New in paperback! Maher introduces the basic elements required for an archival program to meet the documentary needs of a college or university. Both archivists and their administrative superiors can obtain a thorough understanding of archival work and its importance to their institution. Beginning archivists, experienced academic archivists, archivists outside academe, and related professionals will all benefit from this book, which assesses the current status and conditions of academic archives, articulates the basic principles that should determine the operating goals for academic archives, and synthesizes external professional standards and techniques with a systematic overview of what is practical for academic archivists. Cloth version previously published in 1992.

William Maher is Assistant University Archivist and Humanities Preservation Project Director, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has written over a dozen articles for professional journals, including seminal works on processing costs and financial administration and on the nature of college and university archives.