The Embedded Curator: Reexamining the Documentation Strategy of Archival Acquisitions in a Web 2.0 Environment

Abstract

An embedded curator uses his or her physical and virtual presence within a selected community to document that community while simultaneously serving as a resource to it. While the “embedded curator” term may be relatively new to the profession, the practices that inform its implementation are not.

Collection development for special collections, particularly for archival materials, has a robust history of debate about the best methods for encouraging and managing gifts.¹ Embedded curators require a pragmatic and flexible written collection development policy that values occasional serendipitous acquisitions, as well as a strategic plan to build ongoing collections that focus on . . .