He conceived the first Conference of Archivists in the United States, which met at Columbia University in conjunction with the American Historical Association's 1909 Annual Meeting. He took this opportunity to introduce Americans to a variety of European concepts that soon became institutionalized as standard best practices in the United States and formed the basis for archival theory. His address at the 1909 conference on "American Archival Problems" remains a classic in the archival literature.
He initiated the first Conference of Archivists in the United States, held at Columbia University during the American Historical Association's 1909 Annual Meeting. He took this chance to introduce Americans to European concepts that soon became standard best practices and formed the basis for archival theory. His address on "American Archival Problems" from the 1909 conference remains a classic in archival literature.