Providing intellectual, legal, and physical access to textual records is the primary focus. Policies and procedures for reference services that represent a commonly accepted professional standard are also described. Also included is the role of records management in controlling the life cycle of modern organizational records, as well as collections management and documentation strategies for other holdings. These are some of the questions addressed by the author in this volume. This publication will appeal to the beginning archivist, the archival student, the administrator contemplating the establishment of an archives, as well as the potential donor thinking about depositing records in an archives.
Many illustrations enhance text.
The 28 essays reprinted in this volume represent important recent American writings on archives and the role of archivists in modern society. They are collected here in order to make them more easily accessible to archival students and practicing archivists, indeed to anyone who wants to explore archival issues in greater detail than can be found in introductory texts. The articles provide important perspectives both on basic elements of archival practice and on fundamental principles in archival theory and methodology. It also provides an introduction to basic archival techniques identifying, evaluating, organizing, preserving and using historical documents. Robert Cogswell Archival materials are often subject to myriad limitations on use, imposed both by government and by donors.