Abstract
Column description. The Best of the Literature column is intended to keep librarians, administrators, and staff up to date with the most recent, relevant, and useful literature of the field. Columns may focus on a specific theme or topic or they may be a review of significant or interesting resources published within the past year. Columns generally begin with a brief introduction to the topic or theme of the column and include references and annotations for up to between 7–10 different resources. Readers are invited to suggest themes, topics, or resources to Linda Frederiksen.
Abstract
Digital surrogates are changing the way archives are managed and accessed. Not so long ago archival objects were limited for use by location due to their unique nature and one-of-a-kind status. Now, with more than 2,000 institutions contributing digital collections through systems like CONTENTdm, researchers are more likely to encounter digital surrogates than original archival objects. This begs the question; does it really matter to the researcher whether an archival object is original or not? In this issue of Best of the Literature recent and notable articles about how archivists are using, innovating, incorporating and cautiously approaching the role of digital surrogates in practice is discussed.