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  • Academic Archives: Managing the Next Generation of College and University Archives, Records, and Special Collections by Aaron D. Purcell
  • Marcus C. Robyns CA
Academic Archives: Managing the Next Generation of College and University Archives, Records, and Special Collections, Aaron D. Purcell. Chicago: Neal-Schuman, 2012. 315 p. $95 (ISBN 978-1-55570-769-9)

After reading Academic Archives, I felt exhausted and needed a nap. Do I really do all of this work? As an academic archivist, Aaron D. Purcell reminds me that I have so much to do and so little time! However, striking fear and anxiety in the hearts of his readers is not Purcell's intent. Academic Archives: Managing the Next Generation of College and University Archives, Records, and Special Collections is a well-written, well-structured, and comprehensive journey through the world of the academic archives and is a worthy successor to Maher (The Management of College and University Archives. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1992). Purcell's primary thesis is that academic archives must become integral parts of the evolving academic library/ information system of twenty-first century higher education. He does not pigeonhole the academic archivist into one category or type of professional. Rather, Purcell recognizes and embraces the contributions of records managers and special collection librarians, acknowledging that academic archivists must work closely with and learn from these colleagues. If academic archives are to survive the challenges of the twenty-first century, Purcell warns, we academic archivists must break out of our comfortable obscurity and join with our library colleagues in collaboration, in support, and in developing new skills.

Purcell is well qualified to make this assertion and to write this book. He is professor and director of special collections at Virginia Tech and earned his PhD in history from the University of Tennessee. Purcell is also an accomplished scholar, having written widely in peer-reviewed journals on the topics of history and archival management.

At first glance, Purcell's work might not appear to hold much value for veteran librarians and archivists. He competently covers the basic fundamentals in chapters on appraisal, arrangement/description, and collection development, information that can be found elsewhere in more detail. But the veteran will find new insights and fresh ideas in the chapters that discuss mission and vision building, public and research services, and digital frontiers. A careful reading of these chapters will leave even the seasoned reference librarian in awe of all of her colleague's wonderful work down in the basement (where it seems most academic archivists tend to live). At the same time, the veteran archivist will learn more about the importance [End Page 113] of information literacy and recent work by librarians in this field.

The notion of visionary leadership is central to Purcell's work and moves like a thread through the book, informing all its chapters. The successful academic archivist, Purcell asserts, should be more than just a passive manager of her program. He quotes Dearstyne (The Archival Enterprise: Modern Archival Principles, Practices, and Management Techniques, Chicago: American Library Association, 1993) in observing the most successful academic archives are "dynamic." By dynamic, Purcell means effectively tying a broad vision for the archives to a track record of success in physical growth, collections development, fundraising, and services. Recent advances in technology, information delivery systems, donor relations, and the processing of collections all require that the academic archivist be a skilled (outward-looking) leader, not a competent (inward-looking) manager.

Purcell's discussion of the challenge of electronic records reinforces his argument for a skilled leader. Indeed, his most important contribution in light of recent scholarship is the chapter on "Digital Frontiers and Electronic Challenges for Academic Archives." Archivists and records managers have made great strides in the last ten years developing methodologies for dealing with digital records and born-digital electronic records appraised as having continuing value. Purcell nicely summarizes the challenges of electronic records and carefully reviews efforts to develop long-term storage and delivery mechanisms. At the center of this work are institutional repositories based on the Open Archives Information Systems (OAIS) model. Purcell gives just treatment to this new methodology that holds the promise of making...

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