Cynthia Pease Miller. Managing Congressional Collections. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2008. 138p. $19.95 paper (ISBN 1931666296). LC2008-029612.

Cynthia Pease Miller’s manual provides a superb introduction to the herculean task of managing Congressional collections. The average U.S. senator generates more than 100 linear feet of files per year in office. Modern-day senatorial collections typically range from 1,800 to 2,500 linear feet when they arrive at an archival repository. All collections contain a variety of record formats, too, from constituent correspondence to audiovisuals of every imaginable variety. As the author rightly concludes, "The responsibility of administering these challenging archival collections tends to be poorly understood by donors and repositories alike."

The documentary record of Congress takes two primary forms. The official administrative and legislative records of the nation’s legislature are collected and preserved by the Center for Legislative Archives, part of the National Archives and Records Administration. This manual addresses the second form: the personal papers created by individual senators and representatives which, by rule of the House and Senate, remain their personal property.

Miller’s introduction features brief sections on the importance of congressional collections, efforts since 1976 to establish standards for managing these records, and the continuing challenges posed by them. The first of five chapters in the 138-page publication explores the process of soliciting or donating a congressional collection. Topics include benchmarks against which the enduring documentary and research value of a member’s papers may be assessed, conditions affecting the quality of a collection’s content and its manageability, and 14 qualities of a model congressional collections repository. Although aimed mainly at administrators and archivists who work with these specialized collections, the manual contains a wealth of information for collections donors, too. The author includes, for example, a checklist of 15 items for collection donors to consider when selecting a repository.

Chapter 2, the longest at 24 pages, deals with administering a congressional collection. It includes sections on calculating costs, space, personnel, and budget; sustainability and outside funding; the acquisition process; access standards and the deed of gift; oral histories; and ongoing donor relations. The next chapter tackles the transfer of papers, including the perplexing matter of electronic records. "Processing a Congressional Collection," chapter 4, addresses planning, physical control of the collection, processing, appraisal, and the treatment of classified documents. The final chapter speaks to description practices and access tools, reference service, and exhibitions and outreach.

The author provides 52 pages of supplementary material in eight appendices. A chronology of advances in managing congressional collections identifies 26 milestones from 1974 to 2008. Other appendices provide information about sources of professional advice, a sample deed of gift, a list of typical congressional staff and the files they are likely to keep, guidelines for records disposition, frequently asked questions and "cursory answers for the congressional archivist," a bibliography of selected readings, and the text of H. Con. Res. 307 (June 20, 2008) expressing Congress’ sense that members’ papers should be properly maintained.

The publication’s format encourages use. Miller writes succinctly and clearly. She employs section headings and bulleted lists liberally, making it easy to scan the manual quickly. Readers will find the "best practices" highlights particularly helpful—there are 14 of them on topics ranging from appraisal to memorabilia policy. An index of 386 terms is a valuable addition, too.

Managing Congressional Collections is the result of an unusual collaboration. Cynthia Pease Miller, assistant historian of the House of Representatives for more than 15 years, gained hands-on experience as staff archivist for three senators and a Senate committee. For this publication, she worked with an editorial advisory board consisting of seven individuals, all members of the Society of American Archivists’ Congressional Papers Roundtable. The Roundtable received a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for the manual.

Miller would be the first to admit that Managing Congressional Collections is not the last word on the subject, nor was it intended to be. No publication twice its length could cover the myriad complexities of acquiring, preserving, organizing, and providing reference service for congressional collections. Instead, this excellent publication will alert Congress members, their families, congressional staff, and archivists to the challenges they face in deciding how to manage congressional collections.—Frank H. Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, Illinois.