Book Reviews 1003 Engaging with Records and Archives: Histories and Theories. Fiorella Foscarini, Heather MacNeil, Bonnie Mak, and Gillian Oliver, eds. London: Facet Publishing, 2016. Paper, $85.00 (ISBN 978-1-78330-158-4). For participants, the ferment and excitement of an intellectual conference can almost seem palpable. The presentation of papers on a field’s varied facets can be stimulating—enough to prompt a professional’s rededi- cation to his or her discipline. For those left back at work, however, there is only the consolation of the conference’s published proceedings. For that to be successful, it takes good papers, insightful editors, and very deft editing. In Records and Archives: Histories and Theories, a selection of papers from the Seventh International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (held in Amster- dam July 29–31, 2015), they all come together almost seamlessly. The contributors span the globe, and the editors, all in the field of information studies, do too. Associ- ate Professor Fiorella Foscarini and Professor Heather MacNeil are at the University of Toronto, Bonnie Mak is associate professor at the University of Illinois, and Gilliam Oliver is an associate professor at Australia’s Monash University. A glance at their biographies (and those of their contributors) shows a mastery of, and interest in, numerous related—and unrelated—fields. No doubt it is this wide perspective and an even wider knowledge base, along with an ability to write clearly and concisely, that makes the collection a success. It is a welcome, and almost necessary, addition to the shelves of academic institutions and to those of practicing archivists, especially those wanting to keep up with the developments and issues of their field. Divided into two parts—“Rethinking Histories” and “Theories and Engaging Records and Archives”—and consisting of five essays in the first part and six in the second, the book has an arc. More general and theoretical essays start the book. It begins with a discussion of the difference between archives and “the archive”—and a call to expand one for the other; then there is a thought-provoking look at the use of specific natural history metaphors in the evolution of archival and other sciences; a comparison of data modeling (complete with flow charts) of archives compared to libraries comes next; an investigation of archival silence that, among other things, casts doubts on the wonders and supposedly democratic practice of digitization follows, and a glance at women’s contributions to the field (specifically in 20th-century England) rounds out the first part. The essays in Part II are more finely focused and range all over the globe and across time—from an examination of the changes over centuries in archival practice in the area near Genoa, Italy, to the community archives movement in present-day Poland. Along the way, there is a look at the lack of transparency, and in fact the secrecy, censorship, and shifting access to records within the 19th-century Dutch East Indies, as well as in colonial and present-day Malawi. While all essays are rooted in time and place and give specific examples of past systems, the analysis and careful reportage of the changes, abuses, excuses, and victories of archives render these very local stories a universal appeal. Such is the case with the essay on the conflict and coexistence of archives documenting the indigenous peoples of western Canada; it not only tackles the issue of archival ethics, but it even questions the central principles that define our discipline. The final chapter, a focus on the role of artists in the archives, leaves readers with a provocative, open-ended, new perspective on archives and their doi:10.5860/crl.78.7.1003 https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.78.7.1003 1004 College & Research Libraries November 2017 promotion, possibly raising archival science to an art, something that, in fact, these essays, taken together, achieve. As a unit, they open up what may seem prosaic views to different perspectives and show how “archival truth,” like beauty, might vary from the eye of the viewer, archivist, historian, or user. While this is certainly not a basic introduction to the field, it elevates it and may excite many a practicing or learning archivist as to the power of archives. And whether it was the intention of the editors or not, power is a theme that seems to run through this collection—specifically revealed in how archives can be, and have been, centers of power and control. There is a lot to learn here, and a lot of learning, too. Translations of foreign phrases are nearly almost always given (a few Latin phrases excepted); there is a refreshing lack of jargon in most essays; the index and bibliographies and notes of each chapter are helpful. It’s not often that such an intellectual book is also eminently approachable. The editors and contributors should be well pleased with their efforts; no doubt readers will be, too.—Harlan Greene, College of Charleston Developing Digital Scholarship: Emerging Practices in Academic Libraries. Alison Mackenzie and Lindsey Martin, eds. Chicago: ALA Neal Schuman, 2016. 184p. Paper, $70.00 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1555-4). LC 2017289052. This work is a welcome addition to published re- search in the area of digital scholarship, boasting an international lens and the helpful integration of the theo- retical with the practical. The editors, Alison Mackenzie and Lindsay Martin, both from Edge Hill University in England, bring to the work their ample leadership expe- rience in the areas of e-learning and learning technology. This book will be of greatest value to those in the academic library community with a focus in the area of digital scholarship. Those charged with leadership in this space will find inspiration from the authors, including strategies for repositioning the library as an expert partner as well as innovative suggestions for strategic expansion in a time of scant resources. All readers will welcome the generous integration of case studies illustrated with helpful visuals. Readers seeking specific counsel in the area of digital humanities will find only thematic parallels. Organized into four parts, the book begins with a review of the landscape and a highly thoughtful and thorough literature review penned by Lindsay Martin. Not shy- ing away from exploring contrasting definitions of scholarship with digital scholarship and examining digital scholarship as an ideology, Martin sets a framework for the chapter and a strong foundation for the book. Martin incorporates Ernest Boyle’s four categories of scholarship into her opening thoughts and cleverly concludes her chapter with a mapping of digital scholarship activity to Boyer’s framework. Offering numerous international examples, including many from the United States, this chapter is required reading for anyone venturing into or currently working in the field, as they will find arguments and precedents that will serve them well as they negotiate the landscape. The following section of the book, The Agile Librarian, is organized into three chapters that explore how libraries and librarians might best position themselves to benefit from the potential inherent in digital scholarship. Howard and Fitzgibbons take an e-learning focus, which illustrates the value of partnerships for extending the role of the library with a case study from the University of Western Australia. Chapter 4 presents the outcomes of a survey administered to members of the Society of College, National, doi:10.5860/crl.78.7.1004 https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.78.7.1004 _GoBack _GoBack _GoBack _GoBack _GoBack _GoBack