Archives in the information age: a new beginning or demise?

• Author: Tetuyrenko, Ganna
• Position: The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping - Book review

The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping

Edited By: Jennie Hill

Publisher: Neal-Schuman

Publishers Inc.

Publication Date: 2010

Length: 256 pages

Price: $115.00

ISBN-13: 978-1856046664

Source: www.neal-schuman.com

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Is there any future for archives, archivists, and the discipline itself in the era of racing information technologies? Is there a way for the latter to remain a distinctive species from other professions? Is there a need to change to survive and be competitive? Asked so many times, these rarely answered questions are more important than ever.

In The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping, answers are sought through the prism of past and present. mass and individual, philosophy and technology. It guides readers to answers, although not definite ones, allowing them to explore the subject further.

Offering Unique Composition and Resources

The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping has a unique composition that is likely to be appreciated by many readers. It comprises four parts that represent four core themes:

* Defining archives

* Shaping the discipline

* The role of archives in society

* The role of archivists in the information age

Each part contains two to three chapters, each written by a different author who is a leader in that theme area.

In a concise and structured manner, each author adds something new to the book in a chapter that can be read independently from the rest. This composition allows readers great freedom to move among chapters in any order. An extensive list of references follows each chapter to point readers to other sources that can help them gain a deeper understanding or confirm their interpretation of a particular matter.

Capturing Past, Present, and Future

This book could benefit any professional in records and information management, knowledge or library management, history, or research. It provides an intense and thought-provoking mix of theory, practice, and philosophy. It revisits the past and considers the present and future of archives and its connections with sister disciplines by highlighting matters that impact archival science and its evolution, including its ability to maintain distinctiveness from those sister disciplines.

Consider, for example, the rise of technology and increased interest in archives outside of the profession. In the chapter "Information Management, Records Management, Knowledge Management: The Place of Archives in a Digital Age," Nicole Convery, records...