Understanding Archival Responsibilities and Programs In Australia - Shun Wah - Case Study Example

Understanding the archival relationships Name Course Instructor Date Part 1- the relationships surrounding the Shun Wahs case study The Shun Wah case study attracts different types of archival relationships; the superior and subordinate organizations relationships. This is a relationship that has a main power source and other contributing and enforcing sources. We see the grandfather Chou Yor Kee who is the superior member of the family and his wife Sam Moy the supportive and second in authority in the family. Secondly it attracted the previous and subsequent organizations relationships. In this relationship, an organization is sold off to another or it changes it entity. First, the grandma after marriage changes not only the names but also her status as a British subject. The family’s surname is eventually changed from Chou Yor Kee to Shun Wah following their setting up a shop and naming it Shun Wah where the locals assumed it to be the family’s surname (The Shun Wahs- National Archives of Australia, 2013). Diagrams of: 1.all agency relationships (the creators of these records) 2. All series relationships The categories of metadata used for the archival item and series. An item is the basic unit of arrangement and description, normally bearing its own unique reference number. It’s the single object such as a photograph album, a file, a letter or photograph. In the archival items of Shun Wah case study, structural metadata has been used. This type of metadata links up an object to the other causing them to form up logical units for example, individual book pages which when teamed up make up the whole book. In the Shun Wah case study, the documents bear serial and item numbers that are co-related and they all lead you to easily search and identifying the next item in the series. For example, Sam Moy – Alien registration certificate issued 21 October 1916 at Long-reach 1916 BP4/3, Chinese - Moy Sam In this case, the item 3 is from the series 4 and group BP. A descriptive metadata which describes the source of information for reasons of identification and discovery has been used in the Shun Wah case study. This metadata can contain parts such as the title, abstracts, authors and key words which make it easy for the person searching for information. According to The Shun Wahs- National Archives of Australia, 2013, Annette found files of the father and his family members and still after looking further found the grandmother’s file in the Archives’ Sydney office. The files contained names/ titles which helped Annette to easily find them. Part 2 - Understanding, appraising and valuing of archives. Role; to advise Australia’s first ‘sporting achievements’ archive. What will you include in your Records and Disposal Authority?” Records need to be formally tested and carefully considered to check if they should be kept as public archives or disposed off after a time span (Baca, 2008). The moment the test results are at hand, you need to officially hand it over together with any other documentation to the Chief Archivist for approval. This submission should entail: A letter, having a handwritten signature at a senior level, to give evidence that the organization supports the evaluation acceptance; the appraisal outcome with the acceptable actions and justifications; a list, schedules and any other manuals that identify the covered records with the actual acceptable activities for them. What criteria will you include in the collections policy for new donations and acquisitions? The collection policy for new donations and acquisitions for the ‘sporting achievements’ archive will be based on the following influencing factors among others: firstly, the item must have historical significance. Secondly, regional representativeness of the material concerned. Thirdly, the material must be suitable and adhere to the goals of teaching, research and exhibition. Fourthly, every acquisition must help ensure that it reflects the diversity of sports in Australia. Finally the items must contribute to the congruence of the collection (Kresse & Danko, 2012). The collections criteria should be as follows, i) All items must be inspected by the archive before acquisition. The archive will have the discretion to acquire a collection or an individual item which is part of a formed collection. ii) Every acquisition is appraised based on its total cost which includes travel, packing, shipping and other overheads. iii) Management and preservation of acquired items are accessed acquisition. E.g. storage requirement, space, processing workload, and impact on budget and preservation programme. The acquisition is made only if the implications are within acceptable limits. iv) Standard contracts will be used to document all acquisitions. The contracts will define the rights and obligations of the parties involved the content and nature of the acquisition. v) Arrangements for the donation of material by sports men or their representatives may be sought. The responsibility for implementation of the acquisition policy lies with the manager of “sports achievement archive. How will you frame the public access policy? The access to records should be unrestricted as possible while at the same time been in agreement with the right preservation and security to prevent theft and lose of documents. This access to the records is also subject to authorized and other official requirements, as well as to the right observances of confidentiality and to the rights of the owners of the documents, the copyright owners and other people. Provide supervised facilities to satisfy normal public demand to the archive. The public will also be allowed to have access to the archival records at no cost at all. How will both paper and electronic records be preserved and stored? In order to have proper preservation and storage of archival records one needs to consider both the location and quality of the storage environment. Also to be put into consideration is the ease of records retrieval and the access to restricted records. The storage environment; it needs to be very stable with maintained stable temperatures and relative humidity. The collections should also be protected from direct light and water. These will help to raise the life and quality of collections. Caplan (2003) states that paper records are stored well in boxes. However some of the paper records can be too large or maybe packed in a way that makes the box storage impractical. As a result, there is need to handle issues in regard to size and volumes critically. Oversized documents such as maps, blueprints, posters and drawings need to be stored flat and in oversized folders either in large boxes, drawers or shelves. These folders need not be too full to avoid their inability to handle them. The rare, valuable and damaged records need to be stored separately. Records can also be rolled covered both in the inner and outer layers to prevent them from directly resting on the tube and the environment. These rolls should be stored side-by-side to prevent them from crushing due to the weight. Electronic records are best stored on backed-up hard drive and network servers. However, they can also be stored in removable media like CDs, DVDs, and magnetic tapes and these need careful physical storage conditions. Disks need to be stored vertically and subjected to pressure in boxes or cases. To avoid scratching and breaking the compact discs should be stored in their jewel cases. While documenting them, details of system, software and hardware used to make the record; date created and modified; name of creator and modifier; and access restrictions should be indicated. Does the collection overlap with any existing archives in (Australia or overseas), and if so, what will the relationship be like with these institutions? The collection may or may not overlap with other existing archives. However if it does, for example where organizations find their collecting interests overlapping, carrying out discussions between them will be the best idea. They can either be in the same line of work or be situated near each other. It will be helpful to discuss ideas and find out what will be useful for the collections. This may lead to development of links with other groups in the same area of interest, and even working together now and in future. What are the supporting institutions or companies that can provide advice in setting up this archive? The National Archives- the Australian National Archive gives guidance and advice on setting up an archive. Under the Archive Principles and Practice it defines the purpose for its guidance by saying that it supports people who posses or care for archive material, helping one to assess and plan for the care and development of the materials. The guidance is aimed at persons who take care of or are in ownership of archives yet they are not professional archivists and require basic guidance. Research institutions and Libraries- in libraries and research institutions one can get the relevant materials with information on how to set up and manage an archive. Books, articles, websites etc can give information on how to collect the materials, grouping and classifying them, storage, public access policies of the materials among many other guidelines. The non-profit organizations- these organizations have been in use for service delivery in Australia for a long time in history. They are referred to as devolved government and they help in policy implementation. References Baca, M. 2008. Introduction to metadata. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Research Institute. Caplan, P. 2003. Metadata fundamentals for all librarians. Chicago: American Library Association. Kresse, W. & Danko, D. 2012. Springer handbook of geographic information. Berlin New York: Springer. Lubas, R. 2011. Practical strategies for cataloging departments. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited. Nilsson, A. 2006. Advances in information systems development : bridging the gap between academia and industry. New York, NY: Springer. Preston, W. 2007. Backup and recovery. Beijing Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly. Read More