Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Academic Program

Library and Information Science BS

Department

Library and Information Science

First Advisor

Brendan Fay, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Jennifer Brannock, MLIS

Advisor Department

Library and Information Science; University Libraries

Abstract

Archival literacy, the skills and knowledge one needs to effectively utilize an archive or special collections, is often taught to undergraduate students during one-shot instruction sessions or semester-long courses. For users who do not attend these sessions, archives may be inaccessible due to a lack of archival literacy. In the digital age, one way for institutions to bridge the gap between archives and users who do not attend these instruction sessions is by creating websites that align with principles of archival literacy.

This study utilizes a webometric content analysis methodology to analyze how well the homepages of institutions of higher learning in the American South help users prepare for research visits and provide instruction on conducting archival research. The results of this study indicate that many sites include information geared towards helping researchers prepare for visits, including contact information, collecting scope or mission statement, and an address. However, sites rarely include resources instructing users how to conduct research. These results indicate that institutions need to update their websites and include more information on archive search strategies and jargon to facilitate the development of archival literacy and to ensure that their archives are accessible for all users.

Download

Share

COinS