- Email: [email protected]
Preservation Management of Digital Materials: A Handbook
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Book Reviews / Libr. Coll. Acq. & Tech. Serv. 27 (2003) 269 –274
written with Margaret F. Maxwell, Maxwell’s Handbook for AACR2R: Explaining and Illustrating the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules and the 1993 Amendments (1997), the author describes Maxwell’s Guide to Authority Work “as a manual for authority work.” (p. 85) This goal is successfully met in this volume, which contains 12 chapters. Ten of these chapters (Chapters 2-11) form the core of the volume, each discussing in detail the main aspects of authority control. Chapter 2, on the governing rules and standards of authority work, including AACR2, LCRI and MARC 21, provides a good foundation on which to build the subsequent chapters which outline procedures, control of names, uniform titles, series and terms. Each chapter is clearly written, and the material is presented in an engaging manner. The text includes many helpful examples and figures. Each chapter includes notes on references to sources and statements of elaboration by the author. The volume also includes a glossary of acronyms and an index. Perhaps what is most surprising about this volume is how well Maxwell presents the material for the non-practitioner. He offers two very compelling chapters, 1 and 12, which offer convincing arguments for the relevance and placement of authority control in userfocused information organizations, describing not only the necessity for authority control, but also its impact on other library processes, such as acquisition of material. The core chapters, while containing a plethora of specific examples and possible challenges to be encountered in the application of authority control to the library catalog, are equally rich in demonstrating the impact of authority work in all areas of user-focused information discovery. So, while this volume is a must for catalogers of all levels, it is also source for all library professionals, teaching us that “authority work is important if a library wishes its users to have full access to its collections.” Laura Sill 213 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556-5629, USA E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S1464-9055(03)00046-0
Preservation Management of Digital Materials: A Handbook By Maggie Jones and Neil Beagrie. London: British Library, 2001. 139 pp. £15.00 spiral bound ISBN 0712308865 This handbook aims “at both identifying good practice in creating and managing and preserving digital materials and also providing a range of practical tools to assist in that process.” The authors point to existing sources of guidance and combine a decision tree, summary checklists, selected case studies and commentary to stimulate further thought and discussion, and to stimulate action to develop digital preservation management policies and strategies. The Introduction includes definitions of concepts, acronyms and initialisms. The four
Book Reviews / Libr. Coll. Acq. & Tech. Serv. 27 (2003) 269 –274
273
chapters focus on digital preservation (strategic overview, preservation issues), institutional strategies (collaboration, outreach, third party services, rights management, staff training and development, standards and best practice guidelines), organizational activities (creating digital materials; acquisition and appraisal, retention and review; storage and preservation; metadata and documentation; access), and media and formats (media, file formats and standards, compression and encryption, technology watch, summary recommendations). Each chapter includes a note on the intended primary audience, assumed level of knowledge of digital preservation, and purpose. Some of the most important features include a thoughtful 12-point checklist on issues in preserving digital surrogates, annotated lists for further reading in each chapter and a fold-out decision tree for appraisal and selection of digital materials for long-term retention to determine whether the resource justifies the costs of preservation. While the legal issues relate specifically to the UK, and some of the content has a decided British focus, the handbook masterfully addresses an international audience. Given that universal problems in digital preservation are not restricted by geographical boundaries, the authors strive to include solutions from a wide range of anglophone sources. As is the case with the rapid changes in Internet resources, and the time lag in print publishing, the authors wisely chose to allow the Digital Preservation Coalition to maintain and update the handbook via the Web version ⬍http://www.jisc.ac.uk⬎. The paper cover and internal spiral binding (which is not an updatable looseleaf format) are not sturdy enough for library collections’ open stacks. However, as a working office reference source, the handbook is highly recommended. Susan Hamburger Paterno Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S1464-9055(03)00045-9
XML in Libraries Roy Tennant. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2002. 213 pp. US$75.00 soft ISBN 1555704433. The writing of this review of XML in Libraries, edited by Roy Tennant, occurred shortly after an active debate on library listservs (e.g., on AUTOCAT ⬍[email protected]⬎) of Tennant’s column in Library Journal (October 2002) entitled “MARC Must Die.” From the tone of the listserv exchanges, as well as that represented in this volume, it seems that the greater library community will benefit from continued discussions on the use of XML for library applications. XML in Libraries serves as a helpful tool in the exploration of this topic. The volume, which includes 13 essays by 16 contributing authors, provides the reader
Book Reviews / Libr. Coll. Acq. & Tech. Serv. 27 (2003) 269 –274
written with Margaret F. Maxwell, Maxwell’s Handbook for AACR2R: Explaining and Illustrating the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules and the 1993 Amendments (1997), the author describes Maxwell’s Guide to Authority Work “as a manual for authority work.” (p. 85) This goal is successfully met in this volume, which contains 12 chapters. Ten of these chapters (Chapters 2-11) form the core of the volume, each discussing in detail the main aspects of authority control. Chapter 2, on the governing rules and standards of authority work, including AACR2, LCRI and MARC 21, provides a good foundation on which to build the subsequent chapters which outline procedures, control of names, uniform titles, series and terms. Each chapter is clearly written, and the material is presented in an engaging manner. The text includes many helpful examples and figures. Each chapter includes notes on references to sources and statements of elaboration by the author. The volume also includes a glossary of acronyms and an index. Perhaps what is most surprising about this volume is how well Maxwell presents the material for the non-practitioner. He offers two very compelling chapters, 1 and 12, which offer convincing arguments for the relevance and placement of authority control in userfocused information organizations, describing not only the necessity for authority control, but also its impact on other library processes, such as acquisition of material. The core chapters, while containing a plethora of specific examples and possible challenges to be encountered in the application of authority control to the library catalog, are equally rich in demonstrating the impact of authority work in all areas of user-focused information discovery. So, while this volume is a must for catalogers of all levels, it is also source for all library professionals, teaching us that “authority work is important if a library wishes its users to have full access to its collections.” Laura Sill 213 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556-5629, USA E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S1464-9055(03)00046-0
Preservation Management of Digital Materials: A Handbook By Maggie Jones and Neil Beagrie. London: British Library, 2001. 139 pp. £15.00 spiral bound ISBN 0712308865 This handbook aims “at both identifying good practice in creating and managing and preserving digital materials and also providing a range of practical tools to assist in that process.” The authors point to existing sources of guidance and combine a decision tree, summary checklists, selected case studies and commentary to stimulate further thought and discussion, and to stimulate action to develop digital preservation management policies and strategies. The Introduction includes definitions of concepts, acronyms and initialisms. The four
Book Reviews / Libr. Coll. Acq. & Tech. Serv. 27 (2003) 269 –274
273
chapters focus on digital preservation (strategic overview, preservation issues), institutional strategies (collaboration, outreach, third party services, rights management, staff training and development, standards and best practice guidelines), organizational activities (creating digital materials; acquisition and appraisal, retention and review; storage and preservation; metadata and documentation; access), and media and formats (media, file formats and standards, compression and encryption, technology watch, summary recommendations). Each chapter includes a note on the intended primary audience, assumed level of knowledge of digital preservation, and purpose. Some of the most important features include a thoughtful 12-point checklist on issues in preserving digital surrogates, annotated lists for further reading in each chapter and a fold-out decision tree for appraisal and selection of digital materials for long-term retention to determine whether the resource justifies the costs of preservation. While the legal issues relate specifically to the UK, and some of the content has a decided British focus, the handbook masterfully addresses an international audience. Given that universal problems in digital preservation are not restricted by geographical boundaries, the authors strive to include solutions from a wide range of anglophone sources. As is the case with the rapid changes in Internet resources, and the time lag in print publishing, the authors wisely chose to allow the Digital Preservation Coalition to maintain and update the handbook via the Web version ⬍http://www.jisc.ac.uk⬎. The paper cover and internal spiral binding (which is not an updatable looseleaf format) are not sturdy enough for library collections’ open stacks. However, as a working office reference source, the handbook is highly recommended. Susan Hamburger Paterno Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/S1464-9055(03)00045-9
XML in Libraries Roy Tennant. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2002. 213 pp. US$75.00 soft ISBN 1555704433. The writing of this review of XML in Libraries, edited by Roy Tennant, occurred shortly after an active debate on library listservs (e.g., on AUTOCAT ⬍[email protected]⬎) of Tennant’s column in Library Journal (October 2002) entitled “MARC Must Die.” From the tone of the listserv exchanges, as well as that represented in this volume, it seems that the greater library community will benefit from continued discussions on the use of XML for library applications. XML in Libraries serves as a helpful tool in the exploration of this topic. The volume, which includes 13 essays by 16 contributing authors, provides the reader