reviews


Book Reviews  331

331

Book Reviews

Archives and the Public Good: Account-
ability and Records in Modern Soci-
ety. Ed. Richard J. Cox and David A.
Wallace. Westport, Conn.: Quorum,
2002. 340p. alk. paper, $68.95 (ISBN
1567204694). LC 2001-57863.

The earliest years of the twenty-first cen-
tury are interesting times for archivists
and records managers. The transition in
recent decades from traditional methods
and media to electronic records is one
source of challenge and opportunity. The
increasing democratization of countries
around the world brings us closer to the
three goals of transparency, accountabil-
ity, and citizen participation in govern-
ment, exerting new pressures on exist-
ing structures often unaccustomed to
openness. In the wake of the terrorist at-
tacks in late 2001, we also are negotiat-
ing the difficult path between Scylla and
Charybdis as we seek to balance freedom
and security—two goals that sometimes
lead to awkward and tenuous compro-
mises. Add to this mix the recent disclo-
sures of corporate corruption, such as
those revealed in investigations of the
Enron collapse and the shredding of
documents by employees of Arthur
Andersen, and we can begin to compre-
hend the complicated environment in
which archivists work today.

 Even so, the social role of record
keepers is replete with problems and
never simple. Cox and Wallace (Univer-
sities of Pittsburgh and Michigan) have
brought together fourteen original case
studies that examine the ethical conflicts
and practical problems that occur in the
varied environments in which we work.
The invited papers, well researched and
written, are by archivists from North
America, Australia, Africa, Europe, and
the Caribbean. A listing of the subjects
covered gives an overview of the wide
variety of areas dealt with: the Iran-Con-
tra affair, “Big Tobacco,” stolen Holo-

c a u s t - e r a  a s s e t s ,  N a z i  w a r
criminal immigrants, commer-
cial bank failures in Jamaica,
allegations of child abuse in
state-operated institutions, Of-
ficial Secrets Acts and Execu-
t i ve  O r d e r s ,  t h e  Tu s k e g e e
Syphilis Study, Apartheid, the papers of
M a r t i n  L u t h e r  K i n g  J r. ,  p e r s o n n e l
records in academic institutions, and the
forgery of Mormon “historical” docu-
ments. In aggregate, they present a mo-
saic of conflict for record keepers, often
as engagingly told as Altick’s classic, The
Scholar Adventurers, is for the literary
historian.

 These original papers are presented
in four sections. The first deals with the
problems of explanation (how archivists
explain to others, often in the courtroom,
the nature and value of the historical
record). The second section illustrates the
problems of secrecy and the inevitable
result of government and corporate
cover-ups as they seek protection from
responsibility for their misdeeds.
Memory treats the preservation and thus
the possibility of interpretation of the
historical record. The final section deals
with trust and violations of honesty and
the occasional, or pervasive, bungling of
basic record-keeping protocols.

 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 de-
tailed index, and the copious set of cita-
tions will lead readers to sources used,
but also to other areas of study for stu-
dents preparing for careers in archives
and records management. The wider
audience includes all of us who are de-
pendent upon records and, to a very sub-
stantial degree, that includes all of us in
modern society, wherever we may find
ourselves.—Charles Wm. Conaway, Florida
State University.

















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