Short Subjects: When Archivist Meets Architect

Most archivists are better prepared to file and retrieve blueprints than to read them, more comfortable with COM (Computer Output Microfiche) than CAD (Computer Assisted Design), and better prepared to discuss linear feet of documents than square feet of floor space. Yet archival repositories do not spring up full-blown, and if the space an archival facility is to occupy is going to be utilitarian and provide for the various specialized needs of an archives, the archivist must become involved with the design process. In practical fact this means working with an architect either to design new space or to refurbish old space. This can be done, even if the archivist is untrained in construction methodology, mechanical engineering, or quantum physics