Articles

Planning is Prologue: The Planning Process and the Archival Profession

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Abstract

Over the past fifty years, to underscore the importance of their work, archivists in the United States have promoted the motto, etched over the portico of the National Archives in Washington, "The Past is Prologue." Since the late 1970s, however, increasing numbers of archivists have adopted a modified version of that motto, "Planning is Prologue." This paper presents a brief historical overview of efforts to plan for the archival profession, particularly those undertaken by the Society of American Archivists, and notes the striking similarity of the SAA's most recent planning exercises to those used by many business and nonprofit organizations.

How to Cite:

McShane, S. G., (1990) “Planning is Prologue: The Planning Process and the Archival Profession”, Archival Issues 15(2), 109–116. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.10585