Monday, May 24, 2010

Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives: A How-To-Do-It Manual; a How-to-Do-It Manuals for Libraries, Second Edition


Hunter, Gregory S. Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives: A How-To-Do-It Manual; a How-to-Do-It Manuals for Libraries, Second Edition. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009. 027 Hunte 2nd ed. ISBN 978-1555704674

If you have to do archives, this is a very good book. Eminently practical and readable, it discusses everything from undertaking a records survey to issues involved in electronic archives. An extensive bibliography presents many articles by leaders in the archival profession. Extremely useful are charts that organize important information succinctly?for example, characteristics of records with intrinsic value and a convenient table providing cubic foot equivalents for physical items. Anecdotal vignettes such as Alex Haley at the National Archives and Stanford University's purchase of Allen Ginsberg's manuscripts and "old electric bills" make for lively reading, sharpening what Richard Cox once called "the cutting edge of a dull profession." Hunter, an associate professor at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University, was the first president of the Academy of Certified Archivists and is a former chair of the Society of American Archivists' Committee on Education and Professional Development. Highly recommended for those just starting out and as a useful refresher for established archivists as well.