This case study describes an experiment to compare the use of the printed paperbased version of the Canadian Rules for Archival Description with its hypertext prototype, HyperRAD. The results of the experiment revealed no statistically significant differences in user efficiency or effectiveness or in user preference for either tool. The article concludes with some recommendations for further development.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Archives of Canada through the Canadian Council of Archives, and the material support of the School of Library and Information Studies, Dalhousie University.

The Documentation of Congress: Report of the Congressional Archivists Roundtable Task Force on Congressional Documentation presents a viable, working documentation strategy for the U.S. Congress. As part of the documentation strategy, the task force recommends the writing of a model policy statement for archival institutions collecting congressional papers. This article presents a model congressional papers collection development policy that can be appended to a repository's full collection development policy. The model is based on Faye Phillips, "Developing Collecting Policies for Manuscript Collections." The article includes discussion regarding ancillary persons or organizations to be collected in conjunction with congressional papers.

Manuscripts curators who wish to microfilm or otherwise duplicate a collection for preservation and access commonly confront a problem: multiple copyrights represented in a collection. It is practically impossible to obtain permission from the numerous parties who may hold such copyrights. What are the limits of fair use in such a case, particularly considering the restrictive environment after Salinger v. Random House, Inc.? Archival tradition and practice offer some answers more hopeful for preservation and access to materials, but the law still limits. To best serve the research community, archivists must lobby to have more liberal policies codified into law. The Papers of Katherine Anne Porter, a collection held by Archives and Manuscripts at the University of Maryland at College Park Libraries, is used as an example.

This article relates current research in the history of small business to archival practice. It compares the ways small and large firms are organized and function and describes how these differences are reflected in the records of such firms. The author discusses the implications of this model for documentation strategies and the appraisal of business records.

An increasing number of archives are supporting electronic mail reference services. To optimize the usefulness of this rapid and convenient means of communication, archivists must consider the nature of the reference transaction in general and adapt it to this new remote or "virtual" environment. As with face-to-face reference encounters, archivists must set the tone of remote reference exchanges; clarify the clients' questions and information needs; deliver the required information; and follow up exchanges, making sure that clients have everything they need and that they feel comfortable asking for more information as the need arises. The author offers suggestions as to how these steps can be implemented via electronic mail and discusses management concerns.

Computer networking presents opportunities to enhance access to archival records and to preserve rich, detailed documentation of human interaction and communication. This article discusses conceptual, technical, and economic challenges to access and preservation of electronic archives in the evolving network environment. The author argues that respect for the evidentiary nature of archival records cannot be sacrificed for the sake of enhanced access to the contents of archival materials. She encourages archivists to reconsider why, when, and for whom archival records are kept and to find a balance between the utilitarian and the cultural value of archives.

This article was prepared originally for the Second International Conference on Scholarship and Technology in the Humanities: Networking and the European Cultural Heritage. The original version appears in Networking in the Humanities: Proceedings of the Second Conference on Scholarship and Technology in the Humanities held at Elvetham Hall, Hampshire, UK, April 1994, edited by Stephanie Kenna and Seamus Ross (Kent: Bowker-Saur, March 1995). The author thanks David Bearman, Terry Cook, Charles Dollar, Bob Frost, John McDonald, and Lisa Weber for comments on earlier versions of the paper. She also thanks the British Library Board for permission to republish the article, and Stephanie Kenna and Seamus Ross for their assistance.

Prior to its dissolution, the Committee on Automated Records and Techniques (CART) developed a curriculum for electronic records training and education as part of a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant. This article explores decisions that were made by the developers regarding whom to train and adult learning needs and speculates on possible delivery methods for the curriculum, which include on-the-job training, workshops, formal education programs, distance education, and self-directed study.