Edward Benoit III
Interim Director & Associate Professor Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge LA
Dr. Benoit coordinates the archival studies and cultural heritage resource management programs at LSU.
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dr. Benoit is also an affiliated faculty member in the LSU College of Art & Design's Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation program.
Research Focus
Participatory & Community Archives
Dr. Benoit’s research focuses on participatory and community archives, non-traditional digital collections, and climate-change risks to cultural heritage. He pairs Virtual Footlocker personal-archive studies, GLAM risk modeling, and immersive archival-education methods to craft preservation frameworks that protect born-digital artifacts and empower communities to steward their own records.
Education
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Ph.D.
Information Studies
2014
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
M.A.
History
2009
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
MLIS
2009
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
B.A.
2006
Accomplishments
LSU Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award
2024
LSU Distinguished Teaching Award
2024
ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award
2023
Media Appearances
Dr. Ed Benoit, New Interim Director at the LSU School of Information Studies
Listen with LOUIS online
2025-02-28
In this episode we interview Dr. Ed Benoit, who was recently named Interim Director of the LSU School of Information Studies (SIS). Dr. Benoit discusses what makes the LSU SIS a unique and growing program, what makes him excited about directing the program, what discussions they are having about the future of information science, and more!
How LSU researchers could help protect Louisiana, nation’s cultural heritage from climate change
LSU Reveille online
2023-01-21
This will be done using geographic systems analysis, which means “instead of looking at physical maps, you’re overlaying data on top of maps so that you can see how things interact,” explained Edward Benoit III, one of the researchers and an associate professor in the LSU School of Library and Information Science.
LSU professor developing 'virtual footlocker' to store soldiers' memories
The Advocate online
2019-08-19
“What’s going to happen to all these digital records because they’re much more ephemeral than a physical photograph or a letter?” Benoit said. “How do you pass down a bunch of emails?”
The assistant professor at LSU’s School of Library and Information Science is hoping to come up with the answer.
How and what you can salvage from flood damage
WAFB 9 online
2016-08-18
"Once these waters have receded and you're coming into your home, it may seem counterintuitive, but the best thing you can do for these photographs and books that you want to save is actually take a bind, fill it with clean water and put them back in," explains Ed Benoit III, a conservator with LSU. "You want to prevent them from drying to each other, you want to prevent the mold from setting in."
Articles
Mapping GLAMs: creating a national dataset of GLAMs to develop a categorical climate-change risk assessment scale
Information Research2025
Introduction
The PROTECCT-GLAM project aims to assess and address climate risks for US galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs). The project team began with creating a national dataset of GLAMs.
An opportunity to stay connected: documenting personal communication records of military personnel
Archival Science2024
While service and operational records of the US armed forces have been previously investigated, personal communication records of military personnel have received less attention in archival scholarship. Specifically, we are concerned with the ways that changes in technology challenge the preservation of personal communications records. This issue is important because personal communication records of service members, both active and retired, can support military personnel and their families in managing the stress of deployment.
The genre of love-me binders: US military veterans documenting their service
Archivaria2023
The US government lacks robust and accurate records of its military personnel. In this context, we argue that attending to veterans’ recordkeeping practices matters to honouring their service to the nation. However, recordkeeping skills are not currently part of the official curriculum of active service members or veterans. Considering this situation, we ask, How do veterans in the US document their service? What are the uses of veterans’ records and recordkeeping practices?
Inventing and implementing future-ready archival education
Pedagogy2021
The Archival/Preservation Education SIG panel engages with community-responsive master's-level archival education. Seven ten-minute individual presentations and audience discussion traverse the decision points in managing curricular change; presenters bring perspectives from multiple states."" Audio Preservation as Metacognitive Archival Education"" by Sarah Buchanan discusses how audiovisual archiving experiences support the continual development of students' metacognitive skills during their graduate program
Technology use in designing curriculum for archivists: Utilizing andragogical approaches in designing digital learning environments for archives professional development
Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture2019
Technology has a significant impact in archival institutions. The creation and need to preserve digital records require archivists to have the necessary training, and ongoing professional development. In addition, technology is embedded in many archival processes, making knowledge of technology use vital for archivists. While technology may be a challenge for archivists in terms of archival management, it also presents a useful means to support training and professional development. This paper is based on the experimental research conducted by the researchers, as instructors, in developing curriculum based on theories of andragogy for the purposes of developing intentional curriculum for professional development of archivists in digital learning environments.
Research Grants
PROTECCT-GLAM: Risk of The Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums
Institute of Museum and Library Services
2022
Virtual Footlocker Project: Developing a User-Centered Framework for Digital Preservation of Active Duty and Veteran Personal Records
Institute of Museum and Library Services
2018
Social Tagging of Amateur and Professionally Produced Moving Images
Society of American Archivists Foundation
2016
Media
