Surveys of Historical Records

For the past several years, many historians and archivists have expressed the need for more surveys of historical records. Some see surveys as a means of exerting control over diverse and under-utilized bodies of state and local records. Others perceive surveys as a way of bringing together information on widely scattered collections pertaining to a particular topic. Still others are critical of surveys and call for a reevaluation of this method of records control. The panelists explored all of these perspectives, and the discussion that followed reflected a diversity of opinion.