College and Research Libraries own costs. The plan was intended to bring savings when materials were no longer collected for certain selected sub- ject areas, and the funds were to be real- located to the subjects for which the library assumed responsibility. Along one track, national and university librar- i~s worked together, each selecting sub- ject areas in which it was responsible for extensive collection development. Special libraries formed a second group. They agreed on the division of acquisi- tions based on the place of publication or language, and focused on four types of material: agricultural and veterinary sci- ence, technical, medical, and government documents. The plan was dissolved in 1980. According to the author, the Scandia Plan failed for several reasons: a lack of strong administration, deficient locating tools, an emphasis on peripheral materi- als, and the inability to extend into other subject areas. These limitations under- mined the high expectations of the plan and ran counter to the trend in informa- tion provision that emphasized access to the most needed sources. Ultimately, the Scandia Plan became a political issue. The advantages to the individual hold- ing library were thought to be excessive, providing little benefit to the other li- braries. Three other cooperative acquisi- tion projects-the Farmington Plan in the United States, a German plan spon- sored by the Library Committee of the Emergency Society for German Scholar- ship (later the German Research Society), and the Swedish Plan for Cooperative Ac- quisitions-served as models for the Scan- dia Plan. Yet, as Hannesdottir suggests, none addressed or solved the Scandia Plan's dilemmas. It is instructive that the German plan still flourishes, due in signif- icant part to the infusion of funds by the German Research Society. By contrast, the Scandia Plan never received outside monies. Cooperative collection develop- ment projects succeed only when each par- ticipating library perceives the benefits to outweigh the costs. The benefits and costs may be transparent or hidden, real or im- agined, but if the participating libraries lose, then group failure cannot be far away. Book Reviews 361 The particulars of the Scandia Plan have largely faded from memory in re- cent years. Hannesd6ttir's fine history (an essentially unchanged version of her 1987 doctoral dissertation from the Uni- versity of Chicago) provides the first thorough discussion of th~ Plan's in- tricacies. After the initial euphoria of cooperative plans wears off, the issues remain political and economic at the core. This is the major lesson of the failure of the Scandia Plan, and its rami- fications are important and unequivo- caL-Michael P. Olson, University of California, Los Angeles. Dearstyne, Bruce W. The Archival Enter- prise: Modern Archiml Principles, Practices, and Management Techniques. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1993. 295p. alk. paper (ISBN 0-8389- 0602-8) In providing both novice and initiate New From Highsmith Press Preservation Of Electronic Formats& Electronic Formats For Preservation Edited by Janice Mohlbenrich. Answers to Your Questions About Electronic Formats Including the: • Durability and longevity of CD-ROM, • Advantages and disadvantages of microforms vs. electronic storage formats, • Costs and capabilities of imaging techniques, • Appropriateness of electronic formats for 1993 ISBN 0-917846-17-6 libraries. 144 pp Paper $25 P42P-95522 ~ POBox 800 Ft Atkinson, WI 53538 To Order Toll-Free 1-800-558-211 0 362 College & Research Libraries with a conceptual overview of the his- tory and profession of archives, Bruce W. Dearstyne presents a thoughtful and well- organized discussion of archival theory, practice, procedures, and problems. Dears- tyne, an archivist and teacher, summarizes neatly the prevailing state of affairs. The "enterprise" of the title is really the primary mission of an archivist who, in Dearstyne's view, perpetuates the so- cial memory, transmits cultural heritage, and helps people to learn from the ex- periences of the past. Dearstyne uses the term historical records to encompass manuscript materials, personal papers, and archival collections. He includes an assortment of examples from these different branches of archival work, and case studies from four hypothetical insti- tutions-a research library, special col- lections department, public library, and municipal archive-are presented and referred to throughout the book. Following a helpful explanation of terms often used all too loosely, even by archivists, Dearstyne describes what ar- chivists do and why they do it. He re- views archival theory with its attendant conflicts and limitations, explains the importance of keeping historical rec- ords, and distinguishes the work and concerns of archivists from those of librarians and records managers. Moving from theory to practice, Dearstyne analyzes the archival "enter- prise" through a series of chapters de- scribing everything from hands-on work with records to public access: programs and planning, financial needs, the pro- fessional nature of the work, administra- tion, identification and selection of records, arrangement and description, preservation, researcher services, market- ing and outreach, and electronic records. The text of The Archival Enterprise is en- hanced by useful examples of typical donor agreements, mission statements, work plans, job descriptions, MARC-AMC cataloging records, finding aids, and guide entries. The mission statements and work plans should prove particularly valuable to archivists new to the field, those work- ing alone, or, indeed, anyone who must produce long-range planning documents July1993 or justify continued or increased fund- ing, or even the very existence of a his- torical records program. In general, Dearstyne' s advice on the importance of planning, program ad- ministration, management, and market- ing is practical and insightful. His arguments develop logically, and the ar- ticulation of six ways to promote an ar- chival program and repository, in particular, should be required reading for any professional in the field. The more technical chapters on problems of appraisal, description, cataloging, and preservation are, of necessity, sketchy. They summarize current archival prac- tice and give a concise view of ques- tions and problems. Reading these chapters will provide archivists with perspective on their own repositories. These chapters are intended not to su- persede but rather to complement the series of technical manuals published by the Society of American Archivists, and The Archival Experience would be a useful stepping-stone to those more detailed works. · The weakest chapter of the book con- cerns the professional nature of archival work and education. Although Dearstyne argues strongly for increased professional- ism through education and inserts a con- siderable amount of recent archival history and politics into this chapter, the result is vague and suggests am- bivalence. This may, however, be appro- priate when archivists are themselves so divided over issues of certification and definition of their professional role. Any attempt at a summary or conclusion to the volume is noticeably absent, though some problems of the future are men- tioned in Dearstyne's final chapter on electronic records. · Despite its problems, this volume is a useful tool not only for archivists but for students and library administrators as well. It is a handy introduction to the field of historical record-keeping and would make an ideal textbook around which a course in the administration of historical records could be structured.- Jack Eckert, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.