples of digital collections and tools are provided, and it asks if current processes and standards help or hinder discovery for users in a digital world.

1. A Balancing Act: Archives in the Digital World Laura Carroll Emory University November 1, 2007

2. Increasingly, the library and archival world has begun to consider how to participate in a digital environment, offering services to remote researchers, making materials available online, and exploring such innovations as chat and social tagging.

3. Questions How does this affect arrangement and description activities? And how can archivists participate in this transition?

4. Breaking down barriers that inhibit discovery, access and user satisfaction Protecting the integrity and authenticity of the material Preserving theoretical foundations of our profession (provenance, original order) A Balancing Act

5. Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections: http://polarbears.si.umich.edu/index.pl?node_id=272&lastnode_id=17117 http://del.icio.us/lcarro2/EmoryPresentation Example

6. Can Our Tools and Processes Deliver? Do our users understand the terminology we use? Do they know what a finding aid is? Are we digitizing the most popular collections? Are we digitizing those collections in a way that best serves our users? Does the way in which we process collections and present that information to our users help or hinder discovery? Do our metadata practices and standards allow for optimal discovery in a digital environment?