The collection largely consists of the working papers of Steve Hensen, and
particularly document his involvement with archival descriptive standards starting
in the late 1970s. The papers include correspondence, writings, professional papers,
and miscellaneous papers.
The correspondence largely consists of letters between Hensen and other professionals
in the field. Writings include drafts and final copies of journal articles and
guides to which Hensen contributed during his career, particularly his work on two
editions of Archives, Personal Papers, and
Manuscripts, and his work on the process of funding and creating Describing Archives : A Content Standard (DACS). The
collection also contains significant documentation on the development of Encoded
Archival Desription (EAD). Professional papers include materials relating to various
projects that Hensen led during his career, papers presented at professional
conferences, professional workshops that he conducted, and activities with SAA. The
SAA files document Hensen's committee work, Council, presidency, and related grant
preparation, curriculum development, and advocacy, including a series of meetings
with the Bush White House Counsels on Executive Order 13233. The miscellaneous
papers include materials relating to his professional interests, including drafts of
articles on which he was asked to comment, articles relating to his research
interests pertaining to arrangement and description, consultancies, and work with
the Research Libraries Group (RLG).
