College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice Lori A. Goetschlgoetsch@ksu.edu College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice, ed. Christopher J. PromEllen D. Swain. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2008. 357p. $54.95 ($39.95 SAA members) (ISBN 1-931666-27-X) College and university archives are taking on increasing importance in the age of electronic communications and due to a growing emphasis on providing access to unique collections of university administrative and academic assets. Academic libraries and archives must continue to steward print documents while also addressing the many challenges of electronic records management. How do we capture institutional records that are born digital and correspondence that only lives in an electronic environment? This edited collection by experts in the field, including some reprints of previously published work, captures the current challenges and opportunities in college and university archives—from policy development and management to new modes of user service and access. In the preface, the editors present the collection from the vantage point of a similar work published in 1979, noting that, although the fundamental issue of how best to preserve and provide access to archival resources remains, the environment in which that issue is addressed has been complicated by many factors, not the least of which is technology. The first essay by Nicholas C. Burckel, “Academic Archives: [End Page 450] Retrospect and Prospect,” expands on this theme. Burckel, a former president of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and dean of libraries emeritus from Marquette University, reflects on his own career and research in the archival profession as well as SAA survey data identifying new and emerging archival roles and challenges and the initiatives for responding to these challenges, including documentation and collaboration. The second essay by Helen R. Tibbo, “The Impact of Information Technology on Academic Archives in the Twenty-first Century,” expands on a major challenge identified by Burckel and others. Tibbo, professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides an excellent survey of the many technological advances that have had an impact on access, preservation, and user services in archival settings and offers some speculation on what the future holds. Technology continues as a theme in other essays on the topics of electronic publishing by Robert P. Spindler and finding aids by Richard V. Szary. The collection does not limit its focus to technology, however. Several essays examine approaches to archives fundamentals such as processing and documentation. Examples include articles on results of a survey on descriptive practices and its impact on efficiency of processing and immediacy of access; collecting oral histories of student life; documenting campus diversity; and developing a policy on faculty papers. The importance of outreach and user service is also emphasized, particularly the delicate balance between access and privacy in archival collections. Essays by Tim Pyatt and Kenneth D. Crews discuss changes in the law since the 1979 collection of essays and update the impact of these changes. Pyatt provides a clear and concise explanation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as other public laws that affect electronic records management and data archiving. Crews applies his prodigious copyright expertise to the archival field, providing a recent history of fair use and four strategies of action that archivists can adopt to “minimize legal impediments to the use and worth of manuscript collections.” (p. 239) As an academic library dean, the issues and opportunities discussed in this collection hit close to home. Therefore, although certainly valuable to practicing archivists, the volume may have even more benefit to administrators, especially those of us not trained in archival sciences. An archivist colleague of mine has urged me and my library colleagues to have a deeper and broader understanding of this sister profession, and College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice serves as an excellent means of beginning to achieve that understanding. [End Page 451] Lori A. Goetsch Kansas State University Copyright © 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press