Archives and e-records management in Canada: a state of the art report

Maitrayee Ghosh, Librarian, Central Library, Banasthali University, Rajasthan, India. Canadian studies Faculty Research Fellow 2010, , , Canada.

Abstract: The author visited Canada during March 2010 to study Canadian Archival system especially records management in in province; the driving rationale for the study was the realization that there existed very less or no archives and record management program in India. This study intends to report different types of archives and record management (ARM) programs in Canada, with special reference to e-records management viz. automation status, creation of virtual exhibits, preservation of digital images, metadata standard for e-records etc. The prime objectives were to overview the current state of modern record keeping in the Government of Canada and identify the core competencies required to build effective record keeping infrastructures in the electronic work environment that has emerged in most government institutions.

Introduction: Canada is one of the most successful nations impel libraries to work together more closely. at identifying, valuing and preserving its No longer can libraries preserve historical history and cultural heritage. The first efforts records without prior consultation, without a to acquire archival records originated from clear mandate and without a realistic look at the Literary and Historical Society of , the scope and implications of objectives established in 1824. The first was The Canadian archival system comprises the Douglas Brymner, a journalist, who collected National Archives of Canada, the Canadian historical papers, old manuscripts and records Council of Archives (CCA), the provincial in Quebec, Montreal and Toronto; his councils of archives, national and regional successor, Arthur Doughty also collected and professional associations and other both approached the federal government to repositories from across the country. provide a building to house the growing . The following are the objectives of the collection of historical records. Wilson (1982) current study: identified that Public Archives of Canada, the status of archives and e-records formally recognized by statute in 1912 and management in Canada not established primarily as a government the level of computerization in records office. Its intellectual origins can be archives traced directly to the formation of the Literary the use of standard for managing and Historical Society of Quebec in 1824. archival records Over the past two decades, unprecedented the challenges of managing e-records growth has occurred in Canadian archives. As and associated problems. the number of archives has increased over the period, the new challenges and opportunities

Defining archives and related terms: institution or program responsible for taking The term "archives" in the current context is charge, arranging, describing and conserving not restricted to actual records, produced or archives and making them accessible as and received by any individual or organization in when required by anybody. Simpson (1948) carrying on their work. It also refers to the opined, „Archives to most people represent an obscure and remote institution which is business as evidence of the organization, narrowly specialized in its organization and functions, policies, decisions, procedures, serves a relatively few people…he pointed operations, or other activities of the out the dynamic which creates archives and organizations. The records management is maintain their vitality springs from three viewed as a subset of the larger information primary sources: a sense of tidiness, a sense management issue. of tradition and a sense of crisis. A record is The Society of American state that defined as all , papers, maps, archives management is “The general photographs, machine readable materials, or oversight of a program to appraise, acquire, other documentary materials, regardless of arrange and describe, preserve, authenticate, physical form, made or received by an agency and provide access to permanently valuable in connection with the transaction of public records. The widely adopted ISO 15489 standards looked after active records called record define records management as: “field of managers and those who handled inactive management responsible for the efficient and ones leveled as archivist. systematic control of the creation, receipt, The fonds register is a list of all maintenance, use and disposition of records, records preserved at archives sorted including processes for capturing and alphabetically by the name of its creator. maintaining evidence of and information Fonds consists of individual's records about business activities and transactions. pertaining to his career as a scholar and E-records management refers to the efficient includes research files, professional files, and systematic control of the creation, receipt, manuscripts, as well as personal files. maintenance, use and disposition of records, Finding aids are self lists/descriptive tools including the process for capturing and which provide an overview and detailed file maintaining evidence of information about lists for all of the material in an archive, For business activities and transactions in the example registers, guides, inventories, form of records in electronic format (Roper indexes, containing information about records and Millar, 1999). in archival custody, that establish J.C.Eamer-Goult (1995) in his thesis traced administrative, physical or intellectual control the division of responsibilities amongst over the holdings of an archives, and make it records professionals as per records life status possible to retrieve particular records or viz. active, semi-active and inactive and information from these archives. opined incorrect. He further discussed separate records occupations: those who

Description of the archives visited:

Archives in Canada range in physical format Room 305, Scott Library on York from traditional paper files, minute books, University‟s Keele Campus. Since its ledgers, diaries, letters and reports, to inception, Archives & Special Collections has microfilm, photographic images, cartographic focused on acquiring high-quality research materials, architectural drawings, motion- collections that support the teaching and picture film, sound recordings, videotape, research programs of the University. In machine-readable data files, diskettes and particular, York University Archives has even Web sites. acquired and made accessible a large number The author was based at York University of primary and rare secondary resources on which is Canada's third-largest university; the Canadian Labor History. The records in the archives and special collections are located at archives are available for use by York faculty and students, as well as external wonderful discussion on the topic. The author researchers at York University Archives, also met Gabriela Mircea to discuss on ETDs Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to at Tspace repository. 4:30 pm. All archival or special collections The University Archives providing a research materials must be used within York service, an administrative service through the University Archives. development and implementation of the University's records management program. is Canada's largest and UTARMS records management program most distinguished university.It is equally seeks to promote systematic control of important to visit University of Toronto‟s university records in accordance with legal Archives Records Management Services statutes and University policy. It provides (UTARMS guidance to administrative and academic units http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utarms/) which on management of their records. UTARMS is located on the fourth floor of the Thomas defines a basic set metadata elements.The Fisher Rare Library and responsible for standard is designed to be used as a reference the appraisal, acquisition, preservation and tool by managers, IT personnel and software use of University records of permanent value vendors involved in the design, selection and and the private records of individuals and implementation of electronic recordkeeping organizations associated with the university. and related information management systems. Dr Garron Wells is the archivist welcomed the author on 8th March, morning and had a Table: 1 List of Archives visited

Name of the archives Date of visit Automation status University of Toronto Archives and 8/3/2010 No software used Records Management System UTARMS http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utarms/ Mentor In house developed York University Archives & Special university html based Collections Software by CCA http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/Archi vesSpecialCollections/index.htm

Ryerson University Library and 13/3/2010 MINISIS Archives (RULA) 1971 http://www.library.ryerson.ca/

Carlton University 17/3/2010 DB/Textworks & Irfanview is used for images

Archives de l' Universite‟ d' 16/3/2010 No software http://www.uottawa.ca/services/archive s/

Library And Archives, LAC, 19/3/2010 MIKAN Canada;2004 1490 - Present 12/3/2010 MINISIS http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/ 1700's- Present Toronto City Archives 23/3/2010 WebGencat. http://www.toronto.ca/archives/

Archives of the University of Ottawa Ryerson community and appraises, preserves, http://www.uottawa.ca/services/archives/eng/) and makes accessible a broad range of is situated in the Room 012, Marie Curie. primary source materials which provide The archives gather, select, organize conserve administrative, academic, fiscal, legal, social, and publicize documents created or and cultural record of . accumulated by the University's staff, as well Owen Jenkins is the archivists. The records as other documents that have an historical management service includes: value for the University. The Archives are  analysis and appraisal; responsible for encouraging academic and  file maintenance and administrative units to manage their records arrangement; efficiently.  scheduling; semi-active storage and disposition. TheArchives (http://www.ryerson.ca/archives/ serves as the institutional memory of the

Visit to national, provincial and municipal Archives

The Library and Archives in Canada (LAC) presentation by Ms Noreen Hill and Ms preservation laboratory in the city of Merideth Fletcher on Trusted Digital Gatineau, Québec is a gateway to national repositort was organized in the second half of archival resources; Visit to Library and the day. Archives Canada (LAC) was important to Archives of Ontario selects, acquires, preserves learn about the Trusted digital repository and and makes publicly accessible recorded digital imaging best practices . The author information of provincial significance was greeted by Mr David Ross, Volt and documenting the political, social, economic Holding Management Officer, at the and industrial development of Ontario, spectacular conservation laboratory on the regardless of physical form or characteristics. morning of 19th March 2010.The author had This includes textual, cartographic, discussion with Ms Jessica Squres on archives architectural, photographic and electronic management and organization; the interesting records, sound recordings, moving images, and documentary art. The Archives of Ontario receives grants from Library holds over 80,000 published items to Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) through assist researchers using the archival National Archival Description project collection. (NADP) and Young Canada Works.

The City of Toronto Archives preserve and River and Canal with bicameral governance provide access to records of enduring value structure; there are two archives in the Carlton regardless of media or format, that provide University campus: viz. The Corporate evidence of the decisions, policies, and Records and Archives activities of the City of Toronto, its (http://www2.carleton.ca/records/) supports predecessor municipalities, and its agencies, the creation and operation of institutional boards, and commissions which do not have information (historical, legal, fiscal, their own archival programs. The Archives administrative and evidentiary value) also acquires, preserves, and provides access management plan. The Special Collections to non-government records that make a and Archive significant contribution to an understanding of (http://www.library.carleton.ca/specialcollecti the development of the City. Conservation ons/index.html) is responsible for the library‟s services are integrated with a wide range of Special Collections and library‟s own archival and records management activities at Archives. It contains print and manuscript the City of Toronto Archives. Collection materials and because of their content, format, assessments, customized storage systems, re- age, or value, need to be preserved or kept formatting, user accessibility, and treatments apart from the general collection. The are a major component of preservation collections are located in Room 503 and are management. Material requiring conservation accessible only by staff; Patti Harper is the is targeted as early as possible in the head of Archives and Research Collections. processing stages of archival arrangement. Carleton University‟s Corporate Archivist is Treatments are carried out in the Archives' available as a resource for the Carleton conservation laboratory. community in all aspects of records Carlton University is situated on a beautiful management in the university context campus bordered by the sparkling Rideau .

Organization of records:

In the current context, archive refers to the Arrangement and description of the institutions or organizational units responsible records in its keeping. The archival for maintaining the archival record and has principles of arrangement, following functions: "provenance" and "respect des fonds" Appraisal of recorded information for recognize that the archival record is its value, selects that which is most appropriately kept in its original permanent, and acquires this portion order, reflecting the manner and through formal transfer. context in which it came into being. Conservation of the record, by The fourth function of a modern preserving intrinsically valuable archive is providing public access. documents in their original physical Archival services are changing form or by transferring the rapidly, seeking to take full advantage information to a permanent of digitization and the Web to make documentary form. the original sources for Canadian history available to all who may want transferring ownership to particular university to draw upon. and specifying a term governing access and The principle of “provenance” means that the use of the donated material is completed. At materials of a particular organization or the end of each calendar year, university family must be arranged and described arrange for the evaluation of private archives together, and not combined with records that donated over the course of the year. Private were created separately. Provenance demands archival collections, if donated as a gift-in- that the records be arranged and described as kind to university archives and special they were when they arrived in the archives, collections, may be eligible for a tax receipt so that the contextual meaning of the issued through university's office. materials will not be lost. Majority of the archives not only lack formal 'Description proceeds from the general to the policies for appraising the full range of specific', beginning with the fonds, and documentary sources created by their moving through the inverted pyramid from institutions, from the president‟s office to series, to files, to individual items. informal student groups, but also seem Fonds seriessub series individual concerned mostly with having methods to filesitems deal with traditional documentary sources. When a donor decides to donate their archival records to university archives a deed of gift

Archival standard and application of software

The Bureau of Canadian Archivists (BCA) MARC-AMC (Archival and Manuscript established the Planning Committee on control) is another professional standard for Descriptive Standards (PCDS) to plan and the description and exchange of archival coordinate the development of descriptive information and this format as a standards for the archival profession in communication vehicle is recognized almost Canada and Rules for Archival Description universally as is the desirability of library- (RAD), first published in 1990, to develop archives compatibility in information finding aids, so that records could be more exchange. easily retrieved and exchanged through MINISIS is the popular software package used by automated systems and a union database majority of the archives in Canada and considered would be created. A Rules for Archival as best archival software. A lot of projects on Description (RAD) focuses on specific media: application of different types of software for graphic materials, machine-readable records, archives and records management are on their architectural drawings, textual records, sound way. The archivists in Carlton University are recordings, and moving image materials. also trying open source software viz. Drupal for in house management. its policies and Programs to reflect archival Archival association/networks in Canada: needs and requirements of the regions. Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) Canadian Council of Archives consists of over 600 members and represents (http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca) CCA archival institutions, all those working in founded in 1985 as a result of federal- archives, as well as users and supporters of provincial efforts to encourage and facilitate archives. Established in 1993 as a result of the the evolution of an archival system in Canada. amalgamation of the Ontario Association of Each provincial/territorial council has a Archivists and Ontario Council of A, the representative on the CCA. The Council tailor AAO is the voice of Archives in Ontario. ARCHEION-Ontario‟s Archival Information across Ontario, managed by the Archives Network; It is a searchable database of Association of Ontario (AAO). descriptions of archival fonds and collections

Observation and conclusion:

Records are considered as commodity and expectations and to empower the end user. attempts to improve their management has The archival record is not constant but is necessitated to a more integrated and continually created and augmented. In any controlled approach. In this study it is noted modern administrative body, whether a large that archivist and records managers have at government or a local voluntary association, present very little influence on policy information is recorded for some implementation of archives and working administrative purpose. It may then be kept under university librarian and less influence for reference or for audit and legal reasons. on decision making. All the university When it is no longer current, the designated archives get a nominal amount from library archivist of that administrative body selects budget. No separate budget for archives is records of enduring value for preservation and available; modest budgets are allocated for future reference. It was possible to establish rare book collection. very good relations with the archivists of The total archives concept in English Canada these institutions and the author will continue is based on American system. The to keep contact with them. It is expected that responsibility for collecting and copying its the findings of this study will serve as a historical records fell to the government; with building block to deeper examinations of the so called convergence of technologies are broader issues such as the core competencies helping to fulfill new demands and rising with respect to records and record keeping.

References:

Archives in Canada, by George Simpson,The American Archivist, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct., 1948), pp. 358-366

A Noble Dream '? The Origins of the public Archives of Canada by Ian E. Wilson Archivaria 15, (Winter 1982-83)pp. 16-35

Conceiving the records continuum in Canada and United States by J.C. Eamer-Goult, thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for Master of Archival studies, University of , 1995.

The Problem of Public and Historical Records in Canada, Canadian Historical Review, University of Toronto Press, Volume 25, Number 1 / 1944 pp. 1-53

Provincial Archives in Canada, Canadian Historical Review, University of Toronto Press, vol. 16, no:1,1935

ArchiVISTA: A New Horizon in Providing Access to Visual Records of the National Archives of Canada by Gerald Stone and Philip Sylva Library Trends/ Spring, 1990,pp737-750

Rules for Archival Description (RAD): http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/archdesrules.html