The personal papers of former members of Congress, which constitute at least half of the documentation of the legislative branch of government, are held in over 500 different institutions. An American Political Archives Reader performs the vital task of making these collections more accessible by presenting the best and most recent scholarship on congressional collections. The articles contained in this volume guide archivists through the challenges of dealing with these voluminous, complex collections. For institutions developing their political documentary resources and working toward greater accessibility of political archives, this book provides much needed information and is a welcome handbook on the appraisal and preservation of political collections.

Starting an Archives is designed for institutional administrators, archivists, and records managers thinking about beginning a historical records program in their organization. The book covers the decision making process which should precede the establishment of an archival program, outlines the first steps necessary in the beginning of an archival program, and introduces basic archival functions to readers. These functions include: archival administration, collection development, appraisal, records management, arrangement, description, reference, outreach, and preservation and facilities planning. The book provides a theoretical rationale for the establishment of an archival program and discusses the managerial, financial, and administrative implications involved in beginning an archives. At the same time, however, it approaches the subject of starting an archives in a practical manner. There are clear descriptions of archival activities, samples of the important archival policy documents and forms, and a current bibliograohy which points to additional texts for further reference. Information on archival organizations is also included to help beginning archives locate and join local and national professional archival networks.

"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals" is a multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the discussion of all aspects of handling, preserving, researching, and organizing collections. Curators, archivists, collections managers, preparators, registrars, educators, students, and others contribute.

Refiguring the Archive at once expresses cutting-edge debates on `the archive' in South Africa and internationally, and pushes the boundaries of those debates. It brings together prominent thinkers from a range of disciplines, mainly South Africans but a number from other countries. Traditionally archives have been seen as preserving memory and as holding the past. The contributors to this book question this orthodoxy, unfolding the ways in which archives construct, sanctify, and bury pasts. In his contribution, Jacques Derrida (an instantly recognisable name in intellectual discourse worldwide) shows how remembering can never be separated from forgetting, and argues that the archive is about the future rather than the past. Collectively the contributors demonstrate the degree to which thinking about archives is embracing new realities and new possibilities. The book expresses a confidence in claiming for archival discourse previously unentered terrains. It serves as an early manual for a time that has already begun.