AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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1 AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES IN THE DIGITAL AGE Archivists ensure that records which have value as authentic evidence of administrative, corporate, cultural and intellectual activity are made, kept and used. The work of archivists is vital for ensuring organisational efficiency and accountability and for supporting understandings of Australian life through the management and retention of its personal, corporate and social memory. The archivist s mission Australian Society of Archivists (ASA), 1996 Summary This paper seeks to set out clearly the differences between archives and libraries, and highlight the importance of retaining distinct identities for both functions/sectors. The history of archives in Australia is strongly influenced by the development of administrative archives and the introduction of archival legislation in the post-wwii era. Most public sector archives were previously housed in research libraries. The transition to independent archival institutions reflected improved understandings of the distinctions between the professions, and the need to ensure that professionally trained personnel have carriage of critical recordkeeping functions. The ASA s establishment in 1975 was a further manifestation of the need to distinguish the archival profession from the library sector. Underpinning the archival sector in Australia is a body of knowledge and practice based on the core archival principal of provenance, implemented locally using the Australian Series System and, more recently, the development of the world s first standard on records management AS (superseded by AS ISO (2002)). Over the past fifteen years the development of improved collaboration between the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector has provided many cultural institutions with a unified voice allowing for improved visibility and strength in numbers. The ASA was an early sponsor of GLAM discussions with the 2003 ASA Annual Conference in Adelaide exploring the shared territory of the galleries, libraries, archives and museums sectors. The ASA remains keenly involved with more recent GLAM initiatives such as GLAMPeak, which is building a shared vision and approach to digital access to Australia s cultural collections through the development of a national framework, and nurturing partnerships across the government, the private and not-for-profit sectors. Nevertheless, the important conceptual and operational differences between libraries and archives are of continuing relevance. The push to consolidate resources and services has left some archival institutions vulnerable to mergers with the library sectors. While collaboration offers both sectors benefits, the ASA believes that a clear understanding between the sectors of our distinct value propositions is critical to ensuring that both professions continue to meet their respective missions. Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 1

2 Introduction Most people have used libraries and have a good understanding of their nature and role. In comparison, far fewer people have made direct use of the holdings and services of archival institutions and programs. This is not a weakness of archives, but a reflection of the fundamentally different nature of archives and the way they are used. While most archivists are strongly committed to enabling significant increases in the usage of archives by the community, the fact remains that direct access to archives in institutions is infrequent, and as a result, the role and nature of archives is shrouded in a high degree of mystique and misunderstanding. Sometimes archives are thought to be a particular type or sub-category of library and often archivists are assumed to be simply an esoteric sub-branch of librarians. In recent years, the advent of digital technologies has opened up archives to new online audiences through digitised access to holdings, and federated search portals like Ancestry.com. It has also led to avenues for increased cooperation and collaboration between libraries and archives. This paper explores the similarities and differences between libraries and archives. Its aim is to dispel myths and misunderstandings about such things, so as to ensure that discussions about potential collaborations and convergences can be well informed. The main argument of this paper centres around the unique and special value proposition provided by archives. It is the view of the ASA that archival resources need to be managed by professionals with appropriate skill-sets, namely archivists. Appropriately qualified and experienced ASA members are able to obtain professional accreditation/recognition and access to ongoing continuing professional development though the ASA. The role of archives and archivists Archives have two quite distinct, though interrelated purposes: First, archives enable good recordkeeping in support of organisational efficiency, corporate memory and good governance. In relation to the latter, in democratic societies, government archives are vitally important enablers of a healthy democracy as good records are essential in enabling democratic accountability, good public administration and open government. Nowadays, archives fulfil this role not just by selecting and preserving records of continuing value, but also by working with records creators to enable the design, implementation and maintenance of sound recordkeeping systems that help organisations and governments to meet their recordkeeping requirements and community expectations. An extremely important archival activity in the context of this role is called appraisal. Appraisal is a recurrent process of analysing business activity in order to determine requirements for the creation, management, retention and disposal of records. An important part of appraisal involves identifying minimum retention periods for records, thus enabling the authorised disposal of records that have reached or exceeded their minimum retention periods. The results of appraisal are often codified in documents known as retention and disposal schedules. Second, through their preservation of specific records, archives are responsible for preserving, controlling and enabling the use of a critical subset of the documentary heritage of society. This is a role that archives share with some libraries, which may have responsibilities under legal deposit legislation and other polices to preserve particular types of information for posterity, to help current and future generations to remember, understand and explain themselves. Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 2

3 Although the above two roles are different, the fact that it is records that are managed in pursuit of both roles means that the two roles cannot be separated if there is to be a coherent and holistic regime for guaranteeing the integrity, authenticity and useabilty of records across the entire continuum of their existence. As tempting as it might sometimes be to separate the two roles structurally or institutionally, such an approach is very likely to be counterproductive and is strongly discouraged by the ASA. Archivists, as a distinct information management profession, possess a unique set of skills associated with designing and maintaining systems for the creation, control and use of records as necessary and valuable evidence of business activity, where the provenance of those records is documented in robust and persistent systems and where the integrity and authenticity of records can be guaranteed and, where necessary, demonstrated over time. Archival programs can take a variety of forms. They may be government or in-house organisational archives responsible for managing and/or controlling the records of the larger entity of which they are a part. They may be so-called collecting archives that select and acquire valuable archival resources created by other individuals, groups or organisations where the acquisition decisions are guided by an approved collection policy or mandate. Sometimes, collecting archives exist as discrete entities within large research libraries and may be referred to as special collections, but they are nevertheless still archival programs that require the deployment of specialist archival management skills and techniques. Archival programs may also take the form of documentation initiatives or programs, where the aim is not to take custody of and preserve archival materials but rather to document and support the continuing existence of significant archival materials held in distributed custodial arrangements. The advent of digital technologies is significantly transforming the nature and operations of both libraries and archives. First, the nature of the digital information resources managed by libraries and archives is very different to that of analogue resources, requiring transformations in regimes for selection, acquisition, preservation and access. Second, digital online technologies have totally transformed both the means by which information resources can be made accessible to users and the expectations of users for instant, 24/7 online access, regardless of whether the resources in question were born-digital or bornanalogue, with digital copies. The information needs of users are rarely confined to just library resources on the one hand or archival resources on the other. Often their information needs will straddle both kinds of resources, and they will have little understanding of or interest in the different management regimes that support them. Therefore, libraries and archives are working together to deliver user-friendly online discovery and access services to the resources under their control, recognising that it is important to do so in ways that make the fundamental differences in the nature of these different resources apparent to and understood by those users. Similarities between archives and libraries Archives and libraries both: Manage and enable access to information resources Help protect and preserve documentary heritage Offer online access to an increasing number of their services What do libraries and archives have in common? An examination of the Australian Library and Information Association s and the Australian Society of Archivists mission statements provides some basis for comparison (ALIA, 2007; ASA, 1996). Both libraries and archives Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 3

4 select, manage, preserve, provide access to and enable use of information. Both also have to manage legal copyright restrictions that apply to the information resources they work with. As such, both librarians and archivists are information management professionals. All archives and some libraries, such as the National, state and some special libraries, manage, preserve and provide access to Australia s documentary heritage. What is different about archives? Archives manage, preserve and provide access to a particular sub-set of information called records. Records are information created, received and maintained as evidence and as an asset by an organization or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business (ISO 15489: 2016). Traditionally, archives have identified a sub-set of records (estimated at between 1 and 10% of all records) deemed worthy of continuing preservation for management as archival materials or holdings for the benefit of current and future generations. More recently, archives have become increasingly committed to involvement across the entire continuum of the existence of records, from the design and implementation of records systems, through the creation and capture of records to supporting their long-term management and use. This involvement has accelerated in response to the advent of digital technologies that are used to create and manage records. Libraries acquire and/or provide licensed access to information resources, usually in the form of published items or serials, that meet the needs of a known community of users. These resources may only be kept for short periods of time. Where they collect manuscript records, such as individual letters, diaries, photographs or films, these are often managed as individual items, in a similar way to published materials. Where libraries collect business or personal archives, the expectation is that these records will be managed in accordance with archival methods and systems. In short, archives are fundamentally different, both because of the nature of archival materials (records) and the role that archives play within organisations, governments and wider society. The key differences in both areas can be summarised as follows: The nature of records Records are created organically in the course of business activities in order to enable and provide evidence of those activities. Unlike publications, for instance, records are not created with the primary intention of informing or entertaining general readers or supporting education or research (though they may do all of those things). Rather, they are created to enable, document and provide evidence of activities. This evidence is essential to support corporate and individual memory, efficiency and accountability. Records are usually unique. They are not usually created for mass duplicate production and distribution. Records derive their meaning, value and utility from the context in which they are created and used. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to understand and create and maintain enduring documentation of the reasons why records are created, by whom Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 4

5 and in what context. The core business of archives is developing and implementing systems that persistently link records to information about their context. Archival control systems are based on provenance the complex and dynamic networks of relationships within which records are created and used. This makes the management of archival resources fundamentally different from the management of library resources, which are usually controlled and classified by subject. Archival materials usually accumulate into large aggregations of related records, where their meaning and value is derived from the interrelationships between the individual records within the aggregation and between the records and the different entities associated or involved with their creation and use. Unlike library resources, which are usually managed at the individual object level, archival resources are usually managed as aggregations based on provenance. Unlike publications, which are intended to be read from the outset by as many people as possible (copyright restrictions not withstanding), records often contain private, sensitive, secret or security classified information. As such, access to records is often restricted by law or by agreement for periods of time until the sensitivity of the information passes. Any breaches of access restrictions can be extremely embarrassing (indeed, sometime even catastrophic) to affected parties, including the archives that has control of the records. So, archives take the management of access restrictions very seriously indeed and institute rigorous controls and procedures, to ensure that unauthorised access to records cannot happen. Summary of the differences between Archives and Libraries Archives Specialise in the identification, protection and provision of access to records Deal with records in aggregate, often in large volumes, based on the context of their creation Administer a variety of changing access requirements for records over time, including in law, government or corporate policy, copyright and more Support accountability through the keeping of good evidence, as well as providing access to records as appropriate Are expert in creating and managing contextual information on records provenance, and monitoring changes to this over time Make and execute decisions about the destruction of records that must take account of law, societal expectations and other requirements. Libraries Specialise in the acquisition and management of published information Usually manage items and serials at a more discrete, individual level Provide open access to the great majority of their holdings, with access restrictions usually based in copyright law Are primarily concerned with providing easy, equitable access to information Are expert in library cataloguing systems that apply subject-based classifications Remove items based on library policy and stakeholder engagement. Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 5

6 Collaboration and/or convergence? It is the view of the ASA that archives provide distinct, separate, valuable and enduring benefits as separate programs requiring distinctive and unique skill sets and operational systems. There is much to be gained by archives and libraries collaborating on initiatives of common interest that deliver cost-efficiencies and benefits to end-users. There is often much to be gained by physically co-locating archives and library services in cultural precincts, providing it is understood that the role of both archives and libraries is usually not limited to cultural memory but, in fact, diverges beyond that limitation in varieties of ways. However, this is quite a different proposition to any suggestion that libraries and archives should converge into being single, indistinguishable entities where the imperatives for deploying different approaches to managing their very different kinds of roles and information resources are overlooked or dismissed as being irrelevant. While the advent of digital technologies has changed many things, it does not alter the fundamental differences between libraries and archives. Indeed, if anything, the advent of digital technologies means that in order to fulfil the aspirations and expectations of our clients it is more important than ever for information service providers and those who fund those services to acknowledge the fundamentally different nature of records as evidence of activities by deploying systems and institutional arrangements that acknowledge, rather than deny, those differences. Conclusion Libraries and archives select, manage, preserve, provide access to and enable use of information. The information needs of users are rarely confined to just library resources on the one hand or archival resources on the other. Often their information needs will straddle both kinds of resources, and it is important that libraries and archives help them understand the similarities and differences to enable better use and understanding of these resources. It is not the intention of this article to foster unhelpful divisions between libraries and archives. On the contrary, the ASA is committed to enabling and encouraging fruitful collaboration and cooperation between libraries and archives, providing this is done with a sound understanding of their similarities and differences. While the advent of digital technologies has changed many things, it does not alter the fundamental differences between libraries and archives as described in this paper. Indeed, if anything, the advent of digital technologies means that it is more important than ever to understand the fundamentally different nature of records as evidence of activities and deploy systems and institutional arrangements that acknowledge rather than deny those differences. References ALIA (2007) ASA (1996) Archives and Libraries in the Digital Age: 6