“I Can’t Wait for You to Die”

Stemming from conflicts over the authority of professional archives to arrange and steward community knowledge, this article outlines the limitations of the archival apparatus to produce the conditions for social liberation through acquisition and offers suggestions for how to operate otherwise, as a collaborator in forgetting. It discusses the origins and revised mission of the Pittsburgh Queer History Project (PQHP) as a reflection of the precarious definition of community archives within the discipline and field of archival science. By retracing the steps in the PQHP’s mission, as it moved from being a custodial and exhibit-focused collecting project to acting as a decentralized mobile preservation service, I argue that community archival practice is an important standpoint from which to critically reassess the capacity of institutional archives to create a more conscious and complete history through broader collecting. Specifically, I demonstrate how contemporary attention to the value of community records and community archives is frequently accompanied by a demand for such archives, records, and communities to confess precarity and submit to institutional recordkeeping practices.

Rola digitalizacji zasobów archiwalnych

Artykuł przedstawia cele digitalizacji prowadzonej w archiwach państwowych. Autorka wskazuje, w jaki sposób realizacja działań związanych z cyfryzacją okazuje się skuteczna i potrzebna w bardzo szerokim zakresie – w odniesieniu zarówno do dziedzictwa kulturowego zgromadzonego w państwowych instytucjach, jak i digitalizacji oddolnej, powstającej z inicjatywy archiwów społecznych czy osób prywatnych w ramach istnienia forów oraz tematycznych stron internetowych. Słowa kluczowe: cele digitalizacji, archiwum, kopia cyfrowa, oryginał, zabezpieczanie, popularyzacja, udostępnianie, archiwa społeczne The Role of Digitalization of Archival and Library Resources in the Contemporary World The paper discusses the issues of digitalization of archival resources and the role of digital copies both in the area of protecting national heritage against destruction and also in popularizing the activities of institutions that create such reproductions, and in social life in general. The texts lists the objectives of digitalization defined by the Director General of State Archives and discusses them in brief, presenting only an outline of the broad extent of benefits provided by the sharing of digital versions of their collections by state institutions as well as community archives and private collectors, which translates into popularization of digitalized materials. The study also points out the limitations in sharing digital copies related to the personal data protection and other regulations that do not permit unrestricted publication. The next part of the paper contains a discussion on the value of digital reproduction compared to the original. The author stresses that a digital copy is not equal to the original, which is a priceless value in itself. However, advanced technologies enable a much broader use of a copy, and in some cases, additionally, make it possible to extract from the original the information that is inaccessible or invisible to the naked eye of an ordinary user. The text closes with the issues related to the universality of recording and reading digitalized materials, and to the space that should be provided for the increasing digital resources, and, consequently, the accompanying financial outlays. The issues examined in this study are broad enough to require in-depth research and a separate publication. That is why it does not aspire to exhaust the subject. The growing popularity of digital reproductions in each area of life provokes, however, discussion on this problem. Keywords: digitalization objectives, archives, digital copy, original, protection, popularization, sharing, community archives

Sustaining Community Archives

<p>All over New Zealand there are collections of archives, representing the recorded memory of their communities. They play an important role in our heritage and cultural well-being but the quality of care they receive and their accessibility vary greatly, giving rise to concerns about the longevity of some. This research investigates the factors required for maintenance of community archives over the long-term and assesses how well a selection of New Zealand Archives display these factors. A methodological framework for assessing likely sustainability of Community Archives was developed, based on requirements for managing community (or local history) archives documented by United States archivists. Four different Community Archives in New Zealand were then studied and the findings compared. Results show that many of the factors required for maintenance are inter-related and inter-dependent but that, above all, organisational factors have a significant impact on the maintenance of the archival records and the evidential value they contain. Different organisational structures and governance characteristics, and their consequent impact on other factors, indicate that, by addressing these aspects of Community Archives, their sustainability could be greatly enhanced. The study could, therefore, provide guidance for archivists and policy makers in future decision-making relating to Community Archives.</p>

Sustaining Community Archives

<p>All over New Zealand there are collections of archives, representing the recorded memory of their communities. They play an important role in our heritage and cultural well-being but the quality of care they receive and their accessibility vary greatly, giving rise to concerns about the longevity of some. This research investigates the factors required for maintenance of community archives over the long-term and assesses how well a selection of New Zealand Archives display these factors. A methodological framework for assessing likely sustainability of Community Archives was developed, based on requirements for managing community (or local history) archives documented by United States archivists. Four different Community Archives in New Zealand were then studied and the findings compared. Results show that many of the factors required for maintenance are inter-related and inter-dependent but that, above all, organisational factors have a significant impact on the maintenance of the archival records and the evidential value they contain. Different organisational structures and governance characteristics, and their consequent impact on other factors, indicate that, by addressing these aspects of Community Archives, their sustainability could be greatly enhanced. The study could, therefore, provide guidance for archivists and policy makers in future decision-making relating to Community Archives.</p>

Preserving the history of Birmingham Black Radio: a discussion of preservation, outreach and collaboration

Purpose The Birmingham Black Radio Museum (BBRM) is a community museum and archives located in Birmingham, Alabama (USA) dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of Black radio. The BBRM fulfills this mission through educational programming, providing access to physical and digital materials and supporting emerging curatorial professionals. Through a reflective analysis of the BBRM, the authors discuss the relationship between preservation, public programming and professional outreach, the partnerships that enable these functions and how conceptions of community responsibility have informed the organization’s management strategy. The BBRM provides a context for isolating the factors which inform the emergence of community memory institutions, the challenges associated with managing decentralized information environments and considers how mentorship can operate as a form of capacity building. An examination of the BBRM provides a view of one institution’s approach to engaging community partners and audiences in achieving its primary goal of documentary preservation. Design/methodology/approach This analysis is informed by historical, case study and autoethnographic methods. Emphasis is placed on examining BBRM’s historical origins, primary functions and community mandates. Specific attention is given to examining operations, resources and strategies. Commentary and discussion are grounded by the professional experiences of BBRM staff and collaborators. Findings The operations of the BBRM, and the experiences reported by BBRM staff, are similar to those documented by findings in the community archives and museums literatures. Community mandates and institutional identify have strongly informed the BBRM’s mandates, strategies for engaging the public and establishment of strategic partnerships. Originality/value This reflective analysis documents the operations of one specific community memory institution. Though the experiences documented in this paper are common to many community archives and museums, this study contributes an additional data point, further contributing to the body of evidence necessary to support a more nuanced understanding of the role and function of community memory institutions and their management.

Proposed independent organisational structure for memory institutions in Zimbabwe and South Africa

Purpose The idea of convergence of cultural institutions, especially the libraries, archives and museums (LAMS) to operate as one, has a long theoretical history which unfortunately has not been translated into practice. This subject has been discussed by a number of scholars but the implementation has just remained theoretical with only a few countries practically adopting such an organisational structure. In Africa, this concept of LAMS is yet to gain traction. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is aimed at proposing such LAMS structures for African nations, especially in Zimbabwe and South Africa considering the emergence of community “archives” which have blurred further the distinction between museology, archiving and librarianship. The motivation in advocating for the adoption of LAMS is also driven by the theory behind participatory archives which thrive on the advanced use of internet including social media platforms that can make it possible to have one-stop virtual archive on the cloud that also incorporates museums and libraries. Design/methodology/approach This is a concept paper which reviewed the literature on national and community archives in Zimbabwe and South Africa which were purposively selected because of their long history in archiving. This was done to come up with a proposed “independent” national heritage organisational structure. “Independent” structure because this paper was based on the assumption that the independence of decision-making in national archival structures in Zimbabwe and South Africa is compromised and biased towards the ethos of political parties’ ruling governments. Findings Proposed integrated framework for community archives into the sustainable national archival system which also incorporates the role that can be played by universities. The framework is likely to be feasible and of benefit in the countries that are struggling to have national mainstream independent archives which are just not paying allegiance to those who are in power. Originality/value This study is unique in the sense that it mixes LAMS and the concept of independent archival structure in a regional comparative nature that involves Zimbabwe and South Africa.