Presentation for NISE/UNPO workshop on "Archival Awareness", 31 March 2014 (ADVN/NISE, Antwerp)

1. The Needs of Archives
Sixteen (simple) rules
for a better
archival management

2. NISE loves archives
- Database: archival guide in relational datastructure
- Projects:
• Guide to the Archives (2009-2012)
• Ambulant Archives Services (2013-2014)
- Helpdesk: Expertise and Information Centre
- Repository: Kurdish National Congress (KNK),
Bayernpartei, etc.

3. Archives?
- “materials created or received by a person, family, or
organisation, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs
[…]”
- organisations: letters, (meeting) reports, financial
administration, member administration, publications,
campaign materials, audiovisual materials (photos, films, …)
and all digital born or digitised materials

4. Archives?
- legal function: a.o. support and guarantee the rights and
obligations of governments and citizens
- administrative function: good governance
- historical value: influence the contents and orientation of
personal and collective memory, thus the formation of a
national identity
- policy supporting: legimitation of policy and
decision making

5. Sixteen rules / Six themes
- Context
- Appraisal
- Arrangement
- Preservation
- Digitisation
- Access

6. Context: the whereabouts?

7. Context: the whereabouts?
#1. Discover your archives

8. Context: the whereabouts?
#2. Learn about the use of your archives

9. Context: the whereabouts?
#3. Research the history of your archives

10. Appraisal:
all paper in the bin?

11. Appraisal:
all paper in the bin?
#4. Know your national retention policies

12. Appraisal:
all paper in the bin?
#5. Destroy, but keep history in mind

13. Appraisal:
all paper in the bin?
#6. Cleaning: the easy option

14. Arrangement: think twice!

15. Arrangement: think twice!
#7. What applies to paper…

16. Arrangement: think twice!
#8. …applies to digital

17. Preservation:
better than conservation!

18. Preservation:
better than conservation!
#9. Avoid the cost of conservation

19. Preservation:
better than conservation!
#10. Good materials are half the job

20. Preservation:
better than conservation!
#11. Storage conditions are essential

21. Digitisation:
a paperless archive?

22. Digitisation:
a paperless archive?
#12. The purpose of digitisation

23. Digitisation:
a paperless archive?
#13. Use SOAP for a clean scan policy

24. Access:
locking away or opening up

25. Access:
locking away or opening up
#14. The research benefit

26. Access:
locking away or opening up
#15. The right for information

27. Access:
locking away or opening up
#16. Transparent policies

28. Sixteen rules = success?
- Archival management is much more complex
- “Rules” are work in progress, adjusted with every new
experience: from regionalist European parties to worldwide
minority movements
- “Rules” are guidelines to a better understanding of the
relevance practical implications of archives
- Only a small effort vs efforts of ICA/UNESCO

30. Universal Declaration
on Archives
- Defines archives to include all recorded decisions, actions
and memories in all formats including paper, digital, and
audiovisual
- Recognises the uniqueness of archives in the way they
provide authentic evidence of human actions
- Emphasises key role of archives in ensuring administrative
transparency and democratic accountability

31. Universal Declaration
on Archives
- Supporting democracy and human rights, and preserving
collective social memory
- Explains the role of archivists as skilled professionals who
care for archives and provide access to them
- Highlights the key requirements for good archival
management

35. Further information
- Website: http://nise.eu
- Database: http://nise.eu/database
- Guide to the Archives report:
http://nise.eu/files/proceedings-2-gta.pdf
- Contact:
• tom.cobbaert@nise.eu
• luc.boeva@nise.eu