Scarecrow Press Archival Theory, Records, and the Public

Now in paperback! Livelton considers the nature of public records from an archival perspective, analyzing concepts rather than the daily realities with which public records archivists deal. However, his carefully reasoned conclusions provide a strong foundation on which principled rather than ad hoc decisions can be made, and so will be of interest to teachers, students and practitioners of archival science.The author presents a general or theoretical view of public records as documents made or received and preserved by the sovereign or its agents in the conduct of governance. This analysis is illustrated by a variety of examples, including a discussion of freedom of information. Review A cogent treatise...informed by an impressive range of disciplinary perspectives...the thoroughness of the work is testimony to...the insight of the author...work by master's and doctoral students in North American archival education programs represents a major under-tapped resource of potential contributions to the archival literature, and it is commendable to see the Society of American Archivists and Scarecrow Press publishing it in the United States...the entire volume would be appropriate for use in archival education...highly intelligent...-- "The American Archivist" A meticulous analysis of an important question in archival theory...professionals interested in the nature of records will enjoy his reasoned arguments...the selected bibliography is useful...-- "Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship" Livelton gives us much to think about.-- "Archivaria" Thoughtful contribution to archival theory. The most useful analysis is in drawing a sharp distinction between public and private records.-- "Lisca" About the Author Trevor Livelton has worked with public and private records in a variety of settings. He is an Archivist with the City of Victoria, British Columbia.