Australian Society of Archivists

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Barbara van Bronswijk
Australian Society of Archivists Small Archives Survey 2000
The report which follows is based on the findings of the Small Archives Survey which was distributed to ASA members in February 2000 as Part of the investigation by the Small Archives Working Party. Members responsible for a small archives were invited to respond on a self-selection basis. Sixty-four responses were received, almost 85 % of which represented the position of archives eligible for Category B institutional membership of the Society. Thirty-seven (58 %) of all responses were from school archives, thirteen (20 %) from religious institutions and the remaining fourteen (22 %)from the archives of businesses, charities, universities and government instrumentalities.

Kylie Percival, Francesca Zilio & Helen Morgan
Database Applications in an Imperfect World: The Necessity and Charm of Compromise
In recent times each of the authors have implemented and utilised the same database tool in notably diverse situations. This paper seeks to highlight some of the pragmatic considerations which inevitably impinge upon any software implementation. Archival tools and methodologies must be sufficiently robust to engage with this imperfect world. Compromise and flexibility are essential. These different experiences are brought together to illustrate the parity of our concerns and what we actually practise as archivists.

Robert Thornton
Rose tinted Images: The Photographic Archives of the City of Adelaide
The Adelaide City Council began systematically collecting and keeping historic photographs of the City of Adelaide during the 1920s and now has a considerable collection of views which are stored in its own purpose-built in-house Archives. This paper looks at the major photographic accessions which the Archives holds and discusses their creation and contents within the context of the Council's ongoing concern with promoting and preserving a visual record of the city's past and progress. The author concludes by suggesting that while these collections are undoubtedly an important archival resource, overall they present a rather partial vision of the city's history, one which focuses very much on what were considered by their creator to be appropriate images of the civic landscape suitable for inclusion in such a formal collection.

Josette Mathers
Providing Access to Sensitive Records: The Personal History Index (PHIND)
Two groups within our society, Indigenous Australians and former child migrants, am facing similar difficulties in accessing information about themselves and their families of birth. Attempts are being made to facilitate the access by individuals to information and records about themselves ‑ information which may not only be confidential, but which also can be regarded as sensitive. This article, a version of which was originally presented at the Australian Libraries and Information Association Local Studies National Conference in Guildford, Western Australia in November 1999, looks at how access is being managed, with particular reference to PHIND, a Personal History Index for former child migrants from the United Kingdom and Malta to Catholic Homes in Australia.

Lucie Paquet
Appraisal, Acquisition and Control of Personal Electronic Records: From Myth to Reality
The Canadian Archives Division of the National Archives of Canada is faced with the dilemma created by electronic records from private sources. For over 15 years, it has been acquiring personal records in electronic form. The author provides an overview of this acquisition experience. The article analyses the types of electronic records in private archival holdings and paints a picture of the creators of these records and the evolution of their electronic environment. It identifies the main acquisition problems, suggests solutions, new strategies and new work methods that are needed to meet the challenge of this technological revolution.

Steve Stuckey & Anne Liddell
Electronic Business Transactions and Recordkeeping: Serious Concerns ‑ Realistic Responses
The Australian archives and records profession has developed an enviable international record in relation to the development of both the theory and practice of modern recordkeeping, especially electronic recordkeeping. This article is based on a Paper presented at the Records Management Association of Australia ACT Branch seminar on electronic transactions on 21 March 2000, and is reproduced with the kind permission of the R~. It looks at the issues facing recordkeeping in an electronic transactions environment, relating this to Federal government operations. It also challenges some of the archives and records professions' views and expectations about how others might see the importance in the detail of electronic recordkeeping, especially in an era of 'light-touch' legislation to enable the development and uptake of e-commerce. '

Ian Batterham
The Archival Quality Trademark Scheme for Paper and Board Products
The National Archives of Australia has introduced a scheme aimed at ensuring that archival quality materials are readily available in the marketplace. Central to the scheme has been the creation of a certification trademark which has been registered with Industrial Properly Australia with a set of rules relating to the archival quality of the material, selling limits for chemical and physical properties relating to permanence.

Review article

Anne Picot
Ethical Meltdown: Accountability and the Australian Recordkeeping Profession

 

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