One of the ASA's education priorities is providing introductory and community education. The ASA recognises the demand for introductory archival education from new entrants to the archives professions and from others, for example professionals in related fields, volunteers in small organisations or people responsible for the archives of a local community organisation or looking after growing personal or family archives. The ASA also understands that Australians living outside metropolitan areas particularly need support to ensure their archives are preserved. ASA Branches and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) hold workshops, seminars and tours of archival facilities from time to time.
The ASA is currently developing a program of introductory archival workshops in conjunction with the publication of the third edition of its popular book Keeping Archives, due for release in mid 2008. Two pilot workshops were presented in September 2007 in New South Wales. Another was presented for archivists from Pacific nations at the PARBICA conference in Noumea in October 2007. Information about ASA workshops will be publicised via the aus-archivists listserv and this website.
If you want to know more about the ASA's activities in community education for archives, please contact the Education Officer at education@archivists.org.au.