What is an Archives?

Association of Canadian Archivists. What is an Archives? http://www.archivists.ca/sites/default/files/Attachments/Outreach_attachments/Whats-an-Archives.PDF

Introduction to the concept of archives

Concordia University Archives. Introduction to the concept of archives. http://web.archive.org/web/20100206025321/http://archives3.concordia.ca/using.html

Archives management

Archives Management http://web.archive.org/web/20041224122414/http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/recmgmt/chapter18.htm

Introduction to archives

Libraries

• Identify, acquire, preserve, and provide access to the world’s published knowledge
• Promote equity of access to information
• Promote intellectual freedom
• Support education and continuous learning and research
• Support the development of information literacy in society
• Serve as focal points for communities and promote community interests

Museums

• Identify, acquire, preserve, and exhibit unique, collectible, or representative objects
• Promote cultural, community, and familial identity and understanding
• Provide experiences where visitors can make connections between content and ideas
• Serve as memory institutions for a culture
• Support formal and informal learning and research
• Serve as focal points for communities and promote community interests

Archives

• Identify, appraise, preserve, and make available documentary materials of long-term value (essential evidence) to the organization or public that the archives serve
• Ensure the accountability of government by preserving public records and making them available to the citizenry as is legally and ethically appropriate
• Preserve unique or collectible documents
• Serve as memory institutions for a culture
• Support scholarly, administrative, and personal research
• Enduring Paradigm, New Opportunities: The Value of the Archival Perspective in the Digital Environment (Washington, D.C. : Council on Library Resources, February 2000) http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub89/role.html

History of archives

• Archives house records selected for long-term retention and preservation
• France was the focus for the centralization of archival holdings
• Archives Nationales was formed in Paris in 1789
• 1872 Canada created an archives branch
• 1912 Public Archives of Canada created
• (1952 National Library of Canada created)
• 1987 National Archives of Canada created
• 2004 Library and Archives Canada established; National Archivist, Ian Wilson became Librarian and Archivist of Canada

Types of archives: public

• Public archives are maintained by federal, provincial, and municipal governments
• Mission National Archives:
• To preserve the collective memory of the nation and the government of Canada, and to contribute to the protection of rights and the enhancement of a sense of a national identity http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/Pages/our-mandate.aspx
• Archives of Manitoba: services to the public:
• Preservation of Manitoba records from provincial and local governments, courts of law, school authorities, businesses, organizations, and individuals
• Preservation of the records of the Hudson’s Bay Company reflecting its operations across the northern hemisphere and around the world since its establishment in London, England, in 1670 http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/about.html
• City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control
• Civic records are created, kept and managed because they contain information about decision-making, daily operations and service delivery. The City ensures that records required to meet legal and fiscal obligations are retained and that information is available when and where it is required.
• In addition to their operational importance, records may have historical value. Records help us to define and understand our City. They are an irreplaceable part of the collective memory and cultural heritage of the City of Winnipeg. Archival programming facilitates the selection, preservation and research use of City records. http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/toc/archives.stm

Types of archives: private

• Private archives preserve the history of an institution, a corporation, or some entity other than the government
• Canadian university and college archives constitute the largest segment of private archives
• University of Manitoba. Archives & Special Collections
• Mission: to acquire, catalogue and preserve university records and special research collections which further the educational aims of the University of Manitoba, and to promote and provide wide access to them. http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/mandate.html
• Other entities with significant archival collections include: religious institutions, hospitals, health care facilities, businesses such as banks
• Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
• As an inter-Mennonite facility the archives of the Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Central Committee, Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization, Evangelical Mennonites Mission Conference, Prussian and Russian Mennonite community documents, etc., and the personal papers of many individuals. http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/archives/
• Association for Manitoba Archives. Membership Directory http://mbarchives.ca/membership/institutional_directory

Archives profession

• Archivist: person responsible for archival activities
• Acquisition
• Appraisal and disposition
• Accessioning
• Preservation
• Arrangement
• Description
• Reference service
• Exhibitions
• Publications
• Outreach services
• No clearly defined degree for archivists
• Association of Canadian Archivists has Guidelines for training at the professional and paraprofessional level http://web.archive.org/web/20070715070246/http://www.archivists.ca/committees/std_edu_documents.aspx
• Listing of Canadian programmes at http://www.archivescanada.ca/car/car_e.asp?l=e&a=education
• Canadian Council of Archives main co-ordinating body of the Canadian archival system http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca
• Association of Canadian Archivists http://archivists.ca/

Purposes of archives

• Preserve corporate memory
• Provide product information
• Provide policy direction
• Provide personnel information
• Provide financial information
• Maintain public relations activities
• Provide legal advantage
• Provide research service
• Prepare commemorative histories

Approaches to archives management

• Unstructured internal approach
• Individual(s) assigned task of sorting records to determine which should be preserved and which destroyed
• Often done on an as needed rather than systematic basis to clear space for incoming records
• Not usually a permanently assigned task
• Inconsistencies when several persons sorting and making retention decisions
• Method often used by small businesses and organizations
• Structured internal approach
• Began in 1943 with establishment of a business archives by Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
• Formal system to collect and maintain own historical records
• Adopted by a number of large organizations
• Bank of Nova Scotia http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,473,00.html
• Canadian Pacific Railway  http://www.cpr.ca/en/about-cp/our-history
• External approach
• Preserve and maintain historical records in university archives, historical societies, provincial, national archives, etc.
• Often more appropriate for organizations that have gone out of business, e.g. T. Eaton Company records held by Archives of Ontario; Winnipeg Tribune archives at U of M Archives
• HBC archives housed in Archives of Manitoba http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/ 

Records appraisal

• Usually 2-5% of total government or corporate records have lasting historical value
• Records have two basic types of values
• Primary (evidential or documentary)
• Secondary (informational, research, or historical)
• Archivist must identify records that
• Document programs, policies, decision-making processes of an organization
• Help archivist know when, where, why and how a company did or did not flourish
• Include information about employee relations and civic involvement as well as bio data about major personalities in the organization
• Documents with archival info typically
• Minutes of board meeting, committee reports, annual reports, budget breakdowns, internal/external correspondence, policy/procedure manuals, special project reports, strategic planning statements, organization charts

Records selection

• Depends on purpose of archives facility, for business archives
• Will archives function as a purely administrative tool of the business?
• Collections available only to insiders?
• Will it serve scholars and other interested individuals?
• Only company records collected or outside materials documenting organization’s role in community and civic affairs as well?
• Will personal records of company officials be collected?
• Records selection a two-phase operation
• Determination of administrative units most likely to produce records of archival value
• Determination of records types to be preserved and maintained
• The content of records, rather than the age of records, dominates the selection decision
• Final selection is based on organization’s perceived value of the records for future reference and research
Records type

• Archival records are not limited to paper documents, e.g.
• Disney: films, books, comic books, press clippings, phonography records, still photos, insignia, character merchandise, employee publications, audioanimatronics, props, costumes, Disney memorabilia
• Eli Lily: product samples, bottles, packaging material, anniversary souvenirs, advertising promotions
• Photographs
• Oral histories
Determination of information value

• Primary reference value
• Info from archival records used internally has reference value primarily
• Secondary research value 
• Research value of archives most frequently lies with external users or organizational personnel researching development of organization’s policies, philosophy, performance, products, or people
Responsibility for archives management

• Three major schools of thought
• Archives part of records management, records manager should be responsible
• Archivist should be responsible for total system
• Split responsibility
Archives storage

• Arrangement
• Fonds: The whole of the records, regardless of form or medium, automatically and organically created and/or accumulated and used by a particular individual, family, or corporate body in the course of that creator’s activities or functions
• Respect des fonds: The principle that the records of a person, family or corporate body must be kept together in their original order, if it exists or has been maintained, and not be mixed or combined with the records of another individual or corporate body.
• Provenance
• The person(s) or office(s) of origin of records, i.e. the person(s), family (families), or corporate body (bodies) that created and/or accumulated and used records in the course of that creator’s activities or functions.
• The arrangement principle that records of a given unit within the organization be retained as a separate group rather than being interfiled with similar records of another unit.
• Original order
• Principle of original order preserves records in the same order in which they were filed in the office of origin
• Principles of provenance and original order preserve file integrity by maintain the original records in the arrangement in which they were created and used.
Five levels of arrangement

1. Archival repository
2. Archival fond (record group)
3. Records series
4. Filing unit
5. Item

Archives resources on the web

Portals
Archives Canada http://www.archivescanada.ca/english/index.html
Archives Canada is an official archival portal maintained by the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), and is a joint initiative of the CCA, the Provincial – Territorial Archival Network, and Library and Archives Canada.

UNESCO Archives Portal
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/portals-and-platforms/unesco-archives-portal/


Associations and Archives
Archives of Manitoba http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/

Association of Canadian Archivists http://archivists.ca/


Association for Manitoba Archives http://mbarchives.ca/

Canadian Council of Archives http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/

International Council on Archives http://www.ica.org/
ICA is the professional organization for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world’s archival heritage.

Library and Archives Canada http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx

Links to Collections and Archives in Canada http://web.archive.org/web/20040603023231/http://mmsd1.mms.nrcan.gc.ca/archives/tools/links_alpha-e.asp

Society of American Archivists http://www2.archivists.org/

Education
Directory of Education Resources http://www.archivescanada.ca/car/car_e.asp?l=e&a=education

Manuals
Archives Association of British Columbia. Archivist’s Toolkit. http://aabc.ca/resources/archivists-toolkit/
The “Archivist’s Toolkit” has been designed as a community resource for use by those working primarily in small and medium-sized archives in British Columbia.

Introduction to Archival Organization and Description https://web.archive.org/web/20060208055206/http://www.schistory.org/getty/
This site, prepared by the Getty Information Institute, USA, contains introductory information about organizing and describing collections of personal papers and organizational records that make up the fabric of archival collections.


Readings
American Historical Association. Careers For History Majors. http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/Information.htm

Canadian Library Association. Competency Profile of Information Management Specialists in Archives, Libraries and Record Management http://www.cla.ca/resources/competency.htm

Concordia University Archives. Introduction to the Concept of Archives. http://web.archive.org/web/20100206025321/http://archives3.concordia.ca/using.html

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J. Enduring Paradigm, New Opportunities: The Value of the Archival Perspective in the Digital Environment. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library Resources, February 2000.
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub89/contents.html
This report examines how the archival perspective can be useful in addressing problems faced by those who design, manage, disseminate, and preserve digital information.

Understanding Society Through Its Records http://john.curtin.edu.au/society/index.html
From Australia. Provides a basic introduction to a career as an archivist and the roles records play in society.

Using Archives: A Practical Guide for Researchers http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/04/0416_e.html
From Library and Archives Canada.

Inactive records management

Inactive records management http://web.archive.org/web/20041224151753/http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/recmgmt/chapter17.htm

Inactive records management

Purposes of records centres

• As a general rule 40% of records are inactive
• 30% inactive + 10% long-term
• Where should they be housed so they can be retrieved when needed but where the cost is less expensive than office space?
• How can we get the best use of space?

Uses of records centres

• Records centres are facilities designed to house inactive records
• Fill two major needs:
• Serve as low-cost Storage Centres
• Serve as Reference Centres

Storage centre

• Must provide
• physical protection of inactive records
• protection of contents of records from theft, alteration, observation by unauthorized parties
• Safety and security responsibilities’ of the record manager and records centre staff
• Inactive records storage centre provides cost savings
• more efficient storage
• microfilming

Reference service centre

• Place for people to refer to any inactive record
• Many provide tables, chairs, terminals, microfilm readers

Objectives of records centres

• Overall goal is to provide safe storage and access to records at a reduced cost
• Specific objectives:
• Reduce volume of records held thereby reducing cost of storage
• Establish controls to ensure continuous flow of records from offices to low-cost storage
• Free space and reduce need for storage equipment
• Establish an efficient retrieval system
• Develop microfilm program if appropriate
• Maintain total security over records

Records centre facilities

• Commercially provided
• Company owned

Commercial: self-service

• Outgrowth of household storage
• Also known as a landlord/tenant agreement
• Landlord provides space and shelving for records
• Storage charges based on amount of space or number of cartons used by tenant
• Tenant responsible for maintaining records, inventories and controlling retrievals
• Storage and retrieval responsibilities reside with tenant
• Tenant (depositor) may place any type of record in space; remove or add records as needed
• Landlord (records centre) obligated to provide “reasonable” care in maintenance of storage areas
• Landlord may provide additional services at additional costs, e.g. copying, packing records, transferring records, pick up/delivery, fax, mailing

Commercial: full service services

• Can include
• Original records transfer to facility including transfer boxes and transfer forms
• Records inventory
• Records security
• Fireproof vaults
• Sprinkler systems
• Burglar and fire alarms
• Authorized signature systems
• Confidentiality
• Backup water and power systems
• Blanket insurance for liability and damage
• Bonded employees
• Temperature and humidity controls
• Storage for a variety of media
• Pickup and delivery
• Computerized tracking systems from records receipt to destruction
• Retrieval of box, folder, or document
• Copying services
• Fax services
• Destruction services
• Computerized client activity reports providing information re costs, retrievals, removals, charge-outs, returns, etc.
• Micrographic services
• Records construction capacity
• Consulting services
• Onsite reference and conference rooms
• Communication systems

Cost

• Costs for commercial centre computed using different methods based on cubic feet used
• Costs of retrieval included in storage fee
• Hourly fee for retrieval added to storage fee
• Fixed fees for various types of services
• Service contract
• Appropriate when retrieval requirements can be accurately predicted, if not may be expensive
• Combination plan
• Minimum guarantee for fixed number of retrievals and flat rate for those in excess

Company-owned centres

• Nonprime space within own location e.g. basement, attic, which must have:
• Proper heating, lighting, humidity controls, floor load capacity
• usable space, e.g. ceiling height, number of obstructions, odd shaped spaces
• Must factor in space conversion costs, costs of storage equipment, personnel costs, energy costs, etc.

Onsite advantages

• Availability of records
• Delivery system from one location to another not needed
• Organization has total control over records and information

Offsite advantages

• May be commercial or company-owned
• Offsite centre may be less costly
• May be located near by or many kilometres away from organization
• Above ground
• Generally less expensive
• Underground
• Greater security
• More limited geographic locations, e.g. salt mines, limestone mines, under mountains/hills

Onsite/offsite storage comparison

	Onsite	Provincial Government Records Centre
Storage cost for 1 box	$30	$6
Storage cost for 1,000 boxes	$30,000	$6,000

Site selection criteria

• Many factors must be considered when selecting an appropriate site
• Cost
• Commercial versus company-owned
• Pickup delivery cost
• Security/insurance costs (high if site in high-risk area)
• Access to records
• If offsite, access a greater problem
• Commercial centres outside of immediate area
• Fax, computer access, courier, Canada Post
• 75% of all information requests can be answered verbally, so telephone service essential
• Transportation
• Company-owned offsite location should have accessible roads for easy commuting
• Commercial centres should be in areas allowing prompt delivery by Canada Post, special messenger, express mail, etc.
• Safe and security
• Do not consider a site with high risk of unauthorized access, loss, destruction, theft

Space utilization

• Volume and kinds of records are determined by records inventory report
• Space required to house inactive records determined by storage method used
• Most store records in cartons on steel shelves placed back to back
• Maximum of 50 feet of unbroken shelf length recommended
• Plans must be made to allow for different sizes and types of records (e.g. av, maps, publications, microform, engineering drawings, computer output, etc.)
• Different media types have different storage requirements
• Compact mobile shelving allows greater density
• General rule: 3 to 4 cubic feet of records will take one square inch of space
• Ceiling height affects storage cabinets
• Use ladders up to 14 feet
• Over 14 feet catwalks or automated storage and retrieval
• When estimating square footage required to house records consider type of storage container, type of shelving, height of ceiling, and any obstruction that reduces available storage space
• Ratio of cubic feet of records to square feet of required floor space

8 ft stacks	10 ft stacks	12 ft stacks	14 ft stacks	22 ft stacks
2.7 to 1	3.3 to 1	3.9 to 1	4.5 to 1	7.1 to 1

• Floor load capacity
• weight of records and equipment a floor can safely accommodate
• a filled records carton weighs between 30-50 lbs
• Plan centre so weight of equipment and records do not exceed floor load capacity and that future additions can be accommodated

Physical layout

• Records centre must accommodate inactive records storage are and admin. receiving, preparation and distribution areas
• Plans should include:
• Records Storage Area
• Administrative Area (reference and office areas)
• Receiving Area
• Preparation Area
• Distribution/Disposal Area

Records transfer

• Determine transfer period
• Periodic versus Perpetual transfer
• Periodic – on a regular schedule
• Perpetual – continuous basis
• Determine records to be transferred
• Prepare records for transfer
• Forms
• Packaging
• Arrange transfer
• Receive records

Records charge-out and follow-up

• Records request
• By phone, computer, mail, person
• Specific information needed for request
• Box no. (assigned by records centre, noted on records transmittal form)
• Folder title/description
• Name, dept., location, telephone no. of requester
• Length of time recorded needed
• Charge-out and follow-up
• Manually or electronically

Records destruction

• Disposal of records no longer needed by organization
• Internal
• Commercial record centre
• Contract to local company
• Methods include:
• Wastebasket
• Shredding
• Incineration
• Chemical destruction (maceration)
• Pulping

Method selection factors

1. Volume of records to be destroyed?
2. Same size and type of material? If not, which processes would destroy all types?
3. What percentage confidential?
4. What environmental standards affect destruction of the records in the community?
5. Bonded contractors available to provide desired destruction method?
6. Possible to sell to paper salvage company? Have to be shredded first?
7. Costs of in-house vs contracted destruction?

Destruction documentation

• Records destruction authorization and confirmation should be documented

References
Developing an Inactive Records Storage Facility Archives Technical Information Series #48 https://web.archive.org/web/20080820081012/http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub48_accessible.html
The Value of Offsite Storage http://web.archive.org/web/20050526082823/http://www.filebankinc.com/reports/offsite_storage.html
FACS Record Centre http://web.archive.org/web/20071009061848/http://www.walshbros.com/offsite_records_index.html