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Over the last couple of years the issue of archives and records management research has been raised in several different forums - through the Arts & Humanities Research Board's apparent willingness to fund it, through its appearance in the MLAC consultation document and not least in the attempts of the Society of Archivists and other interested professionals to define it at all. In this context LUCAS is delighted to announce the publication of "New Directions in Archival Research" which we hope goes some way to answer the question, "What is 'research' in archives?". Edited by Margaret Procter and Dr C P Lewis, the book includes four of the most thought-provoking dissertations from 1998 LUCAS graduates which illustrate the potential range of professional research. In addition Professor Michael Moss of Glasgow University charts the relationships between archivists, historians and librarians and sets out the current challenges for archivists in the new digital environment - challenges which can only be addressed through a coherent research agenda. The topics addressed range from an assessment of the archivists' role and position, to a consideration of what archivists manage (in an investigation into the collection literary archives); through to an investigation into their fetishistic motives for doing so. Our more traditional research interests are demonstrated in a review of sources for the history of a Cheshire church and the society around it. *Contents* Prof Michael Moss (University of Glasgow) "The scent of the slow hound and the snap of a bull-dog - the place of research in the archival profession"; Helen Wood "The Fetish of the document - an exploration of attitudes toward archives"; Judy Dicken "Twentieth Century Literary Archives: collecting policies and research initiatives in the twentieth century"; Anne Locker "Should Archivists be professionals?"; Jan Wood "Disley from chantry to parish: sources for the history of Anglican chapels" Available from: LUCAS, PO Box 123, 9 Abercromby Sq, Liverpool L69 7WZ Price £7.50 (£5.95 LUCAS members) incl p&p ISBN 0 9537963 0 2 --------------------- Margaret Procter LUCAS 9 Abercromby Sq PO Box 123 Liverpool L69 7WZ Tel: 0151 794 5675 Fax: 0151 794 5417 [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%