Appraisal defined:
n. ~ 1. The process of identifying materials offered to an archives that have sufficient value to be accessioned. – 2. The process of determining the length of time records should be retained, based on legal requirements and on their current and potential usefulness. – 3. The process of determining the market value of an item; monetary appraisal.

Pearce-Moses, Richard. A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology. Archival fundamentals series. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005.

Here is a list of online resources related to the appraisal of historical materials:

WEBCAST: Records, Documents, and Stuff in the Digital Era Richard J. Cox. 03/07/2003

DESCRIPTION: This lecture focuses on Dr. Cox's teaching on "understanding" information and his other work on electronic records management and archival appraisal.

Here is a bibliography of archival literature related to the appraisal of historical materials:

Abraham, Terry. "Collection Policy or Documentation Strategy: Theory and Practice," American Archivist 54 (Winter 1991): 44-52.

Allen, Marie B., and Roland M. Baumann. “Evolving Appraisal and Accessioning Policies of Soviet Archives,” American Archivist 54 no.1 (Winter 1991): 96-111.

Aronsson, Patricia. "Appraisal of Twentieth-Century Congressional Collections," in Archival Choices: Managing the Historical Record in an Age of Abundance, ed. Nancy E. Peace (Lexington: D.C. Heath, 1984), pp. 81-104.

Atkinson, Ross W. "Selection for Preservation: A Materialistic Approach," Library Resources & Technical Services 30 (October/December 1986): 341-53. Also commentary by Margaret Child, pp. 354-62.

Ballard, Cilla, and Rodney Teakle, "Seizing the Light: The Appraisal of Photographs," Archives and Manuscripts 19 (May 1991): 43-49.

Barrese, Edwad F. "Adequacy of Documentation in the Federal Government," Information Management Review 5 (Spring 1990): 53-58.

Baudrillard, Jean. “The System of Collecting,” in The Cultures of Collecting, John Elsner and Roger Cardinal, eds. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994).

Bearman, David. "The Implications of Armstrong v. Executive Office of the President for the Archival Management of Electronic Records," American Archivist 56 (Fall 1993):
674-689.

Benedict, Karen. “Invitation to a Bonfire: Reappraisal and Deaccessioning of Records as Collection Management Tools in Archives-A Reply to Leonard Rapport,” American Archivist 47 (Winter 1984): 43-49.

Bergeron, Rosemary. "The Selection of Television Productions for Archival Preservation," Archivaria 23 (Winter 1986-87): 41-53.

Blouin, Francis X., Jr. “A New Perspective on the Appraisal of Business Records: A Review,” American Archivist 42 (July 1979): 312-320.

Blouin, Francis X., Jr. “Uses of History and Theory in the Appraisal of Business Records,” in Records Appraisal (Papers Presented at the Spring 1975 Meeting of the Michigan Archival Association, Occasional Publication no. 1, January 1976): 25-33.

Blouin, Francis X., Jr., and Larry Steck. “Hannah Lay & Co.: Sampling the Records of a Century of Lumbering in Michigan,” American Archivist 39 (January 1976): 15-20.

Boles, Frank, in association with Julia Marks Young. Archival Appraisal (New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1991.)

Boles, Frank. “Sampling in Archives,” American Archivist 44 no.2 (Spring 1981): 125-130.

Boles, Frank, and Julia Marks Young. “Exploring the Black Box: The Appraisal of University Administrative Records,” American Archivist 48 no.2 (Spring 1985): 121-140.

Bourdieu, Pierre. The Field of Cultural Production ([New York]: Columbia University Press, 1993).

Bradsher, James Gregory. "The FBI Records Appraisal" Midwestern Archivist 8 no. 2 (1988): 51-66.

Brichford, Maynard J., Archives and Manuscripts: Appraisal and Accessioning, Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1977.

Brichford, Maynard. “The Origins of Modern European Archival Theory,” Midwestern Archivist 7 no.2 (1982): 87-101.

Brown, Lauren R. "Present at the Tenth Hour: Appraising and Accessioning the Papers of Congresswoman Marjorie S. Holt," Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship (1988):
95-102.

Brown, Richard. “Records Acquisition Strategy and its Theoretical Foundation: The Case for a Concept of Archival Hermeneutics,” Archivaria 33 (Winter 1991-1992): 34-56.

Cameron, Ross J. "Appraisal Strategies for Machine-Readable Case Files," Provenance 1 (Spring 1983): 49-55.

Cook, Terry. The Archival Appraisal of Records Containing Personal Information: A RAMP Study with Guidelines (Paris: UNESCO, 1991).

Cook, Terry. “Documentation Strategy,” Archivaria 34 (Summer 1992): 181-191.

Cook, Terry. “Many are Called, but Few are Chosen: Appraisal Guidelines for Sampling and Selecting Case Files,” Archivaria 32 (Summer 1991): 25-50.

Cox, Richard J. "The Archival Documentation Strategy: A Brief Intellectual History, 1984-1994 and Practical Description." Janus no. 2 (1995): 76-93.

Cox, Richard J. “A Documentation Strategy Case Study: Western New York,” American Archivist 52 (Summer 1989): 192-200.

Cox, Richard. "The Archival Documentation Strategy and Its Implications for the Appraisal of Architectural Records," American Archivist 59 (Spring 1996): 144-154.

Cox, Richard J. Documenting Localities: A Practical Model for American Archivists and Manuscripts Curators (Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1996).

Cox, Richard J. "Government Publications as Archives: A Case for Cooperation Between Archivists and Librarians," Journal of Library Administration 7 (Summer/Fall 1986):
111-28.

Cox, Richard J., and Samuels, Helen W. “The Archivist’s First Responsibility,” American Archivist 51 (1988): 28-42.

Craig, Barbara L. “The Acts of the Appraisers: The Context, the Plan and the Records,”Archivaria 34 (Summer 1992): 175-180.

Dollar, Charles. "Appraising Machine-Readable Records," American Archivist 41 (October 1978): 423-30.

Duranti, Luciana. “The Archival Body of Knowledge: Archival Theory, method, and Practice, and Graduate and Continuing Education,” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 34 (Winter 1993): 8-24.

Eastwood, Terry. “How Goes it with Appraisal?” Archivaria 36 (Autumn 1993): 111-121.

Endelman, Judith E. "Looking Backward to Plan for the Future: Collection Analysis for Manuscript Repositories," American Archivist 50 (Summer 1987): 340-55.

Ericson, Timothy L. "At the 'rim of creative dissatisfaction': Archivists and Acquisition Development," Archivaria 33 (Winter 1991-92): 66-77.

Ericson, Timothy L. “’To Approximate June Pasture' The Documentation Strategy in the Real World," Archival Issues 22:1 (1997): 5-20.

Evans, Max J. “The Visible Hand: Creating a Practical Mechanism for Cooperative Appraisal,” Midwestern Archivist 11 (1986): 7-13.

Fishbein, Meyer H. “Reflections on the Appraising of Statistical Records,” American Archivist 50 (Spring 1987): 226-234.

Fogerty, James E. "Manuscript Collecting in Archival Networks," Midwestern Archivist 6, no. 2 (1982): 130-41.

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J. Development of an Expert Assistant for the Archival Appraisal of Electronic Communications: An Exploratory Study, Ph.D. Dissertation (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1995).

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J. “Computer-based Communications and Archives: Documentary Opportunities Not to be Missed,” Archival Issues 20 no. 1 (1995): 39-50. (Reprinted in American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice, Randall Jimerson, ed. (forthcoming)).

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J., and Gregory T. Kinney, “Uses of Electronic Communications to Document an Academic Community: A Research Report,” Archivaria 38 (Fall 1994): 79-96.

Greene, Mark. "'The Surest Proof': A Utilitarian Approach to Appraisal," Archivaria 45 (Winter 1998): 126-169.

Guptil, Marilla B. Archival Appraisal of Records of International Organizations: a RAMP Study with Guidelines (Paris: UNESCO, 1985).

Haas, Joan K., Helen W. Samuels, and Barbara T. Simmons. Appraising the Records of Modern Science and Technology (Boston, MA: MIT, 1985).

Haas, Joan K., Helen W. Samuels, and Barbara T. Simmons. “The MIT Appraisal Project and its Broader Implications, American Archivist 49 no. 3 (Summer 1986): 310-314.

Hackman, Larry J., and Joan Warnow-Blewett. “The Documentation Strategy Process: A Model and a Case Study,” American Archivist 50 (Winter 1987): 12-47.

Ham, F. Gerald. “Archival Choices: Managing the Historical Records in an Age of Abundance,” American Archivist 47 (Winter 1984): 11-22.

Ham, F. Gerald. “The Archival Edge,” American Archivist 38 (1975): 5-13.

Ham, F. Gerald. “Archival Strategies for the Post-custodial Era,” American Archivist 44 (Summer 1981): 207-216.

Ham, F. Gerald. “NHPRC’s Records Program and the Development of Statewide Archival Planning,” American Archivist 43 (Winter 1980): 33-42.

Ham, F. Gerald. “Review of the FBI Files Appraisal Report,” American Archivist 45 (Fall 1982).

Ham, F. Gerald. Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago, IL: Society of American Archivists, 1993).

Harrison, Helen P. The Archival Appraisal of Sound Recordings and Related Material (Paris: UNESCO, 1987).

Hedstrom, Margaret. “New Appraisal Techniques: The Effect of Theory on Practice,” Provenance 7 no.2 (Fall 1989): 1-21.

Hinding, Andrea. "Toward Documentation: New Collecting Strategies in the 1980s," in Options for the 80s: Proceedings of the Second National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries, eds. Michael D Kathman and Virgil F. Massman (Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press, 1981), pp. 531-38.

Hite, Richard W., and Daniel J. Linke. “A Statistical Summary of Appraisal During Processing: A Case Study with Manuscript Collections,” Archival Issues 17 no.1 (1992): 23-29.

Hives, Christopher, ed. Archival Appraisal: Theory and Practice (Vancouver, British Columbia: Archives Association of British Columbia, 1990).

Holland, Michael E. "Adding Electronic Records to the Archival Menagerie: Appraisal Concerns and Cautions," Provenance 8 (Spring 1990): 27-44

Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge (New York: Routledge, 1992).

Hull, Felix. The Use of Sampling Techniques in the Retention of Records: a RAMP Study with Guidelines (Paris: UNESCO, 1981).

Kalenski, Gustav, edited by Meyer Fishbein. “Records Selection,” American Archivist 39 no. 1 (1976): 25-43.

Kepley, David R. “Sampling in Archives: A Review,” American Archivist 47 (Summer 1984): 237-242.

Klaassen, David J. "The Archival Intersection: Cooperation Between Collecting Repositories and Nonprofit Organizations," Midwestern Archivist 15, no. 1 (1990): 25-38.

Klaassen, David J. "The Provenance of Social Work Case Records: Implications for Archival Appraisal and Access," Provenance 1 (Spring 1983): 5-26.

Kolsrud, Ole. "The Evolution of Basic Appraisal Principles - Some Comparative Observations," American Archivist 55 no.1 (Winter 1992): 26-39.

Kowlowitz, Alan. Archival Appraisal of Online Information Systems, Part 2 of Archives and Museum Informatics 2 (Fall 1988).

Krizack, Joan D. "Hospital Documentation Planning: The Concept and the Context,"American Archivist 56 no. 1 (1993): 16-34.

Kula, Sam. The Archival Appraisal of Moving Images: A RAMP Study with Guidelines, (Paris: UNESCO, 1983.)

Latour, Bruno, and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts (London, Sage Publications, 1979).

Leary, W. H. The Archival Appraisal of Photographs: A RAMP Study with Guidelines, (Paris: UNESCO, 1985.)

Lemieux, Victoria. “Archival Solitudes: The Impact on Appraisal and Acquisition of Legislative Concepts of Records and Archives,” Archivaria 35 (Spring 1993): 153-161.

Levine, David. "The Appraisal Policy of the Ohio State Archives," American Archivist 47 (Summer 1984): 291-93.

Levine, Lawrence W. The Opening of the American Mind: Canons, Culture, and History (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996).

Lockwood, Elizabeth. ‘“Imponderable Matters’: The Influence of New Trends in History or Appraisal at the National Archives,” American Archivist 53 no. 3 (Summer 1990): 394-405.

Loewen, Candace. “The Control of Electronic Records Having Archival Value,” Archivaria 36 (Autumn 1993): 64-73.

Loewen, Candace. “From Human Neglect to Planetary Survival: New Approaches to the Appraisal of Environmental Records,” Archivaria (Winter 1991-92): 87-103.

Lowenthal, David. The Past Is A Foreign Country (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).

MacNeil, Heather. “Weaving Provenantial and Documentary Relations,” Archivaria 34 (Summer 1992): 192-198.

Menne-Haritz, Angelika. “Appraisal or Selection—Can A Content Oriented Appraisal be Harmonized with the Principle of Provenance?” in The Principle of Provenance(Stockholm: Swedish National Archives, 1994): 131.

Muensterberger, Werner. Collecting: An Unruly Passion; Psychological Perspectives (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994).

Naugler, Harold. Archival Appraisal of Machine-readable Records: A RAMP Study with Guidelines (Paris: UNESCO, 1984).

Paul, Karen. The Documentation of Congress (Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Historical Office, 1993).

Pearce, Susan M. Museums, Objects, and Collections: A Cultural Study (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press, 1993).

Phillips, Faye. "Developing Collecting Policies for Manuscript Collections," American Archivist 47 (Winter 1984): 30-42.

Powell, Sheila. “Archival Reappraisal: The Immigration Case Files,” Archivaria 33 (Winter 1991-92): 104-116.

Pylypchuk, Mary Ann. “A Documentary Approach to Aboriginal Archives,” Archivaria 33 (Winter 1991-92): 117-124.

Rapport, Leonard. “In the Valley of Decision: What to do About the Multitude of Files of Quasi Cases,” American Archivist 48 no. 2 (Spring 1985): 121-140.

Reed, Barbara, and David Roberts, ed. Keeping Data: Papers from a Workshop on Appraising Computer-based Records (Dickson, ACT: Australian Council of Archives, 1991.)

Rosenzweig, Roy, and David Thelen, The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998).

Ruller, Thomas J. "Dissimilar Appraisal Documentation as an Impediment to Sharing Appraisal Data: A Survey of Appraisal Documentation in Government Archival Repositories," Archival Issues 17 no. 1 (1992): 65-73.

Russell, Peter A. “The Manx Peril: Archival Theory in Light of Recent American Historiography,” Archivaria 32 (Summer 1991): 124-135.

Samuels, Helen W. “Improving Our Disposition: Documentation Strategy,” Archivaria 33 (Winter 1991-92): 125-140.

Helen W. Samuels, "Who Controls the Past," American Archivist 49 (Spring 1986): 109-24.

Schrag, Philip G. "Working Papers as Federal Records: The Need for New Legislation to Preserve the History of National Policy," Administrative Law Review 46 (Spring 1994):
95-140.

Shrock, Nancy Carlson. "Images of New England: Documenting the Built Environment," American Archivist 50 (Fall 1987): 474-98.

Sink, Robert. “Appraisal: The Process of Choice,” American Archivist 53 no. 3 (Summer 1990): 452-458.

Sly, Margery N. "Sampling in an Archival Framework: Mathoms and Manuscripts," Provenance 5 (Spring 1987): 55-75.

Taylor, Gary. Cultural Selection (New York: Basic Books, 1996).

Turnbaugh, Roy. “Plowing the Sea: Appraising Public Records in an Ahistorical Culture,” American Archivist 53 no. 4 (Fall 1990): 562-574.