managing collections for small archives - peter shaw

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Presentation Title Subtitle Author’s Name Save file to disk and open in PowerPoint For a new slide pick 'insert' and then 'duplicate slide’ Managing an archival collection Guiding principles and archival basics Archiving: Peter Shaw

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Presentation Title

SubtitleAuthor’s Name

Save file to diskand open in PowerPoint

For a new slide pick 'insert' and then 'duplicate slide’

Managing an archival collection

Guiding principles and archival basics

Archiving: Peter Shaw

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Focus of this presentation

Guiding principles: Provenance and Original order

How to manage your collection: All the ‘A’ words!

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Guiding principles

Provenance: maintaining the context within which a record was created

Original order: preserving the original manner in which records were created

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Archival basicsThe ‘A’ words:• Archives policy• Appraisal• Acquisition • Accessioning• Arrangement & Description

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Archives Policy

Key things to consider:• why does your institution exist?• what does your institution collect? • what location? time period? • what person and/or subject? • how will you provide access?

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Appraisal

Surveying and evaluating records

Deciding which records to keep as archives

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Significance CriteriaPrimary criteria:•Historic•Artistic or aesthetic•Scientific or research potential•Social or spiritual

Modifiers:•Provenance•Rarity or representativeness•Condition or completeness•Interpretive capacity

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NAA’s criteria

1. Important decisions and actions2. Establishment of Australian Government3. Australians and their environment4. Interaction of Australians and Government5. Historic

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Two observations

Knowledge of the collection is essential

How appraisal fits with archives policy

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Acquisition

Bringing records into custody•purchase•donation•legislative requirement

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Accessioning

Documenting the origins, subsequent history and current condition of records/material

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Arrangement and Description

Organising records

Documenting what is known about the records so they can be understood

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Levels of Description

Agencies: creators of the records

Series: groups/categories of records created

Items: the actual records

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AGENCY Description

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SERIES Description

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ITEM Description

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What to do with the ‘pile of stuff’

Questions to ask:• is there any documentation? • who created it? what for? • are there dates? file numbers? names• undertake some research • what can you glean from the records?

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Some final thoughts

Really get to know your collection

Document, document, document

Keep perspective