90409 - Archival and Information Science

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student must have the following knowledge and skills: - Knowledge and understanding: have the necessary knowledge for a first approach to the problems related to the training, management and conservation of digital archives. - Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: be able to face a project of digitization and enhancement of documentary resources, highlighting the criticality of long-term preservation and possible solutions; be able to access historical documentary sources also through the use of digital descriptive resources (especially through archival information systems). - Autonomy of judgment: know how to establish the criteria to be followed in the phases of description, reordering and inventorying of historical archives through the use of archival description software, motivating its methodological choices. - Communication skills: know how to illustrate with logical rigor and terminological issues also techniques related to a specific topic. - Learning ability: know how to deepen independently the issues related to the discipline

Course contents

1. Polysemy and Polymorphism: the analogue, digital, and hybrid archive.

2. Fundamental concepts of archiving in a digital environment. Basic elements and definitions; documents, information, data, metadata.

3. The electronic document; the electronic administrative document; IT management of documents and the creation of digital archives.

4. The archive life-cycle and the concept of record continuum.

5. Digital Public Administration tools; the Digital Administration Code; Guidelines for AgID IT document

6. Management and conservation of IT documents, introduction the handbooks of document management and document conservation.

7. Long-term preservation of digital archives; issues pertaining to electronic formats and storage media.

8. Documentary typologies in digital archives: the digital representation of text, image, sound, and audiovisual documents.

9. The digitization of documentary resources: reuse, fruition, and valorisation.

10. Archival description, standards, description integration and augmented description

11. The application of standards: archival information systems

12. The application of standards: archival description software

13. Workshop on the use of software for archival description.

Readings/Bibliography

In addition to lecture notes provided by the teacher and the material covered in class, the syllabus for the exam includes the following:

• Federico Valacchi, L’archivio aumentato. Tempi e modi di una digitalizzazione critica, Milano, Milano, Editrice Bibliografica, 2024
• Lorenzo Pezzica, L’archivio liberato. Guida teorico-pratica ai fondi storici del Novecento, Milano, Editrice Bibliografica, 2020

Letture propedeutiche consigliate

Recommended preliminary readings

• Giorgetta Bonfiglio-Dosio, Sistemi di gestione documentale, Padova, CLEUP, 2017
• Francesca Nemore, Cercando il bandolo della matassa. Teorie, usi e pratiche degli strumenti di ricerca archivistici, Roma, Bulzoni, 2023

** I non frequentanti aggiungeranno un testo a scelta tra:

** Non-attending students will add one of the following:

• Giorgetta Bonfiglio-Dosio, Sistemi di gestione documentale, Padova, CLEUP, 2017
• Francesca Nemore, Cercando il bandolo della matassa. Teorie, usi e pratiche degli strumenti di ricerca archivistici, Roma, Bulzoni, 2023

Teaching methods

The course includes:

• Lectures in the classroom
• workshops on the use of software for archival description 

The course is part of the University's project for the teaching of new subjects

The 'Virtual' space will provide in-depth and summary material on the topics covered throughout the course. It will also provide video-recordings of a number of lessons, useful for the independent study of non-attending students.

Assessment methods

The final exam will consist of an oral interview starting from the discussion of a topic chosen by the student.

Evaluation criteria are as follows: knowledge of topics discussed during classes and of the reference bibliography indicated; an adequate presentation of the subject matter with appropriate terminology; the ability to summarize and analyze themes and concepts, and finally the critical and methodological skills developed by the student.

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The final evaluation will be expressed as follows:

- failing grade: lack of basic knowledge and inability to produce a correct interpretation of texts and/or problems. (E).

- passing grade: basic knowledge; overall correct interpretation but lacking in precision and autonomy. (D = 18-20)

- average: intermediate level knowledge; fully correct interpretation, but not always precise and autonomous. (B = 24-26) e (C = 21-23).

- above average: high-level knowledge; interpretation of problems not only correct but expressed with autonomy and precision. Superior communication skills. (A = 27-30 con lode).

Teaching tools

In the 'Virtual teaching resources' section the basic teaching material (sample and in-depth Power Points, links to videos and lecture notes provided by the teacher) will be available at the beginning of the course.

Students who for reasons related to specific learning disorders (DSA) or disabilities or in need of compensatory tools should inform the teacher of their requirements, so they can be directed to the appropriate contact persons to arrange the adoption of measures required.

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it/per-studenti

Office hours

See the website of Lorenzo Pezzica