College and Research Libraries


them will make filing easier, a minor point, 
and make the cards, and consequently library 
materials, easier to locate. And that is the 
major point to both of these new codes of 
filing rules.-Neal L. Edgar, Kent State Uni-
versity, Kent, ,Ohio. 

Archivists and Machine-Readable Records. 
Proceedings of the Conference on Archival 
Management of Machine-Readable Rec-
ords, February 7-10, 1979, Ann Arbor, 
Michigan. Ed. by Carolyn L. Geda; Erik 
W. Austin; and Francis X. Blouin. Chicago: 
Society of American Archivists,-)..980. 248p. 
ISBN 0-931828-19-8. 
Somewhat belatedly, the archival profes-

sion has come to accept the fact that 
machine-readable records represent unparal-
leled opportunities, both in practical terms 
related to the control of archival records and 
as data for scholarly research. Trained in con-
ventional disciplines employing traditional 
research methodology, archivists often have 
been unable to exploit the advantages of au-
tomated records or to mitigate effectively the 
problems they present. Professional aware-
ness and comprehension of the subject have 
been so slight that a recent issue of the 
American Archivist was devoted in its en-
tirety to "Archivists, Archives, and Com-
puters: A Starting Point." In an effort to pro-
vide clear definition of the issues and direc-
tion for the future, the Conference on Archi-
val Management of Machine-Readable Rec-
ords was held in early 1979, under the aus-
pices of the University of Michigan. The 
present volume, published by the Society of 
American Archivists, is composed primarily 
of papers read at that conference. 

Divided into thematic chapters, Archivists 

Recent Publications I 391 

and Machine-Readable Records contain pa-
pers concerned with research opportunities of 
and archival programs for automated records, 
management and dissemination of machine-
readable data for social research, recent de-
velopments in computer tecpnology, and the 
ramifications of automated records upon the 
rights of confidentiality and privacy. Sum-
mary papers also are included, one dealing 
with implications of automated records for 
conventional archival procedures and the 
other with the needs and opportunities for 
training archivists to be conversant with 
machine-readable records. Although some of 
the papers apply to archives in general, for 
example, those treating privacy legislation, 
software prospects, and computer-based stor-
age technology, the majority concentrate 
upon social-science data or various aspects of 
machine-readable records at the state and na-
tional levels. Even so, most of the papers are 
based on principles sufficiently broad to jus-
tify a careful reading by the profession at 
large. 

As with any endeavor of this sort, the qual-
ity of the papers varies, but in the main they 
are well thought out, intelligible to those 
without expertise in the field of automated 
records, and mercifully free of computer jar-
gon. In addition, each chapter is prefaced by 
a useful introduction that serves as a summary 
of the relevant papers. While Archivists and 
Machine-Readable Records does not answer 
all the questions it raises and leaves others 
largely unexplored, for example, the physical 
preservation of automated records, this is 
a good primer and deserves a wide 
audience.-Sam Streit, Brown University, 
Providence, Rhode Island. 



YOU CAN SAVE $6,000 
THIS YEAR 

By converting your subscription to the British House of Com-
mons Parliamentary Papers for 1980/81 from the full size edition 
(which is costing you over $7 ,000) to our microfiche edition 
which costs $1,175. 

Save time. The microfiche edition is sent monthly by airmail 
direct from the UK and arrives earlier than the printed edition. 

Save space. The microfiche edition saves expensive shelf space. 

Many large libraries have released substantial funds for other 
purchases by converting to the microfiche edition. So can you-
to make the maximum saving this year please send us your order 
or request for more information as soon as possible. 

CATALOGUE OF BRITISH 
OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS 

NOT PUBLISHED BY HMSO 
NOW AVAILABLE 

1980 ANNUAL VOLUME 
1981 FIRST BI-MONTHLY ISSUE 

1980: $190 1981: 6 issues and annual cumulation $260 

This important new reference book catalogs and indexes for the 
first time the thousands of official publications published by over 
280 Government departments, nationalised industries, research 
institutes and 'quangos' that are not published by HMSO, and 
are not listed in the British National Bibliography or any other 
bibliography. 

You will now have access to publications of institutions such as 
the Foreign Office, the Home Office, and the Bank of England, 
of which at present you are not even aware. 

The publications themselves are available from us on inexpensive 
diazo or silver microfiche; individually, by publishing body, or 
in subject sets. 

Send orders and requests for information to: 
Somerset House, 417 Maitland Avenue, Teaneck, Nj 07666 

Telephone: 201 833-1795