What is the nature of the archive in the 21st century? What is the role of the archivist in a postmodern, electronic environment? To attain any absolute answers would be beyond the ability, or diplomacy, of any individual. Yet there are some questions, and subsequent dividing lines, which can be brought to the fore: • Is the archive a resting place for non-current records, a repository that provides the connection between inscription and preservation in order to ensure the veracity of the record as an authentic and reliability piece of evidence? • Should the archivist be distinct from the records manager? • Is the historical canon, if permitted to even use the term, a construct of the archive? If the answer is in the affirmative then does this legitimise the archivist in imparting overt value to a record/collection? • Is the archivist a custodian and keeper? • Should the archivist interact with wider societal needs and concerns? The ideal and idea of the archive and the archivist has become virtually unrecognisable from its early 20th century construct as questions such as these have been debated in the journals of archival science. The antiquated Jenkinsonian world-view has been dispensed with. The moral and physical defence of the archive is unsubstantial. Ensuring the preservation of the record and making it available to the public does not provide the archivist with a presence. Rather, the authority of archival beginnings has become the dominant, over-arching ideology. Through the advocacy of records continuum theorists and the proponents of postmodernism, we are to “stop rowing, start steering”. In order to be accountable, transparent, open, and representative, the archival profession is to control context and master reality. The archive is to define its own truth criteria. The archivist is an agent of accountability. The archivist is to openly negate his/her independent, neutral, non-political, non-ideological role: (1) There is an archive fever of audit culture. This is in response to the rise of the ‘consumer’ – “There is a risk, we’ll take care of it”. Continual monitoring, evaluation, and targets results in the record being a self-reflexive construct. Audit trails create a sense of truthfulness to the facts and of closeness to past reality. These perspectives have entered the archive. Perceived recordkeeping failures have made the archive unaccountable to wider society. The ‘right’ records are not reaching the archive. Records therefore must be programmed in advance by archivists working as records managers to produce acceptable outcomes. The archivist shapes the creation of the record. Archiving is auditing the recordkeeping systems of a record creating body. Archiving is the “active production of objectively truthful documents”. (2) Postmodernism sanctions a creative reconstruction of the past. The archive is to “fabricate metaphors…[tell] imaginings of history”. The archive overtly interprets the record and creates interfaces that reflect this interpretation and subjectivity, reifying cultural essentialism to appear representative of all elements of society. The archivist becomes a conscious participant in the construction and advancement of meaning. The perception of the user towards the records is moulded. The archive becomes a means of memory rather than memory itself. This thesis takes on what the author perceives as certain often rhetorical excesses of the records continuum theory and those of postmodernism. It engages on their terms, with their arguments, and with the interdisciplinary nature of today’s archival thinking. It shows that ‘traditional’ archival concepts and values are just as necessary and relevant today as in the supposedly homogenous and positivist society in which they arose. This thesis thus upholds the Jenkinsonian ideals for archives. However, it recognises the difficulty of achieving them, and that the proponents of postmodernism examined here do not intend to dispense with rigorous reasoning, balanced analysis, and truth seeking in favour of unrestrained ‘anything goes’ interpretations of records and archival concepts. Indeed, the author himself draws on leading postmodern thinkers such as Foucault and Derrida to develop his own socio-political analysis of audit records produced in the ‘audit culture’ of the past few decades. In so doing, the author hopes to show how postmodern analysis can be done in the spirit of the Jenkinsonian commitment to protection of evidential values through truth seeking. That said, the author believes that the archivist does not create life but holds the materials within its institution in a coma, awaiting the user to awake them from their perpetual slumber. This is a true re-assertion of archival value and responsibility. In caring more for a record’s corroborative power and transformative effect we have got too interested in the way we deliver what we do at the expense of what we deliver – engineering over content. Yet by acting responsibly the archive broadens perspectives and enlightens the individual. This is the responsible archival performance worth pursuing.

Government information is an important part of the "knowledge infrastructure" of a government's citizens, in the way such information provides a reliable knowledge base relating both to laws and to everyday life. In addition, government information forms part of the historical and cultural heritage and serves as a means of accountability for current and future generations, provided that this information is archived and that its long-term accessibility is ensured. Recently, central and local governments in Japan have developed a variety of policies concerning government information, including: (1) development of e-government and (2) promotion of archival systems. This article reviews these policies and discusses the challenges faced by libraries and archives in Japan in maintaining government information as part of the nation's knowledge infrastructure.

null / This is the Spring 1992 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: Jonathan Rose. CONTENTS: SHARP'S ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION CENTER GOES ONLINE; HISTORY OF THE BOOK: ON DEMAND SERIES (HOBODS); OTHER VENTURES IN BOOK HISTORY; CALLS FOR PAPERS; CONFERENCES; RECENT PUBLICATIONS; FIRST SHARP CONFERENCE: FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS; HOW WE ARE DOING. This issue includes the following contributions: HOW WE ARE DOING, by Jonathan Rose (p. 6).

This is the Summer 2004 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Set in Adobe Garamond with Wingdings. Editor: Sydney Shep; Book Review Editors: Ian Gadd, Chuck Johanningsmeier; Bibliographer: Padmini Ray Chaudhury. CONTENTS: MUNBY FELLOWSHIP; SHARP 2006; PRIZES & FELLOWSHIPS; THE SHARP EDGE; NEW BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR; BOOK REVIEWS; FORTHCOMING EVENTS; CALLS FOR PAPERS; MUNBY FELLOWS; SYMPOSIUM REPORT; SHARPIST HONOURED; BIBLIOGRAPHY; THE SHARPEND. This issue includes the following contributions: An Antipodean Affair (MUNBY FELLOWSHIP), by Alexandra Gillespie (p. 1); Jo Ann Boydston Essay Prize (PRIZES & FELLOWSHIPS) (p. 2); Munby Fellowship in Bibliography (PRIZES & FELLOWSHIPS) (p. 2); BSANZ Travel Grants (PRIZES & FELLOWSHIPS) (p. 2); From Book Development to Book History: Some Observations on the History of the Book in Africa (THE SHARP EDGE), by Isabel Hofmeyr (pp. 3-4); BOOK REVIEWS, by Catherine Dille, Wallace Kirsop, Karen Carney, Lisa Gitelman, Charles Johanningsmeier, Jennifer J. Connor, Peter R. Frank (pp. 5-8); Popular Science: Nineteenth-Century Sites & Experiences, York University, Toronto, 2-3 August 2004 (FORTHCOMING EVENTS) (p. 9); Detecting the Text: Fakes, Forgery, Fraud, & Editorial Concerns, University College, University of Toronto, 5-6 November 2004 (FORTHCOMING EVENTS) (p. 9); Reaching the Margins: The Colonial & Postcolonial Lives of the Book, 1765-2005, Institute of English Studies, Senate House, London, 3-5 November 2005 (FORTHCOMING EVENTS) (p. 9); Material Cultures & the Creation of Knowledge, University of Edinburgh, 22-24 July 2004 (CALL FOR PAPERS) (p. 9); Maintaining the Heritage, Rhodes University & University of Fort Hare, 12-15 September 2005 (CALL FOR PAPERS) (pp. 9-10); The French Place in the Bay of Islands (SYMPOSIUM REPORT), by Kate Martin (p. 10).

null / This is the Autumn 1998 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: David Finkelstein; Associate Editor: Linda Connors; Book Review Editor: Fiona Black. CONTENTS: IN MY VIEW: WOMEN AND BOOK HISTORY; TEACHING WOMEN AND TEXT: MEDIEVAL TO RENAISSANCE; BUILDING A DATABASE OF AMERICAN WOMEN BOOKSELLERS; MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC PROJECT COMPLETED AT BROWN; NEW CENTRE TO MAP 18TH CENTURY LONDON BOOK TRADE; CONFERENCE REPORTS; CALL FOR PAPERS; CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS; FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT; SCHOLARLY LIAISONS; SEMINARS AND LECTURES; WEBWATCH; BOOK REVIEWS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; SHARPEND. This issue includes the following contributions: IN MY VIEW: WOMEN AND BOOK HISTORY, by Leslie Howsam (pp. 1-2); TEACHING WOMEN AND TEXT: MEDIEVAL TO RENAISSANCE, by Maureen Bell (pp. 2-4); BUILDING A DATABASE OF AMERICAN WOMEN BOOKSELLERS, by Barbara A. Brannon (pp. 4-5); Annual Conference on the History of the Provincial Book Trde in Britain; Postgraduate Conference on the History of the Book (CONFERENCE REPORTS) (pp. 5-7); Library History Round Table; Research Society for Victorian Periodicals; American Literature Association; Western Journalism Historians Conference (CALL FOR PAPERS) (pp. 7-8); Annual Conference on Book Trade History; Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS) (p. 8); Department of English at the University of Otago (FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT) (p. 8); American Historical Association convention (SCHOLARLY LIAISONS) (pp. 8-9); Scottish Centre for the Book at Napier University; Centre for the History of the Book at the University of Edinburgh Fall 1998 Seminar Programme (SEMINARS AND LECTURES) (p. 9); BOOK REVIEWS, by Maureen Bell, Elizabeth Hagglund, Heidi Thomson, Alexis Weedon, Rosemary E. Johnsen, Valerie Edden, Linda Dryden (pp. 10-15).

null / This is the Autumn 1992 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: Jonathan Rose. CONTENTS: PROGRESS REPORT: A COLLABORATIVE HISTORY OF THE BOOK IN AMERICAN CULTURE; TWO FORTHCOMING ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF PUBLISHING; GETTING BOOK HISTORY INTO PRINT; CONFERENCES; PUBLIC LECTURES; RECENT PUBLICATIONS; HOW WE ARE DOING. This issue includes the following contributions: HOW WE ARE DOING, by Jonathan Rose (p. 7).

This is the Spring 2003 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Set in Adobe Garamond with Wingdings. Editor: Sydney Shep; Book Review Editors: Ian Gadd, Chuck Johanningsmeier; Bibliographer: Padmini Ray Chaudhury. CONTENTS: SHARP REGIONAL 2003; NEW SHARP AWARD; BSA MITCHELL PRIZE; THE SHARP EDGE; EXHIBITION; CALL FOR PAPERS; CONFERENCE REPORTS; BOOK REVIEWS; BIBLIOGRAPHY. This issue includes the following contributions: Books and Empire: Textual Production, Distribution and Consumption in Colonial and Postcolonial Countries, University of Sydney, Australia, 30 January to 1 February 2003 (SHARP REGIONAL 2003), by Elizabeth Morrison (pp. 1, 5) and Another Viewpoint (SHARP REGIONAL 2003), by Shef Rogers (p. 5); Bibliographical Society of America's Mitchell Prize (BSA MITCHELL PRIZE) (pp. 2, 12); Why Book Arts Matter (THE SHARP EDGE), by Kathleen Walkup (pp. 3-4); New Work in Printing History, New York, 24-25 October 2003 (CALL FOR PAPERS) (p. 4); Private Libraries Day, Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, England, 13 November 2002 (CONFERENCE REPORTS), by Keith Manley (pp. 5-6); Celebration of 200 Years of Newspapers in Australia, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, 1 March 2003 (CONFERENCE REPORTS), by Victor Isaacs (pp. 6-7); and BOOK REVIEWS, by Jeffrey Barr, Jane Potter, Harold Love, Tom Berger, Richard B. Sher, Peter R. Frank (pp. 7-12).

This is the Spring 1994 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: Jonathan Rose. CONTENTS: BOOK HISTORY PROJECTS ADVANCE ON ALL FRONTS; 1994 SHARP CONFERENCE UPDATE; TEACHING THE HISTORY OF LITERACY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO LAUNCH A NEW MAGAZINE; COURSES; CALLS FOR PAPERS; CALLS FOR CONTRIBUTORS; CONFERENCES; EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES; NOTES & QUERIES; FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS; RECENT PUBLICATIONS; HOW WE ARE DOING. This issue includes the following contributions: TEACHING THE HISTORY OF LITERACY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, by Harvey J. Graff (pp. 3-4).

This issue was erroneously labeled as volume 6, number 2 (Spring 1997) but is in fact volume 6, number 4 (Autumn 1997). Subsequently, a replacement sheet for pp. 1-2/15-16 giving the correct volume, issue, season, and date was included in SHARP News 7:1 (Winter 1997-98). / This is the Autumn 1997 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: David Finkelstein; Associate Editor: Linda Connors; Book Review Editor: Fiona Black. CONTENTS: PUBLISHER BACKS THE BOOK; THIRTY YEARS OF MACMILLAN ARCHIVES; IN VISIBLE LANGUAGE; LOOSE GOWNS FOR MACKEREL: MAKING, DISTRIBUTING AND READING BOOKS; SHARP BOOK HISTORY PRIZE; CHARTIER INTERVIEW; CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS; CALL FOR PAPERS; CALLS FOR BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS; MACKENZIE TRUST APPEAL--ERRATA; FELLOWSHIPS; LECTURES AND SEMINARS; SCHOLARLY LIAISONS; BOOK REVIEWS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; SHARPEND. This issue includes the following contributions: IN VISIBLE LANGUAGE, by Lydia Wever (p. 2); CHARTIER INTERVIEW, by Roger Chartier and Sue Waterman (pp. 4-6); The Sociomaterial Turn: Excavating Modernism; English Short Title Catalogue (CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS) (p. 6); Scenes of Writing 1750-1850; Book, Text and Image: Great Britain, 18th-20th Centuries; Expertise Constructed: Didactic Literature in the British Atlantic World, 1500-1800; American Studies Association; Research Society for Victorian Periodicals; AEJMC Magazine Division; 33rd International Congress on Mediaeval Studies; Seminar in the History of the Book to 1500: Fragments and Their Problems; 16th Seminar on the British Book Trade (CALL FOR PAPERS) (pp. 6-7); Special Issue of Victorian Periodical Review on The Cornhill Magazine; Makers of Western Culture (CALLS FOR BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS) (pp. 7-8); BOOK REVIEWS, by Gillian Fenwick, Simon Stern, Gretchen Galbraith, S.G.F. Spackman, Wayne A. Wiegand, Robert N. Matuozzi, W.A. Kelly, Leon Jackson (pp. 9-14).

Masthead date for this issue reads: Winter 1997-98. / This is the Winter 1997-98 issue of SHARP News. SHARP News (ISSN 1073-1725) is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, Inc. Editor: David Finkelstein; Associate Editor: Linda Connors; Book Review Editor: Fiona Black. CONTENTS: THE ELIOT-PHELIPS COLLECTION CATALOGING PROJECT; STUDENTS INTO SCHOLARS--SORT OF; CALL FOR ESSAY PROPOSALS; CALL FOR PAPERS; JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS; LECTURES AND SEMINARS; SCHOLARLY LIAISONS; WEB WATCH; BOOK REVIEWS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; SHARPEND. This issue includes the following contributions: STUDENTS INTO SCHOLARS--SORT OF, by D.J. Trela (pp. 1-3); Periodical Literature in Eighteenth-Century America (CALL FOR ESSAY PROPOSALS) (p. 3); Midwest Modern Language Association; William Morris Society; Tenth International Congress on the Enlightenment (CALL FOR PAPERS) (pp. 3-4); Printing Historical Society; From Text to Book; Scottish Centre for the Book (LECTURES AND SEMINARS) (pp. 4-5); American Society of Church History/American Historical Association; History of the Book in Canada; SHARP/American Studies Association Caucus; Popular Culture Association: Reading and Publishing Popular Literature (SCHOLARLY LIAISONS) (pp. 5-6); BOOK REVIEWS, by John Feather, Robert N. Matuozzi, Richard W. Clement, David Finkelstein, Graham Law (pp. 7-10).