Description, one of the titles in the Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections series, is a delightful collection of case studies that look at how to increase the accessibility and discoverability of archives. . . .Description is highly recommended for libraries and institutions that have major library and information subject-based collections. The book is also recommended for any information professional who wishes to understand more about archival collections.

Australian Library Journal

Editor Kate Theimer has gathered a collection of 11 case studies from institutions around the world describing different methods and experiences in creating better collection descriptions. These topics range from crowdsourcing collection descriptions, utilizing different resources such as LibGuides, collaboration, policy development, and more. Some topics are very in-depth and require significant planning, while others are very direct and could be relatively simple to implement. Each case study follows the same outline and includes sections on planning, implementation, results, lessons learned, and conclusion, while providing additional notes and citations as needed. These case studies are all very well written and do focus on specific and different aspects of this very niche topic. . . . For professionals working in archives and special collections, there is bound to be some helpful information throughout this volume . . . this should prove to be a valuable resource for its targeted audience.

American Reference Books Annual

I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and not only because description is the archival function that has always interested me most. All of the case studies are strongly practical, and even pragmatic, describing options and decisions in areas ranging from the technical nitty-gritty, such as the use of particular fields or data elements, to human resources and project management, such as the use of interns and volunteers. A number of the authors write with a dry humour. Many are frank in their assessment of the success of their projects against their initial aims and in how methods and plans needed to be changed in the light of experience. THere is no defensiveness here or institutional 'spin'. Just archivists reporting innovative and practical ways of doing description better.

Archives and Manuscripts: Journal of the Australian Society of Archivists

Overall, the case studies chosen are informative and relevant to the archival world today. The most successful ones effectively show how the particular project aimed to build on the repository’s work so far, and critically analyse its benefits and shortcomings. This is altogether a very useful work. The case studies...will help practitioners and students alike to navigate their way around the theory and practice of archival description.

Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association

After literally centuries of providing access with flat paper finding aids, the archival community is now grappling with both the heady opportunities and sometimes perplexing challenges of exploring new approaches to description and access in the digital age. Kate Theimer has assembled a virtual laboratory of experiments in access undertaken by colleagues from around the nation and internationally. This collection provides archivists with an important guide to imagining and implementing new ways to more effectively engage users with the rich, essential resources of the archival record. Read it—then join the effort!

Kathleen D. Roe, New York State Archives (retired), Director of Archives and Records Management

These thoughtfully selected case studies mine the evolving international, interprofessional, and interactive landscape of archival description in innovative and inspirational ways. The essays comprising this volume take the current temperature of a rapidly morphing profession, and will interest and stimulate a wide array of information practitioners.

Bill Landis, Head of Public Services, Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University Library