Based on unique and previously unpublished sources, this book examines in detail the complex, emotional, and difficult movement to remove the National Archives and Records Service from the control of the U.S. General Services Administration. This struggle began almost from the time the National Archives lost its independence in 1950 and culminated during the tenure of Robert Warner as sixth Archivist of the United States. The story is important to the history of the National Archives but also to those interested in the political process, especially as it applies to educational and cultural institutions. The lobbying, overt and covert, the interplay of professional organizations and archivists, librarians, and historians with the executive and legislative branches of the American government are examined in fascinating detail in this often very personal story. It is a study of high drama, bitter disappointments, and ultimate success.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
A useful addition to any academic library. * CHOICE * ...this book is more than just a charming personal account of the struggles of the head of one small federal agency. Archivists, in particular, should read this book for a clearer understanding of Washington [politics]. It can be a manual of how national, not archival, politics works. * Information & Culture * The knowledgeable archivist will be caught up easily in the minutiae of sometimes shockingly candid details and appreciate the illustrations that make the central figures in the struggle less anonymous. Anyone involved in the promotion of an archival program, public or private, will gain insight into the difficulties and strategies of doing so. * Journal of Academic Librarianship * ...a stirring narrative...a valuable, detailed account of lobbying for a cultural agency. * The Library Quarterly * ...a detailed, highly personal, and moving narrative of the multitude of actions, events, and steps involved in a long-term battle to achieve an important piece of federal legislation. * Wilson Library Bulletin * This is a story of no small suspense, and an interesting study of how a scholar was transformed into an astute, dedicated, and stubborn politician. * AB Bookman's Weekly * Diary of a Dream is a splendid little volume and an extremely readable memoir detailing and unusually successful political effort by the American archives and history communities...It is a fascinating account, a public history epic that has a known end, but that unfolds as an entertaining night's read for those concerned about the National Archives or interested in political endeavors by cultural agencies. * The Public Historian *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Maße
Höhe: 227 mm
Breite: 148 mm
Dicke: 20 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8108-2956-5 (9780810829565)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Robert Warner is Professor of Information and Library Studies, Professor of History, and University Historian at the University of Michigan.
