BOOK REVIEWS
Vicki Toy-Smith, Column Editor
Sample Forms for Archival and Records Management Programs
Edited by Mary Lou Oliva
We have all experienced the difficulties of filling out badly designed forms—grinding our teeth upon trying to squeeze in all the requested information in blanks too small for one’s first name, or repeating information that we have already given in three previous places. On the other hand, for those of us who have tried to put a new departmental form together, it can be a blood pressure raising task trying to get all the content we need into a good design that will not go over the page limitation. At last, help is available.
The Society of American Archivists <http://www.archivists.org/> and ARMA International <http://www.arma.org/> have collaborated to compile Sample Forms for Archival and Records Management Programs. The book offers more than 200 useful sample forms and policies most commonly used in both endeavors. Forms were submitted from a wide range of both public and private organizations and businesses and selected for inclusion by twenty-three individuals working in their respective fields. All names for the organizations or repositories were deleted from each form selected for inclusion.
The volume is good sized, about one-inch thick, and has a table of contents; however, it would have been useful if the authors had included pagination. To find the type of form needed, the user must decide whether the form is used for records management or archival needs, and then find the appropriate tab for that section of forms. Fortunately, the compilers have color-coded the tabs which somewhat simplifies the task. The records management section comes first with seven yellow tabs followed by the six archival management green tabs.
For records management work, the functions cover: 1) General Needs; 2) Records Inventorying and Scheduling; 3) Records Center/Records Control; 4) Records Destruction/Disposition; 5) Micrographics/Quality Control; 6) Vital Records; and 7) Miscellaneous. This last section covers forms for program audits, litigation, software evaluation, and training.
For archival management, the functions include: 1) Survey and Appraisal; 2) Disposition and Accessioning; 3) Arrangement and Description; 4) Use and Reference; 5) Preservation; and 6) Management and Miscellaneous. Section 6 is lengthy and includes policies and agreements for loans and loans for duplication, photographic policies, an application to photocopy manuscripts, a permission to publish, a use fee schedule, a license for use of reproductions, a report of missing document/manuscript, four oral history forms: release, interview agreement, task list, and biographical sketch--as well as policies for accepted use of e-mail and the Internet. Section 5 on Preservation, a welcome addition, is also extensive and includes many types of statistical and worksheet forms which can help in reporting on the state of your collections.
The compilers have tried to be helpful to both the novice and the professional in each field. Each section has a cover page that defines the terms used, and in most sections, gives a descriptive outline of steps or options used for a given procedure. For example, the "Records Center/Records Control" section discusses how to use an OUT card and what to include on various options of that form. This is handy practical advice to anyone working out of their usual professional environment and a necessity in making sense of the purpose of the blank form that follows.
Even handier is the binding format of the volume. All of the pages are perforated, so the pages needed can easily be taken out without ruining the binding.
For those wishing to use the forms digitally, the authors have included a CD-ROM compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000 as well as NT and Macintosh operating systems. The arrangement of the electronic forms follows the same order as in the book and has the advantage of user modification. The forms are presented in rich text format (RTF), a portable document format (PDF), and in Microsoft Word 97. Despite the fact that most forms need to be reviewed and most likely modified for each institutional practice (the CD offers a real advantage here), this volume will save many of us a lot of time and effort the next time we consider we need to design another form.
The compilers have cautioned that their "committees did not work to create ‘ideal’ forms but to provide the best forms from the available samples." In this they have succeeded. The compilers have made careful and useful selections from the two fields of work. There do not appear to be any glaring or mind-numbing redundancies.
This volume should help give both records managers and archivists a better understanding of each other’s efforts as well as providing ways in which to complement these related tasks. By combining our mutual interests, this excellent book provides a means to achieving better archival and records management. Moreover, the really useful models spare those of us who labor among the documents the dubious task of reinventing the wheel, so that we may return to the ever-present backlog of work. Highly recommended.
Published in 2002 by: ARMA International, Lenexa, KS and Society of American Archivists, Chicago, IL. (Unpaged, includes CD-ROM). ISBN: 1-931786-00-3. $40.00 ($28.00 to ARMA or SAA members).
Reviewed by: Jacquelyn K. Sundstrand
Manuscript and Archives Librarian
Library Special Collections Department
University of Nevada, Reno
Genealogical Research on the Web
By Diane K. Kovacs
Genealogical research has been one of the many areas revolutionized by the Internet. Imagine turning pages in endless dusty ledgers and perusing voluminous public records--if you could even travel to their locations--before remote computer access made instant lookups possible.
Diane Kovacs, founder of Kovacs Consulting - Internet and Web Training <http://www.kovacs.com/>, is a former reference librarian whose considerable experience researching genealogy, both with library patrons as well as professional clients, makes her well qualified to assemble a detailed guide on this popular activity. The book is organized into four sections: the basics of how to get started, how to use the major genealogical tools on the Web, how to network with family members as well as fellow genealogical researchers, and how to locate societies, including those relating to heraldry, African Americans and Native Americans. The specific Websites featured are analyzed in detail, and for some, such as that of the American Family Immigration History Center at Ellis Island, there is an illustration of their Website.
Besides the virtuosity with which the author presents helpful tips, insider know-how, and valuable insights into negotiating the Websites and research process, there is a genuinely friendly, personal touch which is quite disarming, and should serve both to encourage novices to persevere and to delight veteran genealogists. Ms. Kovacs not only provides her e-mail address and encourages readers to contact her with questions, she has structured the book to encourage this interaction. She accomplishes this by providing step-by-step Web-based tutorial activities, with Web forms for each activity with which the reader is encouraged to report to her on progress made, and receive helpful advice by return e-mail.
Brimming with anecdotes from personal experience, the text is a pleasure to read. Describing how to communicate with non-Internet connected family members, the author describes the varying levels of connectivity within her own family and how she deals with them. Overall, the text is conversational in tone and much like talking to a friend.
Highly recommended for genealogical researchers across the full spectrum of ability and experience.
Published in 2002 by: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., New York. (194 p.) ISBN: 1-55570-430-1. $55.00.
Reviewed by: Richard W. Grefrath
Reference Librarian
University of Nevada, Reno
The Audiovisual Cataloging Current
Edited by Sandra K. Roe
Olson, Weitz, Sandberg-Fox, Weihs, Yee, Intner. Do these names sound familiar? What do they have in common? In addition to being teachers and mentors of audiovisual catalogers, they, along with other OLAC experts, have contributed to Sandy Roe's book The Audiovisual Cataloging Current, which addresses the current theory and practice of cataloging audiovisual formats in various library settings.
Divided into four main sections, the first section "Cataloging Audiovisual Formats" provides up-to-date information on seven individual formats: popular music and non-music sound recordings, videorecordings (including off-air, locally made, and DVDs), local and remote electronic resources, three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and kits. Each chapter provides either an overview of the cataloging process, from the initial description of the item to the final assignment of subject headings and name and/or title access points or concentrates on areas that have proven problematic for catalogers. The types of materials that are excluded in this section are maps, graphic materials, printed music, and microforms. Roe, however, does provide a reference where you can find descriptive cataloging information for maps and the Subject Access Issues section includes an article for a discussion on subject indexing of graphic materials.
Jean Weihs' "A Somewhat Personal History of Nonbook Cataloging" is the single essay in the book's second section. In this chapter, she provides a thorough history of the development of nonbook cataloging practices and codes.
In the third section, still images, audiovisual training materials, and moving images are addressed in the three articles focusing on subject access issues. Tracing the history, development and current use of the Library of Congress' Thesaurus for Graphic Materials, at the Library's Prints and Photographs Division is the focus of the first article. The second discusses the creation of FireTalk, a new thesaurus with a mix of LCSH, MeSH terms, plus more specific fire science terms developed at the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library which supports the training and teaching of the Institute's major programs. The Moving Image Genre-Form Guide and Library of Congress Subject Headings are compared as sources of genre or form terms for moving image and broadcast materials in the last article in this section.
The final section, "AV and AV User Groups by Library Type," contains four articles that discuss what users of academic, public (Westchester County Public Library System), school, and special libraries (National Library of Medicine) need from their audiovisual material collections and catalogers, although most of the material is applicable in a variety of library settings.
The Audiovisual Cataloging Current is a unique and impressive work--a necessary purchase for new and experienced AV catalogers.
Published in 2001 by: Haworth Information Press, Binghamton, NY. ISBN: 0-7890-1403-3 ($79.95) and 0-7890-1404-1 (pbk.) ($49.95). xvii, 370 p. Co-published simultaneously as Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, Vol. 31, No.2 and 3/4, 2001.
Reviewed by: Sue Neumeister
Head, Bibliographic Control/Receipts
Central Technical Services
University at Buffalo
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Last updated: January 14, 2003
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