The advantages of computer hardware and software...

Access to a computer scanner and a CD burner can be invaluable for the educational archivist. These items can help to support the archival preservation programs as well as the archive’s public access program and publication programs. Educational archivists can combine the use of software control programs plus scanning schemes to develop powerful information mapping schemes. Archive staff can also use records search strategies or update records on holdings more frequently and rapidly.

Archive computer support...

Archivists in educational archives are sometimes confronted by significant problems when they attempt to select appropriate computer software to support the development of finding aids and intellectual control systems for their collections. Many educational archives are small archives, so the fees associated with large scale records management or archive software programs used by major government departments or corporations could be deemed to be far too expensive. Some small archives may be able to band together to purchase one of the large scale specialist records management or archive software programs, but an individual small archive may be placed in a position where staff must depend on an existing general office management program used by their educational administration, or even a library management software program used in an associated student library complex. General word processing and database activities are then adapted to provide further support for records management and archive tasks.