MAJOR BOOK LIST
by Richard J. Cox
*Note - click on thumbnails to see larger size of books.
(1990) American Archival Analysis: The Recent Development of the Archival Profession in theUnited States Published by Scarecrow Press |
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During the 1980s the archival profession in the United States engaged in a period of intense self-analysis and planning for the future. This unique collection of essays, some themselves documents in the debates and discussions that characterized these years, reflects on the wide range of issues and concerns that archivists addressed in the 1980s and suggests some future directions for the archival profession as it nears the end of this century. Not since the 1960s and the writings of Ernst Posner on state archives and H.G. Jones on the National Archives has there been such an effort by an individual to assess the nature and condition of the archival profession.
Winner, Society of American Archivists' Waldo Gifford Leland Prize, 1991
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(1992) Managing Institutional Archives: Foundational Principles and Practices Published by Greenwood Press |
“Cox's work is a landmark, long overdue in the archival community. Because of its detailed attention to basic archival functions--processing, appraisal, conservation, security, collection policies--it makes an outstanding text for beginning archivists. Designed for institutional settings and archivists responsible for running them, its focus is thematic but broad enough in scope to address most archival questions regardless of institution. Perhaps the most outstanding feature is Cox's sensitive hand at weaving issues, practices, and the questions surrounding lack of standardization and other concerns into the text at appropriate places. Chapter 10, which addresses the literature, is thorough, touching on classics and current works, and stands as one of the best bibliographies of archival work to date. This book is highly recommended for all practicing archivists, those wanting to enter the field, and employers who need to know what an archivist is.”
- Library Journal
“This textbook provides advice on such basic functions as administration, appraisal, preservation, description, reference, support, and cooperative opportunities. All are presented with specific examples from institutional archives.”
- College & Research Libraries News
“This is a book to help the fledgling archivist identify what is unique about institutional archives. The author's many years of experience in a wide variety of archival settings, his credentials as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists, and his teaching all contribute to the quality of this work.”
- Information Processing & Management
“This is a book to help the fledgling archivist identify what is unique about institutional archives.”
- Information Processing & Management
“Managing Institutional Archives warrants very careful reading by those archives specialists most concerned with the development of their comprehensive knowledge base . . . it does provide the thinking archivist and the needy administrator with the guidance needed to lay the groundwork for a functioning, successful archival program.”
- The Library Quarterly
“A very well-written and well-researched text that rationalizes the need for institutional archives and explains the principles that should shape their development and administration. A very readable text on institutional archives. In a competent and effective manner, Cox weaves together his discussion of the importance of institutional archival programs, current theory and practice, and effective management approaches.”
- American Archivist
“...neither a book on management for archivists nor is it a standard manual for institutional archives. Instead Cox has managed to create a book which combines these two genres into something new and exciting. Provides useful insights for managers of institutional archives, for non-archivists responsible for institutional archives, as well as for archival educators teaching future administrators of institutional archives.”
- Archival Issues
Description:
This volume is intended to aid both those organizations considering the establishment of an institutional archives and those practicing archivists needing materials to assist them in evaluating their programs and planning for their development. The author's theme is that archival programs found in corporate, educational, cultural, and religious institutions are necessary both to the organizations themselves and their efficient functioning and to society's concern for preserving its documentary heritage.
Managing Institutional Archives covers all aspects of managing an archival program. There are chapters on appraisal and acquisition; preservation and security; arrangement, description, and reference; internal and external support, fund-raising and grantsmanship; and cooperation. The impact of new information technology on organizations and the implications for their archives are discussed. A detailed examination of three case studies of archives is provided. The final chapter is a description of sources for additional assistance in managing institutional archives. Managing Institutional Archives will be useful to archival specialists, administrators, educators, and others needing guidance about the elements of managing archives. Its contents is based on a wide-reading of archival theory and practice and nearly two decades of archival experience by the author.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Why Institutional Archives Are Important
The Foundation for Administering Institutional Archives
Identifying and Selecting Records with Continuing Value
Preserving and Protecting Institutional Archival Records
Arranging, Describing, and Providing Reference in Institutional Archives
Building Internal and External Support for Institutional Archives Programs
Cooperation and the Institutional Archives
The Changing Contexts of Institutional Archives: Some Speculations
Three Case Studies in the Formation of Institutional Archives
Sources for Assistance in Managing Institutional Archives
Index
(1994) The First Generation of Electronic Records Archivists in the United States : A Study in Professionalization Published by Haworth Press |
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- Library Journal
Cox, experienced archivist and library science professor, takes his profession to the woodshed for its laggardness in coming to terms with the electronic records explosion in the United States. After considering several indicators on how archivists have adjusted to the electronic revolution?position descriptions at state archives and other repositories, job advertisements, classes at library schools, and archives programs?Cox concludes that, on the whole, U.S. archivists have "failed to develop sufficiently" theories, principles, or practices for preserving and employing electronic records. He chastises the profession, suggests that nonarchivists with greater electronic expertise be consulted, and proposes steps to take toward these ends. These essays (available separately from the Haworth Document Delivery Center ) have something for every archivist and librarian to think about. A valuable purchase for all archival training programs and any repository struggling with electronic records questions.?Terry L. Shoptaugh, Moorhead State Univ. Lib., Minn.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Book News, Inc.
Reviews the first 30 years of keeping records in electronic media, and explores why no effective infrastructure for such archives has been developed. Finds the fault to lie mostly with governments and other employers who design archivist positions with a bias toward paper records, and graduate and continuing education programs that have not incorporated new methods and technologies. Also published as Primary Sources and Original Works v.3, nos. 3/4 (1994). Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland , Or.
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(1996) Documenting Localities Published by Scarecrow Press and the Society of American Archivists |
Documenting Localities is the first effort to summarize the past decade of renewed discussion about archival appraisal theory and methodology and to provide a practical guide for the documentation of localities.
This book discusses the continuing importance of the locality in American historical research and archival practice, traditional methods archivists have used to document localities, and case studies in documenting localities. These chapters draw on a wide range of writings from archivists, historians, material culture specialists, historic preservationists, librarians, and other professionals in considering why we need to continue to stress the systematic documentation of geographic regions. The heart of the book is the presentation of a practical series of steps and tools archivists and manuscript curators can use in documenting localities. The final part of the book considers the need for the better education of archivists and manuscript curators in appraisal theory and methodology, with a description of the primary writings on new macroappraisal approaches forming the crux of how archivists need to consider documenting localities and regions.
Useful to all archivists and manuscript curators grappling with how to contend with the increasing quantity and complexity of local records, recordkeeping systems, and other documentary forms.
| (2000) Closing an Era: Historical Perspectives on Modern Archives and Records Management Published by Greenwood Press |  |
“Cox is known for his outspoken opinions on the need for archival scholarship in history, theory, and practice, his advocacy for strong programs of graduate archival education, and his participation in one of the most influential studies so far on the management and description of digital records. These nine essays bring all these interests together and provide a challenging group of readings for intending and practicing archivists alike.”
- Libraries and Culture
“Closing an Era is important as it presents the views, opinions, and insights of an archival educator on a broad range of topics....Cox's book should be required reading in our academic programmes.”
- Archivaria 51
“...this book is a worthy purchase for individuals and libraries wishing to understand more about the history of records and their management.”
- The Australian Library Journal
“With this book, Cox has made a significant contribution to the body of publications focusing on the records profession; for archivists, librarians, and records managers. Closing an Era is a book worth reading.”
- College & Research Libraries
The importance of records in modern society is explored by re-examining some of the historical antecedents for critical functions in the modern records professions. The motivation for writing this book comes from a conviction of the importance of records and records professionals in organizations and society, as well as the need to possess a stronger sense of the events, trends, people, debates, and controversies producing the modern records professions.
Archivists and records managers have tended to discount the importance of their historical antecedents, ignoring the fact that many of the current debates and issues before the profession are not new but embedded in the historical evolution of the records professions. Re-examining some of the historical origins helps records professionals to re-examine their mission to manage records for the benefit of organizations and of all of society. Such re-evaluation also helps to remind records professionals and others that the concerns generated by new electronic recordkeeping technologies are not new at all but built deep within the fabric of traditional records creation and administration.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Mythic Modern Origins and the History of Records Management
The Birth of Records Management: The Ancients to the Dawn of the Industrial Age
The Birth of the Modern Records Regime and Profession
Building a National System of Records Administration
Shifting Strategies in Appraising, Scheduling, and Maintaining Records
Archives, Records, and Memory
Educating Records Professionals in a Hostile Age
Archives, Documentary Editing, and the Quarrel about Preserving Our Documentary Heritage
History's Future: American Archivists, Cyberculture, and Stasis
Index
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(2001) Managing Records as Evidence and Information Published by Greenwood Press |
Society of American Archivists' 2002 Waldo Gifford Leland Award
“[c]ompulsive and stimulating reading....[A]rchivists need both to utilise the information documenting change to enable the archival management of records and to document records so as to build the contextual information frameworks necessary to provide meaningful access and interpretation of records and related resources....[t]his is a necessary text for all serious students of archives.”
- Archives and Manuscripts
“[D]r. Cox has presented a thorough review of current thought regarding electronic records policy, or the lack therof, and provided a framework for a thought-provoking theoretical discussion of the understanding of records, archives, and information and the technical repercussions brought about by automation.”
- Technical Services Quarterly
Description:
For the past three decades, policies regarding a variety of information issues have emanated from federal agencies, legislative chambers, and corporate boardrooms. Despite the focus on information policy, it is still a relatively new concept and one only now beginning to be studied. The subject area is wider than believed--archives and records policies, information resources management, information technology, telecommunications, international communications, privacy and confidentiality, computer regulation and crime, intellectual property, and information systems and dissemination. This is not a compendium of policies to be used, but rather an exploration in a more detailed fashion of the fundamental principles supporting the setting of records policies.
Records policies are critically important for records professionals to develop and use as a means of strategically managing the information and evidence found in the millions of records created daily, provided that the policies are based on comprehensible principles. This is a series of discourses on the fundamentals of archives and records management needing to be understood before any organization attempts to define and set any policy affecting records and information. The chapters concern defining records, how information technology plays into policy compiling, the fundamental tasks of identifying and maintaining records as critical to records and information policy, public outreach and advocacy as a key objective for such policy, and the role of educating records professionals in supporting sensible records policies.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Starting Policy: Defining Records
Driving Policy: Focusing on Records, Not Technology
The Policy's Spine: Appraising and Maintaining Records
The Policy's Aim: Reaching the Public
Supporting Policy: Educating Records Professionals
(2002) (with David A. Wallace) Archives and the Public Good: Accountability and Records in Modern Society Published by Quorum Books |
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Reviews:
“The editors have archived their aim of creating a valuable tool to support the teaching of accountability issues to archival students and, in so doing, they have assembled a collection of fascinating stories which can be read for general interest, especially by those who wish to understand what records and archives mean and how they support the attainment of organisational and societal goals....[p]rovides ammunition for records managers and archivists to use in their dealings with those politicians, bureaucrats and managers who have little time for record-keeping function, who regard records management as relatively unimportant in the face of other pressing operational priorities, as something which can be left to lower-level, untrained staff. It shows that they neglect at their peril the proper organisation and management of the records for which they are ultimately accountable.”
- Journal of Documentation
“[C]ox and Wallace have produced a book that will surely become a standard text for archive and records management students around the English-speaking world.”
- Journal of the Society of Archivists
“The introductory essay is an excellent overview of the subject, giving context to the overlapping themes developed in the case studies. The book has a very detailed index, and the copious set of citations will lead readers to sources used, but also to other areas of study for students preparing for careers in archives and records management. The wider audience includes all of us who are dependent upon records and, to a very substantial degree, that includes all of us in modern society, wherever we may find ourselves.”
- College and Research Libraries
“[a]n excellent overview of the subject....[f]or students preparing for careers in archives and records management. The wider audience includes all of us who are dependent upon records and, to a very substantial degree, that includes all of us in modern society, wherever we may find ourselves.”
- College & Research Libraries
“[T]his volume would compliment any classroom discussion of archival accountability and ethics. It is certainly a must-read for achivists and other records professionals because of the immediacy of its content....Historians, librarians, educators, lawyers, and political scientists would find points of interesection with the variety of cases explored within this volume....[T]his volume is worthy of attention for its wealth of examples illustrating the value of records in our global society and it is highly recommended.”
- Technicalities March/April 2003
Description:
This volume widens the perspective of the roles that records play in society. As opposed to most writings in the discipline of archives and records management which view records from cultural, historical, and economical efficiency dimensions, this volume highlights that one of the most salient features of records is the role they play as sources of accountability--a component that often brings them into daily headlines and into courtrooms. Struggles over control, access, preservation, destruction, authenticity, accuracy, and other issues demonstrate time and again that records are not mute observers and recordings of activity. Rather, they are frequently struggled over as objects of memory formation and erasure.The 14 powerful case studies focus around four closely related themes--explanation, secrecy, memory, and trust. They demonstrate how records compel, shape, distort, and recover social interactions across space and time. The diverse range of case studies includes the ownership of the Martin Luther King, Jr. papers, the destruction of records on Nazi war criminals in Canada, the politics of documents in the Iran-Contra affair, the failure of records management in the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the publication of tobacco company documents on the World Wide Web, access to records associated with the U.S. government's infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, the role of the U.S. National Archives in identifying assets looted by the Nazis in the wake of the Holocaust, the destruction of public records by the South African government during apartheid's final years, the construction of foreign relations of the U.S. documentary histories, the forgery corrupting recordkeeping systems, and the collapse of foreign indigenous commercial banks.
Table of Contents:
Introduction by Richard J. Cox and David A. Wallace
Explanation
Archives on Trial: The Strange Case of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers by James M. O'Toole
"A Monumental Blunder": The Destruction of Records on Nazi War Criminals in Canada by Terry Cook
Information for Accountability Workshops: Their Role in Promoting Access to Information by Kimberly Barata, et al.
Secrecy
Implausible Deniability: The Politics of Documents in the Iran-Contra Affair and Its Investigations by David A. Wallace
The Failure of Federal Records Management: The IRS Versus a Democratic Society by Shelley DavisLighting Up the Internet: The Brown and Williamson Collection by Robin L. Chandler and Susan Storch
Memory
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Politics of Memory by Tywanna Whorley
Turning History into Justice: The National Archives and Records Administration and Holocaust-Era Assets, 1996-2001: An Archivist's Memoir by Greg Bradsher
"They Should Have Destroyed More": The Destruction of Public Records by the South African State in the Final Years of Apartheid, 1990-1994 by Verne Harris
Trying to Write "Comprehensive and Accurate" History of the Foreign Relations of the United States : An Archival Perspective by Anne Van Camp
Trust
What You Get Is Not What You See: Forgery and the Corruption of Recordkeeping Systems by David B. Gracy II
The Jamaican Financial Crisis: Accounting for the Collapse of Jamaica 's Indigenous Commercial Banks by Victoria L. Lemieux
The Anchors of Community Trust and Academic Liberty : Our Documents Are Ourselves: A Lesson Renewed from the Fabrikant Affair by Barbara L. Craig
Records and the Public Interest: The "Heiner Affair" in Queensland , Australia , by Chris Hurley
Index
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(2002) Vandals in the Stacks? A Response to Nicholson Baker's Assault on Libraries Published by Greenwood Press |
Reviews:
“[o]ffers the reader a reasoned and balanced account of the issues raised by Baker. Assuming the general public is interested in a reasoned account, Cox will be successful in his objective of bringing to the wider public audience his concerns about the future of the archival record. Regardless of the public interest, however, he has given professionals concerned with the issues of the preservation of society's record a solid base from which to continue the discussions.”
- portal:Libraries and the Academy
“Reading "Vandals" will help you to decide where you stand on a range of preservations issues, and help you determine whether or not to jetisson that bulky card catalog. Very Good.”
- The Shy Librarian
“The Society of American Archivists requested an answer to Baker's book, and that grew into this book. Unlike Baker's work, which was aimed at the general public, Cox's response is aimed at professional librarians and archivists. This is a valuable book for anyone who is queried about Baker's attacks. Baker has sounded an alarm, inspiring significant concern. Here are the foundations for a calm, reasoned, professional response.”
- Booklist/Professional Reading
“...a must-read for all librarians.”
- American Libraries
Description:
Libraries and archives have violated their public trust, argues Nicholson Baker in his controversial book Double Fold , by destroying traditional books, newspapers, and other paper-based collections. Baker's powerful and persuasive book is wrong and misleading, and Cox critiques it point by point, questioning his research, his assumptions, and his arguments about why and how newspapers, books, and other collections are selected and maintained.Double Fold , which reads like a history of libraries and archives, is not a history at all, but a journalistic account that is often based on fanciful and far-flung assertions and weak data. The present book provides an opportunity to understand how libraries and archives view their societal mandate, the nature of their preservation and documentary functions, and the complex choices and decisions that librarians and archivists face. Libraries and archives are not simple warehouses for the storage of objects to be occasionally called upon by a scholar, but they play vital roles in determining and shaping a society's knowledge and documentation.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Life Imitates Art?
The Big Picture and Baker's World
Why Can't the Paper Keepers Keep All the Paper?
Newspaper Warehouses
Wrong Priorities
The Real Thing
Burning Libraries, Discards, Card Catalogs, Nicholson Baker, and Library History
Persistent Images
Mundane Matters
Mom, I Harass Monks (Too)
Index
(2003) Flowers After the Funeral: Reflections on the Post 9/11 Digital Age Published by Scarecrow Press |
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"This is not a book I ever intended to write. It emerged as I worked to understand the events of September 11, 2001. It is my effort to make sense of my life and my profession during a difficult time. My aim is to suggest that understanding information technology requires an understanding of society and its people and organizations, especially as we look out over the wreckage of the high-tech industry and the contradictory aims of government to protect and control us." -Richard Cox
In this series of four essays, Richard J. Cox explores the social and professional ramifications of 9/11 on our information landscape. "Musing," written on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks, looks back at a year of change and commemoration. "Reacting" examines the impact of 9/11 on a department of information sciences. "Preparing" is a cogent argument for the need to rethink current disaster and contingency planning practices. "Teaching" focuses on the author's experiences developing and teaching a doctoral seminar on the role of the information professional in a post 9/11 world.
Miss Manners assures us that a floral arrangement is always appropriate, no matter how much time has passed since the event. Neither a cautionary tale nor practical advice, Flowers After the Funeral is one such bouquet, its simplicity and thoughtfulness are certain to provide both comfort and inspiration to its recipients.
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(2004) No Innocent Deposits: Forming Archives by Rethinking Appraisal Published by Scarecrow Press |
The public increase of interest in the past has not necessarily brought with it a greater understanding, by the public or scholars, about how archives are formed. To this end, Richard Cox takes a serious look at archival repositories and collections come to be.
No Innocent Deposits , which borrows its title from a description of archives by an oral historian, suggests that archives do not just happen, but are consciously shaped (and sometimes distorted) by archivists, the creators of records, and other individuals and institutions. In this series of essays, Cox offers archivists rare insight into the fundamentals of appraisal, and historians and other users of archives the opportunity to appreciate the collections they all too often take for granted.
| (2004) Lester J. Cappon and the Relationship of History, Archives, and Scholarship in the Golden Age of Archival Theory Published by the Society of American Archivists |  |
The relationship of history, archival studies, and the emergent information disciplines continues to be a topic of debate in the modern archival profession. Lester J. Cappon (1900–1981) is the quintessential proponent of archival knowledge based on historical scholarship, and his writings remain prescient more than two decades after his death, writes Richard J. Cox in his excellent introduction. The 12 essays collected for the first time in a single volume cover the range of Cappon's primary interests—archival theory, archival collecting and appraisal, the relationship between archivists and historians or archives and history, and documentary editing. These essays, which reflect Cappon's considerable soul searching about the knowledge and identity of the archivist, and his own strong sense of history and archives, continue to be relevant today and make an important contribution to the professional discourse.
(2005) Archives and Archivists in the Information Age Published by Neal-Schuman
In today's information world, the importance and need for archival collections and professionals to care for them cannot be understated. Noted professor and author Richard J. Cox provides an insightful guide to the new roles, responsibilities, and considerations for archival management. Cox examines the role of archival collections in public scholarship, distance learning, and the digital era. He explores the need for modern organizations that collect historical materials. Chapters guide readers through the creation of job descriptions and the hiring an archivists and consultants. Cox delineates the role of the archivist in the knowledge age; the profession's changing credentials and specialties; and the growing base of knowledge found in the field's scholarly works. Informative and timely, this guide contains vital new information for archivists, records managers, students, and all information workers who are interested in understanding the important roles archivists play in modern institutions and the information profession.
