The spirit of total archives: Seeking a sustainable archival system

Archivaria

Volumn 47, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 46-65

  Millar, Laura ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0007082879     PISSN: 03186954     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (19)

1. See Laura Millar, "Discharging our Debt: The Evolution of the Total Archives Concept in English Canada, " Archivaria 46 (Fall 1998), pp. 103-46. I am grateful to Terry Cook for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article, to Richard Valpy for reviewing several versions, and to Don Macleod for welcome editorial input throughout a long process.
2. For a discussion of the relationship between archivists and historians, which was actively debated in the 1970s and 1980s, see Millar, "Discharging our Debt, " particularly pp. 117-22. See also the early issues of Archivaria, including volumes 3, 4, and 5, which included comments from professionals around the country on the role of the archivist.
3. The issue of the cultural role of archivists has been discussed in many venues over the years.
4. Terry Cook, "The Impact of David Bearman on Modern Archival Thinking: An Essay of Personal Reflection and Critique, " Archives and Museums Informatics 11, no. 1 (1997), pp. 15-37. Cook discusses the issue of evidence on pages 28-30.
5. Quoted in John English, The Role of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada: Report Submitted to the Honourable Sheila Copps (Ottawa, 1999), published electronically at http://www.pch.gc.ca/wn-qdn/arts/english.html, section IV, subsection 7.
6. This holistic introduction to information issues has become part of archival education at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information Studies and is increasingly common in European institutions. Taking the concept of "information" to its logical conclusion, some traditional archival programmes in Europe and the United States are now adding publications management to the list of courses available, thus offering an education that allows the student to choose from all aspects of information, from its production to its dissemination, use, and protection. The University of Toronto programme can be seen online at http://www.fis.utoronto. ca. See also the curriculum at the University of London, at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slais. The School of Library, Archive and Information Studies offers postgraduate courses in archives and records management.
7. Interestingly, in the face of this call for increased research, there is a move away from a thesis requirement in Canadian graduate archival programmes, which was a core requirement of such studies ten years ago.
8. English, The Role of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada, section V, subsection 5.
9. D.R. Valpy, "Strategic Planning and the Northwest Territories Archives, " unpublished paper, June 1999.
10. See the Task Force on the Preservation and Enhanced Use of Canada's Audio-visual Heritage, Fading Away: Strategic Options to Ensure the Protection of and Access to Our Audio-visual Memory (Ottawa, June 1995).
11. English, The Role of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada, Section V, subsection 6. Information about the global genome database project was discussed on the Canadian archival listserv "ARCAN-L" on 9-10 July 1999.
12. Luciana Duranti, "Diplomatics: New Uses for an Old Science. (Part IV), " Archivaria 31 (Winter 1990). p. 14.
13. More information on the CPRD database is at www.sfu.ca under the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing.
14. See George MacKenzie, "A New World Ahead: International Challenges for Information Management, " The Information Management Journal 33, no. 2 (April 1999), pp. 24-34. For a discussion of the "walls" between professions, see Mary Sue Stephenson, "Deciding Not to Build the Wall: Research and the Archival Profession, " Archivaria 32 (Summer 1991), pp. 145-51, and Terry Cook, "'Another Brick in the Wall': Terry Eastwood's Masonry and Archival Walls, History, and Archival Appraisal, " Archivaria 37 (Spring 1994), pp. 96-103.
15. John English, The Role of the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada, Section IV, subsection 1.
16. See Jeffrey T. Richelson, "Scientists in Black, " Scientific American (February 1998), pp. 48-55.
17. See the Canadian Library Association website at http://cla.ca.
18. Taken from the British Records Association website at http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/irh/associationstits/bra.html.
19. K. Thibodeau, "To Be or Not To Be: Archives for Electronic Records, " in D. Bearman, ed., Archival Management of Electronic Records, Archives and Museum Informatics Technical Report No. 13 (1991), pp. 3, 12-13.