Archives and Archivists in the Information Age (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Archives & Archivists in the Information Age Michelle Sweetser Archives & Archivists in the Information Age, Richard J. Cox. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2005. 325p. $85.00 (ISBN 1-55570-530-8) Archivists certainly take note of any new publication by Richard J. Cox, a prolific writer on archival topics who also serves as a professor in library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences. His most recent volume, Archives & Archivists in the Information Age, examines the ever-changing role of the archivist and will likely draw wider readership across the information profession due to the currency of interest in how society is changing in the information age. Cox brings a wealth of experience as an archivist, archival consultant, and archival educator to a range of topics that will resonate with a number of audiences. Cox has extensively researched this topic and draws upon literature in a variety of disciplines. From a historical perspective, archivists will gain a sense of how their profession has changed through the years. Cox studies shifts in professional responsibilities and identity (or lack thereof) as revealed in position advertisements for entry-level archives and records management jobs and how the archival knowledge base has grown through an analysis of publication patterns from 1950–1999. Not only does Cox foster a greater knowledge of the profession's roots but he also articulates a vision for the future in the age of information. He urges archivists and records managers to engage in more scholarship for public consumption, to find ways to measure success and remain relevant as their employers adopt new trends in management, and to examine the nature of records, documents, and information and the implications of the digital era for the profession. The volume's initial chapter, "Why Organizations Need Archivists," generally describes the basic responsibilities in archives and discusses the merits of various qualifications employers might consider in potential hires. Also included is a brief section on successfully preparing and distributing a job announcement. Those with responsibility for hiring, both in libraries and other organizational settings, can also benefit from the chapter on the historical development and evaluation of the merits of archival education programs and the certification examination as they consider the credentials of applicants for available positions. Cox also discusses organizational consulting, providing a general description of how a consultant can be useful in evaluating existing archives and records management [End Page 573] programs. A list of questions that a good archival consultant will ask in a site visit is included. Whereas these questions are intended for use by a consultant outside the organization, they can also serve as a springboard for managers and practicing archivists to evaluate their own programs. The chapter "Archives, Records Management, and Distance Learning" can be utilized by any academic department or institution considering the development of a distance learning program, whether the intellectual content is specific to archives and records management or some unrelated field. Cox reflects on his own experiences in developing and providing distance learning courses and includes a valuable and lengthy list of questions that faculty and administrators everywhere should consider prior to instituting a distance learning program. I suspect, however, that a more comprehensive evaluation of distance learning can be found elsewhere. Cox concludes with a series of four case studies that he developed through his consulting work. The case studies adequately describe the settings and are followed by detailed analyses and Cox's recommendations and rationale for how the organizations should proceed. The profession can certainly benefit from an increase in the number of published case studies to aid practicing archivists and students in understanding how and why programs may be improved by taking a specific course of action. However, this reader would have liked to have known more about how the organizations implemented the recommendations and a subsequent description of the programs after implementation. Portions of this work appeal to a variety of readers, but the book will fail to completely satisfy any one particular audience because it covers too many topics for too many audiences with little effort to connect one chapter to the next. The progression of the volume's 10...