On Record: Files and Dossiers in American Life

On Record provides descriptive accounts of record-keeping in a variety of important organizations: schools and universities; consumer credit agencies, general business organizations, and life insurance companies; military and security agencies; the Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration; public welfare agencies, juvenile courts, and mental hospitals. It also examines the legal status of records.

The authors address questions such as: Who determines what records are kept? Who ha...