New in paperback! Maher introduces the basic elements required for an archival program to meet the documentary needs of a college or university. Both archivists and their administrative superiors can obtain a thorough understanding of archival work and its importance to their institution. Beginning archivists, experienced academic archivists, archivists outside academe, and related professionals will all benefit from this book, which assesses the current status and conditions of academic archives, articulates the basic principles that should determine the operating goals for academic archives, and synthesizes external professional standards and techniques with a systematic overview of what is practical for academic archivists. Cloth version previously published in 1992.

This new definition of academic archives programs has redefined the role, and training, of academic archivists. This book gives you the tools to fill that role, including collection strategies, a management plan for electronic records, and development strategies for starting a campus records management program.

The 13 essays in this volume offer provocative commentary and analysis in the ways archivists might better document college and university campuses and serve users. Three intertwined themes run throughout the reader: the opportunities and challenges posed by ever-changing technology, the importance of cooperation and collaboration beyond the walls of the archives, and the necessity of a proactive approach in undertaking the academic archival enterprise. As the essays gathered here demonstrate, archivists can and must play an active role in documenting the character and history of their institutions by applying their talents to the challenges in this new century. -- Provided by publisher.

Maher introduces the basic elements required for an archival program to meet the documentary needs of a college or university.

Management: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections explores the kinds of challenges that managers of archival programs face today and how those challenges can be met to achieve optimal results while working within existing resources. The book features thirteen case studies that demonstrate solutions to both traditional management concerns as well as new issues and opportunities presented by changes in technology and organizational environments. The featured case studies are: 1) “We’ll Never Let You Retire!”: Creating a Culture of Knowledge Transfer 2) Raising Cash and Building Connections: Using Kickstarter to Fund and Promote a Cultural Heritage Project 3) A Winning Combination: Internships and High-Impact Learning in Archives 4) A Thief in Our Midst: Special Collections, Archives and Insider Theft 5) Tackling the Backlog: Conducting a Collections Assessment on a Shoestring 6) A Platform for Innovation: Creating the Labs Environment at the National Archives of Australia 7) Setting Our Own Agenda: Managing the Merger of Archives and Special Collections 8) Taking Control: Managing Organizational Change in Archives 9) Implementing Pre-Custodial Processing: Engaging Organizations to Invest Resources in their Records 10) Building Effective Leaders: Redesigning the Archives Leadership Institute 11) From Evaluation to Implementation: Selecting Archival Management Software 12) More Bang for the Buck: Sharing Personnel and Resources Across Institutions 13) “Make a New Plan, Stan”: Useful and Painless Strategic Planning The collected case studies present pragmatic approaches to challenges and opportunities that are common to organizations of all sizes and types. Their common focus is on building stronger archival programs by making effective use of people, technology, and resources while working within organizational requirements and constraints. The volume will be useful to those working in archives and special collections as well as other cultural heritage organizations, and provides ideas ranging from the aspirational to the immediately implementable. It also provides students and educators in archives, library, and public history graduate programs a resource for understanding the issues facing managers in the field today and the kinds of strategies archivists are using to meet these new challenges.