 SIS
faculty member Richard Cox, who also serves as Chair
of the Library and Information Science Program, has
co-authored an updated edition of Understanding Archives
and Manuscripts with Boston College’s James O’Toole.
This volume is an expansion upon the original 1990
edition and is the capstone volume in the Society of
American Archivists’ (SAA) Archival Fundamental
Series II.
Cox and O’Toole provide an historic background
on archival construction through the initial development
of the oral tradition, and the rise and spread of literacy
which fostered the infancy of archival methodology.
The authors discuss this development and address such
pertinent issues as: the history of the archive profession;
professional ethics and values; archival organization
methods; and the challenges that modern archivists
face in the digital era.
Understanding Archives and Manuscripts is a book that
will prove useful to both seasoned scholars and those
new to the archive profession. Tom Nesmith, Associate
Professor at the University of Manitoba, Canada writes: “This
thoroughly updated version of the 1990 edition is not
only the best short introduction for students, new
archivists, and anyone interested in archiving, but
also provides the experienced archivist an invaluable
summary analysis of the field’s burgeoning literature
and increasingly complex issues.”
Dr. Cox joined the LIS program at the School of Information
Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh in 1988 and
has authored twelve other publications. He has served
the SAA in a variety of leadership positions, including
on the Governing Council, as editor of the American
Archivist, and as Publications Editor. Among his numerous
awards is the SAA’s Waldo Gifford Leland Award
for superior writing in 1991, 2002, and 2005.
James O’Toole is Professor of History at Boston
College. Dr. O’Toole is a three-time recipient
of the SSA Fellows’ Ernst Posner Award for an
outstanding essay in the American Archivist (1991,
1995, and 2004). He has served as president of both
New England Archivists and the New England Historical
Association. |
