Norton File Life Review

The archival career of American is developing fast and fast in today. Its archival career has become the top level in the world. While it is meaningful for us to study the outstanding theory and practice thinking of their archivists. The paper study Margaret Cross Norton and her thinking compared with the T.R.Schellenberg who born in the same period by the text method、history studying method and comparative studying method. The paper can help us to know about the developing process of American archival career and we can benefit from it for our career.Margaret Cross Norton is the pioneering American archival scientist along with T.R.Schellenberg at the same period. As the pioneering American archival scientist, Margaret Cross Norton devoted her whole life to develop the archive career of American and made great contribution. Margaret Cross Norton is the first general of the Illinois in the USA、the one of found buildings of the archival society of the USA and the editor of the " the archivist of the USA. Norton has published many articles and her book was called "the first archival management booklet of the USA", and it has the guiding meaning for American archival management.Norton point out that the first value of the archive is the evidence and law value and the second value is the history value. She thinks that the archive is distinct from the library and history career and we should not consider the archive as the subordinate. The views of Norton improve the archive of the USA to get rid of the control from the history yield and become an independent science. In addition, the Illinois has its own archival building with the help of Norton. What’s more, Norton built the archival system for the Illinois building and this system became the model for other states and country.This article from Norton’s lifetime、work experiences、practice and theory contribution several aspects to introduce and hope filling up the gap about the American archivist and let more and more people know her as a great archivist.