This paper focuses on the need for a systematic redefinition of the archival methods and tools required for building electronic recordkeeping systems. The analysis, which has been developed for archival education in Italy, is carried out through an examination of the historical evolution of the main functions for records creation (classification and the registry system) and the evaluation of their effectiveness in the newly developed and technologically advanced records systems. Special attention is given to the risks posed by new Italian and European rules on electronic records. These rules are based on the use of digital signature as the only guarantee for a record's reliability and authencity. It is argued, however, that the digital organization of the records, even if updated and improved, cannot be efficient if it ignores the traditional functional requirements for recordkeeping.

As part of ongoing research, this paper explores how practitioners in records and information management currently understand the construct of authenticity in their professional activities, by examining the concepts and language that they actually use when talking about authenticity. This paper provides brief descriptive statistics drawn from an Internet listserv survey conducted in May 1998, and then analysis related to proving authenticity; the difficulties of judging something authentic; and definitions of authenticity as used and understood in the context of respondents' professional activity. The analysis provides indications of how professionals actually understand and use the concept of authenticity in their professional work depending on the context; and how these professionals react differently to paper records and electronic records. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this preliminary analysis fits within the context of the outcomes of prior electronic records research.

As increasing numbers of primary historical documents appear on the World Wide Web, publishers of those documents will need ways to provide intellectual access to the contents. At a three-day meeting in Burlington, Vermont experts in experimental electronic publishing, library and information science research, documentary editing, and computer science research identified (1) the need for user studies to determine the needs and reactions of the audience(s), (2) the need to assess implications for change in publication management, and (3) the need to compare empirically various technological approaches to access to information as three areas of research that can contribute to our understanding of how to construct and improve intellectual access to historical documents on the Web.

Written collection development policies and cooperative collecting activities are two tools that archivists are encouraged to use in the course of creating and adding to their repositories' collections. Written collection development policies are advocated as a way to ensure that collections have a coherent and well-defined focus, while cooperative collecting practices are seen as a way to ensure that related materials are not scattered among far-flung repositories and that repositories' scarce resources are not needlessly squandered on unnecessary competitiveness for collections. However, not only are there numerous impediments to the effectiveness of either of these tools, many repositories do not use them. A survey of manuscript repositories reveals some of the reasons why more repositories do not engage in these practices, while quantitatively demonstrating the benefits they offer to repositories that do.

All archives accumulate duplicate or out-of-scope materials. Archivists have several options for removing such materials from their holdings: they may return them to the donor, transfer them to a more appropriate repository, destroy, or sell them. Although selling is the least practiced of these options, it has advantages. Furthermore, the proliferation and popularity of on-line auction venues make it possible for archives to sell items more quickly and at a greater profit than before. This article discusses the legal and ethical issues raised for archivists by the use of on-line auction venues in deaccessioning unwanted materials.

Archivists are increasingly developing workshops and courses in order to help students better understand and use archival materials. The incorporation of critical thinking skills into these instructional programs can significantly enhance them and improve the ability of students to analyze and interpret primary sources. This article first provides an introduction to critical thinking instruction and then describes how the university archivist successfully implemented critical thinking skills into a historical research methods course at Northern Michigan University.