Elizabeth Yakel is an archivist, researcher, and educator in
information science
Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...
. Yakel is known for work advancing archival practice, the use of primary sources in archives education, studies of data reuse practices, and
digital curation Digital curation is the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets.
Digital curation establishes, maintains and adds value to repositories of digital data for present and future use. This is often accomplished ...
. Yakel is the senior associate dean for academic affairs and a professor at the
University of Michigan School of Information
The University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI or iSchool) is the informatics and information science school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It offers baccalaureate, magisterial, and doc ...
, where she has been on the faculty since 2000. She is the former coordinator of the Preservation of Information specialization in the Master of Science in Information program and teaches in the
Archives
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
and Record Management area. She specializes in digital archives and
digital preservation
In library and archival science, digital preservation is a formal endeavor to ensure that digital information of continuing value remains accessible and usable. It involves planning, resource allocation, and application of preservation methods an ...
and has developed five such graduate level courses at UM, including "Economics of Sustainable Digital Information" and "Practical Engagement Workshop in Digital Preservation."
Education
She holds an A.B. from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
(1980), an A.M.L.S. from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(1982), and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (1997). Her dissertation,
Recordkeeping in Radiology: The Relationships Between Activities and Records in Radiological Processes', won the 1997
Eugene Garfield
Eugene Eli Garfield (September 16, 1925 – February 26, 2017) was an American linguist and businessman, one of the founders of bibliometrics and scientometrics. He helped to create ''Current Contents'', ''Science Citation Index'' (SCI), ''Journ ...
Doctoral Dissertation Award from th
Association of Library and Information Science Educators(ALISE). After graduation, she became an assistant professor at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences
The University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh located on the university's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The sch ...
from 1997 to 2000 before returning to her alma mater.
Notable research projects
* 2015-2018
Research Experience for Master’s Students(REMS); principal investigator; funded by
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums within the United States, having the mis ...
(IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.
* 2014-2017
Qualitative Data Reuse principal investigator; funded by IMLS grant.
* 2010-2014
(DIPIR); co-principal investigator; funded by IMLS National Leadership Grant for Libraries.
* 2010-2012
Preservation and Access Virtual Education Laboratory(PAVEL) for Digital Humanities; co-principal investigator; funded by
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
(NEH) Preservation and Access Education and Training Program.
* 2009-2011
Archival Metrics and User Evaluation for Government Archives principal investigator; funded by a
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
(NARA) grant.
* 2008–present
Archival and Education Research Initiative(AERI); founding member & co-principal investigator; funded from 2008-2016 by IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.
* 2008-2012: Engaging Communities to Foster Internships for Preservation and Digital Curation; principal investigator; funded by IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarians Program.
Awards and honors
* 2013: International Digital Curation Conference Best Research Paper Award for
Trust in Digital Repositories (with Ixchel Faniel, Adam Kriesberg, and Ayoung Yoon).
* 2012: UM School of Information Michael D. Cohen Outstanding Service Award.
* 2012: iConference Best Paper Award for
Managing Fixity and Fluidity in Data Repositories (with Morgan Daniels, Ixchel Faniel, and Kathleen Fear).
* 2008-09:
Committee on Institutional Cooperation
The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), is the academic consortium of the universities in the Big Ten Conference. The consortium was renamed on June 29, 2016.
Member universities
The Bi ...
Academic Leadership Program Fellowship (CIC is now the
Big Ten Academic Alliance
The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), is the academic consortium of the universities in the Big Ten Conference. The consortium was renamed on June 29, 2016.
Member universities
The B ...
).
* 2008: SAA Fellows'
Ernst Posner
Ernst Maximilian Posner (9 August 1892 – 18 April 1980) was a Prussian state archivist who fled to the United States during World War II where he served as the history department chairman, dean of the graduate school, and director of the School o ...
Award for
Interaction in Virtual Archives: The Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections (with Magia Ghetu Krause).
* 2007: SAA Fellows' Ernst Posner Award for
Special Section on Archival Census and Educational Needs Survey in the United States (A*CENSUS Working Group member).
* 2006: Summer Institute for Nursing Informatics Sharon Coleman Memorial Scholarship Award for the
HANDS Project and Vision for Nursing Informatics (with Gail Keenan and Dana Tschannen).
* 2005:
American Medical Informatics Association
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the development and application of biomedical and health informatics in the support of patient care, teaching, research, and health care ad ...
Harriet H. Werley Award for
Promoting Safe Nursing Care by Bringing Visibility to the Disciplinary Aspects of Interdisciplinary Care (with Gail Keenan).
* 2004:
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grant.
* 2003: ALISE Research Grant.
* 1999: Elected
Society of American Archivists
The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936, the organi ...
(SAA) Fellow.
* 1999: SAA C.F.W. Coker Award for Description for ''
Vatican Archives
, seal = Seal of the Vatican Secret Archives.svg
, seal_width = 200
, seal_caption = Former seal of the Vatican Apostolic Archive
, logo =
, formed =
, jurisdiction =
, headquarters = Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City
, coordinates ...
: An Inventory & Guide to the Historical Records of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
''.
* 1997: ALISE Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Award.
* 1996-97:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) is an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Currently it is headquartered in 600 E. Lafayette Blvd. in downtown Detroit. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit organizati ...
Foundation Student Award Program Grant.
* 1994: UM
Bentley Historical Library
The Bentley Historical Library is the campus archive for the University of Michigan and is located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan. Its mission is ...
Research Fellowship Program for the Study of Modern Archives.
* 1992-95: UM School of Information Regent's Fellowship.
* 1991: SAA Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award.
Publications
Yakel has published extensively, especially in academic journals. Her oeuvre includes more than 130 writings that have been cited over 2,600 times. Articles cited more than 90 times include:
*
AI: Archival Intelligence and User Expertise (with Deborah A. Torres) from ''
The American Archivist'' 66/1 (2003); proposes a model of researcher expertise based on the assertion that there are "three distinct forms of knowledge required to work effectively with primary sources."
*
Digital Curation from ''OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives'' 23/4 (2007); a foundational article about the subject that provides a definition and an overview of its development.
*
Seeking Information, Seeking Connections, Seeking Meanings: Genealogists and Family Historians from ''Information Research: An International Electronic Journal'' 10/1 (2004); focuses on the information seeking behavior of a particular user group who frequent libraries and archives—genealogists and family historians.
*
Interaction in Virtual Archives: The Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections Next Generation Finding Aid (with Magia Ghetu Krause) from ''The American Archivist'' 70/2 (2007); a "preliminary evaluation of an experimental finding aid" that incorporated social interaction (from the days when Web 2.0 was still a relatively new concept).
*
Archival Representation from ''
Archival Science
Archival science, or archival studies, is the study and theory of building and curating archives, which are collections of documents, recordings and data storage devices.
To build and curate an archive, one must acquire and evaluate recorded m ...
'' 3/1 (2003); an analysis of "organizational and descriptive schemas, tools, and systems as a means of uncovering representational practices."
One of her earliest publications of note is
Starting an Archives', a 1994 manual published by SAA and
Scarecrow Press
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...
that provides the rationale for the establishment of an archival program and discusses the work involved in doing so.
In 2016, she and Doris Malkmus co-authored a module titled "Contextualizing Archival Literacy" for ''Teaching with Primary Sources,'' a volume of SAA'
''Trends in Archives Practice''series, which aims to "fill significant gaps in archival literature." This module has been praised for doing "an excellent job of describing the current state of teaching with primary sources."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakel, Elizabeth
Living people
Female archivists
American archivists
Brown University alumni
University of Michigan School of Information alumni
University of Michigan faculty
Fellows of the Society of American Archivists
Digital preservation
1960 births