Archives classic updated to address today's technology challenges.

TITLE: Understanding Archives & Manuscripts

EDITOR: James M. O'Toole & Richard J. Cox

PUBLISHER: Society of American Archivists

PUBUCATION DATE: 2006

LENGTH: 255 pages

PRICE: $49

SOURCE: www.archivists.org

When James M. O'Toole provided the first edition of Understanding Archives & Manuscripts for the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Archival Fundamentals Series II (AFS II) in 1990, it would have been difficult to predict accurately how rapidly changes in the methods used to exchange information would evolve.

While our current reliance on Internet, wireless, and digital technologies has certainly enhanced opportunities for interpersonal communication, it has also presented a new set of challenges for archivists and manuscript specialists charged with the long-term preservation of documents recording these interactions. It is with these changes in mind that a revision of this text, co-authored by O'Toole and Richard J. Cox, should be a welcome addition to the AFS II.

Rather than an in-depth analysis of archival practice and theory, this volume provides an introduction to how the profession has developed and continues to evolve. O'Toole offered an effective overview of this landscape in the first edition, so it is not surprising that large portions of the narrative found in the early chapters have not been changed. The text is divided into five chapters, a bibliographic essay, and, for this edition, notations that have been moved to a separate section in front of the index.

The first chapter provides a chronologic history of recorded information and the corresponding technological advances. A section describing the "Impulse to Destroy" has been added to contrast a "Need to Save" section, which appears in both editions. While this section does touch on a topic of concern for most records managers--the intentional destruction or alteration of records by the creating office--it primarily focuses on destruction of historical documents, by outside forces, for ideological purposes.

Another section of this chapter contains interesting new commentary on the use of modern telecommunication devices and the fragility and impermanence of digital forms of communications, issues that are certain to compromise our collective record of this supposed "Age of Information." However, more could be said in regards to the challenges presented by the convergence of technologies and hybrid media, an issue that is touched upon later in the text when the authors present arguments for the need for collaboration among information specialists as the varieties of media used for documentation continue to blur.

The second chapter, which provides a history of archives and the archival profession, is very similar to the original text, which may allude to O'Toole's initial writing being somewhat prophetic. The authors have included discussion of some of the most prevalent current technologies; however, by focusing on the generalized effects of these technologies, as O'Toole did in the first edition, these portions of the text should not become too quickly outdated.

Chapter 3: "The Archivist's Perspective: Knowledge and Values," provides an interesting commentary on the analytical and assessment skills that are required for the archival profession. As the title would suggest, it is from this chapter that a student or novice would learn the most about how archivists apply their training to the vocation, as the authors effectively examine the essential concepts that are far from intuitive for most records creators, researchers, and other information specialists.

The fourth chapter builds on the concepts introduced in the previous chapter to briefly describe the process of acquiring, arranging, and making records available. The authors make good use of examples to demonstrate just how little routine there is in these seemingly straightforward activities. However, a section from the earlier edition discussing access and restrictions, which may be confusing for readers not already familiar with these topics, has unfortunately been left unchanged. Issues of copyright and the challenges of using Internet technologies to assist remote users of varied skill might also have warranted more discussion in this chapter.

"Archivists and the Challenges of New Worlds," is both the final and only chapter that has been added for this new edition. The first section, "Postmodernism" is too theoretical for an introductory text, but the commentaries on advocacy, security, and technologies should be of interest to a wider audience. Readers of this publication might also take special interest in the section on professionalism, which briefly touches on the relationship of archives to records management. The bibliographic essay has also been greatly expanded, providing many recent publications to refer to, in addition to those presented in the original text.

The first edition of this book provided a great introduction to archives for students, new professionals, or anyone with interest in reading a short overview to this field of work. The new edition's smaller size does not allow for the same number or size of illustrations, or as much space for notations in the margins for those readers who are so inclined. Despite these shortcomings and the few mentioned earlier, the additions that were made to this edition make it a compelling read, though not essential to those who have read the original and are familiar with current issues in the field.

Gary Cox, CA., (no relation to Richard J. Cox) is Reference and Public Service Archivist with the University of Missouri-Columbia. He may be contacted at coxgd@missouri.edu.