Sample Forms for Archival and Records Management Programs
edited by Mary Lou Oliva
A Review
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
Last updated: April 8, 2003
http://www.olacinc.org/reviews/oliva.html
neumeist@buffalo.edu