Managing Archival & Manuscript Repositories Book Review

• Kurtz, Michael J. Managing Archival & Manuscript Repositories, Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2004.

The more I read the second edition of the SAA's Archival Fundamentals Series, the more I like it. The volumes of the second series that I have read so far really seem to outshine the older volumes I have seen. The same can be said of Kurtz's work, Managing Archival & Manuscript Repositories. This is a phenomenal monograph that reflects some of the recent shifts that have occurred in management and leadership theories. Not only that, but it's readable, much like Frank Boles's Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts.

Kurtz begins the work by noting that management should be balanced. Having either too much or too little management in any organization is a bad thing. He also notes that management is largely an American idea. Much management theory is based upon the work of Fayol, who believed that management consisted of planning, organizing, budgeting, directing, and controlling. Kurtz says that management is much more complex now, because of the ways in which relationships work within organizations now. At earlier times, a top down management scheme was often used. Modern organizations often have a less heirarchical structure, and relationships are now more democratic. However, management largely consists of the same basic ideas in any organization or management position. Kurtz points out that management can be difficult for archivists because they are trained to be archivists. He contends that there are several tools that should be in place to effectively manage an archives: a good file system, a follow up system, and a good time management system.

Kurtz believes that leadership is needed even in small archive. Good leadership involves vision, that is, anticipating possible results well ahead of their occurring. Also, leadership involves selling others on the vision of the archives. Good leaders should understand their own tendencies, strengths and weaknesses, and they should use various assesment tools, such as the Myers-Briggs test, to point those out. They should also mentor others as they have opportunity.

Kurtz discusses the tendencies of modern organizations to be complex. As stated above, organizations now are less hierarchical and more democratic. This situation means that archivists usually have different relationships to their subordinates now. The archivist should be a coach, mentor, and builder. Some of his main tasks are to interact, connect, and cooperate with others in order to achieve the goals of the archives.

Not only do archivists help foster relationships with other individuals inside and outside their organization, they also seek to understand the organizational context in which they work in order to foster relationships that will help spawn effective results. They should seek to develop and obtain approval for a policy statement that accurately reflects their goals and responsibilities. Their mandate should be from the highest authority possible within the organization within which they work. They should adopt a collaborative team model for their deparmental work, and they should cooperate with other departments at an institutional level.

Kurtz addresses planning by noting that this is often considered tedious work, but that it is necessary. He says that good planning takes the larger institution into mind. The archivist considers not only the goal of the archives, but also the goals of the parent institution. Careful planning should be charted in an organizational planning structure that accounts for the number of worker hours available and reasonable estimates about what should be done during those available times. He also notes that performance should be measured on departmental, individual, and overall levels to see howeffective the planning program is.

A new addition to this edition of the book is the chapter on project management. Kurtz says that any project should have some leader, even if the leadership model is not top down. The leader or manager chosen for the project should probably have some stake in the project. This person will spend time gathering information to share with the others about the project. Those working on projects should be competent, and communication within the group is a must. Projects have a life cycle that consists of four stages: conception, definitions, acquisition, and operation. This particular chapter provides several helpful workflows for taking up projects. Kurtz notes that successful projects depend on five factors being in place: a mandate, support and resources, team leadership and facilitation, communication, and clear goals.

Kurtz offers chapters that specifically address how one should manage information technologies, human resources, communication, facilities, finances, fund raising, and public relations. In each of these chapters, he supplies detailed information about how to make good decisions regarding these areas. Although each of these chapters has its own merits, I found the chapter on facilities to be extremely helpful. Kurtz supplies various tools that aid in development. For example, he supplies a chart that helps one determine how much space should be added when an archives is undergoing reconstruction. These types of practical information make me want to keep this book at arms reach. In fact, I wish I had acquired it about a year ago.