Appendix I
International and professional engagement
International engagement
Assistance to the Solomon Islands
In February 2006, Ms Danielle Wickman, Director, Corporate Governance, was seconded to work in the Solomon Islands for 12 months. The placement was in response to a request from the Permanent Secretary of the Solomon Islands’ Department of Culture and Tourism to provide technical advice and practical support on processes and systems to improve recordkeeping in all Solomon Islands government departments. Ms Wickman will also be providing advice on the recruitment of permanent staff to the National Archives of the Solomon Islands.
The project will be providing:
- a baseline report for Solomon Islands government agencies describing the status of their records;
- a detailed strategy for improving records management across government;
- a set of performance indicators to measure improved systems and processes for recordkeeping across the Solomon Islands government; and
- a report at the conclusion of the assignment, which will document progress against the strategy.
The project is fully funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
International Council on Archives and International Conference of the Round Table on Archives
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The International Council on Archives (ICA) holds a congress every four years that provides a unique professional leadership and development opportunity. The most recent ICA congress was held in 2004.
The International Conference of the Round Table on Archives (CITRA) is the annual meeting of heads of national archival institutions, chairpersons of national professional associations and chairpersons of ICA sections and committees. CITRA meets between quadrennial ICA congresses and allows members holding important responsibilities within the profession to meet every year to debate their views, update their knowledge and share experiences on subjects of common interest.
CITRA’s program is prepared by the CITRA Bureau. In early 2005 the Director-General was elected to the CITRA Bureau to represent the Asia and Oceania regions.
From 23 November to 4 December 2005, Mr Gibbs attended the annual CITRA conference and associated meetings of the CITRA Bureau and presented two papers, titled ‘Preserving the Memory of the Web – The Australian Experience’ and ‘Integrating Recordkeeping into Australian Performance Audits’. For its three-year vision for 2005–07, the CITRA conference adopted the theme, ‘Archives, Diversity and Globalization’.
Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives
The Archives continued to provide Treasury support to the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA).
The Archives provides leadership and support to the professional archives community in Australia and overseas, particularly in the Pacific region, principally through assistance with training and advice. In that context, the Archives participated in PARBICA’s 11th Biennial Conference in Nadi, Fiji, 19–23 September 2005, which is discussed below.
Overseas visits by Archives staff
Staff represented the Archives at various conferences overseas in 2005–06, as described below.
September 2005
The Director-General, Mr Adrian Cunningham and Ms Danielle Wickman attended the 11th Biennial Conference of PARBICA in Nadi, Fiji.
The conference, which took the form of a workshop, was shaped around the theme ‘Recordkeeping for Good Governance’, and was attended by delegates from 18 Pacific countries and Malaysia. Key outcomes of the workshop included a strategic direction and vision and action plans for the future of archives in the Pacific.
October 2005
The Australian Society of Archivists held its annual conference in Wellington, New Zealand. Themed ‘Archives and Communities’, the conference was jointly held with the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand and the New Zealand Society of Archivists.
Mr Gibbs and Ms Dianne Macaskill, Chief Executive and Chief Archivist of Archives New Zealand, jointly presented a paper on ‘Trans-Tasman collaboration’. In his capacity as a director of the Collections Council of Australia (a peak body representing Australian galleries, libraries, archives and museums), Mr Gibbs also presented a paper entitled, ‘Linking the Nation’s Memory: Archives and the Collections Council of Australia’. The following Archives staff presented papers at the conference:
- Ms Beatrice Barnett – ‘Archives and the School Communities – Making the Connection Online’
- Mr Paul Dalgleish – ‘Recent Developments in Copyright from Access Standards to Standard Access’
- Dr Tikka Wilson – ‘Publishing Online: The Uncommon Life of Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda’
- Ms Zoë D’Arcy – ‘Why Exhibitions and Who Cares, Anyway?’
Also in October, Dr Stephen Ellis attended the 2005 European Union Machine Readable Data Forum in Budapest, Hungary, where he presented a keynote speech on developments in e-governance in Australia.
January 2006
Ms Caroline Whitley attended the Metals in Paper/ 2nd International Iron Gall Ink Meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Ms Whitley presented the results of a three-year investigation into the degradation of iron gall inks on parchments. This investigation is part of an Australian Research Council?]funded linkage grant. Ms Whitley’s attendance at the conference was co-funded by the Archives and the Cultural Heritage Research Centre at the University of Canberra.
April 2006
Three Archives staff attended the ‘Book, Paper and Photographic Materials Symposium’ in Wellington, New Zealand. The symposium was organised by the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials. Ms Caroline Whitley presented two iron gall ink workshops to conservators from Australia and New Zealand. Each workshop included both theoretical and practical components covering the history, chemistry, degradation, identification, characterisation and conservation treatment options for iron gall ink.
Ms Tania Riviere presented a paper on her research work into the platinum printing process, with a particular focus on a record from the Archives’ collection, ‘The First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia: The Ministry and the House of Representatives’ (NAA: A7611, 1). Ms Prue McKay also attended the symposium.
May 2006
Ms Margaret Kenna attended the 15th General Conference and Seminar on Archives and Education of the Southeast Asia Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives in Brunei. Ms Kenna presented a keynote address entitled, ‘Past, Present and Future: Presenting the National Memory through Innovation and Technology’ and a paper, ‘A Virtual Reading Room: An Education Program for Now and the Future’.
Also in May, Ms Colleen McEwen attended the VII European Conference on Archives in Warsaw, Poland, the theme of which was ‘Archivist: Profession of the Future in Europe’. The conference discussed the development of a competency model for European professionals. Ms McEwen contributed accounts of the Australian experience in developing a set of competencies for archivists and records managers.
June 2006
Mr Adrian Cunningham attended the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists in Newfoundland, Canada. Mr Cunningham presented a paper entitled, ‘Talking with the taxman about poetry: The National Archives of Australia’s experiences with consultation on macro-appraisal’.
International visitors to the Archives
The Archives hosted several international visitors during 2005–06, as described below.
August 2005
A National Archives of South Africa delegation interested in repository architecture and facilities visited the Archives’ offices in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
September 2005
A delegation of Japanese archivists and historians visited the National Office, Canberra for training in the Commonwealth Record Series system and the Archives’ descriptive standards, and to discuss the Archives’ digital recordkeeping initiatives. The delegation was led by Ms Sachiko Morimoto of the National Institute for Japanese Literature. Other delegation members came from the National Institute for Japanese Literature, Koyasan University and Keio University.
October 2005
Another delegation from Japan visited the National Office and the Mitchell Repository to investigate the Archives’ work on digital archiving. The delegation comprised representatives from Japanese universities with expertise in governance and metadata, together with representatives from the National Archives of Japan and the Japanese Cabinet Office.
Following earlier visits in 2003 and 2004, representatives from the National Institute of Korean History visited the Archives to further their project of digitising records held in the Archives’ collection that are of interest to South Koreans.
Delegates from Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, visited the National Office, Canberra to discuss reference services to the public. The delegation inspected the Canberra gallery spaces and viewed records about Chinese living in Australia and Australia’s relationship with China.
November 2005
A delegation of 23 representatives from the State Archives Administration of China visited the National Office to discuss digital archive management, electronic recordkeeping systems and counter-disaster strategies.
A delegation of four representatives from the National Archives and Record Service of South Korea spent almost two weeks observing many aspects of the Archives’ operations in Canberra and Brisbane. Delegates were introduced to recordkeeping practices, policies and procedures, including the Archives’ access regimes. The delegation had a particular interest in digital archiving and electronic recordkeeping.
Also in November, Ms Vaosa Epa, Assistant Secretary to the Samoan Cabinet Division, visited the Archives to discuss the treatment of Australian Cabinet records, particularly in relation to storage and preservation.
December 2005
The National Archives and Records Service of Bhutan sent six delegates to the Archives’ Canberra office to discuss building management systems, preservation operations and other practical systems to assist with the development of their own building infrastructure.
A delegation from the National Archives of Indonesia visited the Archives’ offices in Canberra to view the public gallery spaces; to discuss transfer, registration and description issues; and to hear about progress on digital recordkeeping and the systems the Archives uses to support its electronic archiving environment.
A delegation from the National Archives of Malaysia, comprising two archivists, two architects and an engineer, visited the Canberra offices to discuss the Archives’ building and technical facilities.
January 2006
A delegation from Indonesia, comprising representatives of the Cabinet Secretariat, the State Secretariat and the Office of the President of Indonesia, visited to examine Australia’s Cabinet and policy coordination processes, and to explore the scope for cooperation between the public services of Australia and Indonesia.
Also in January, Ms Dianne Macaskill, the Chief Executive and Chief Archivist of Archives New Zealand, visited the National Office to discuss records control.
February 2006
A delegation from Japan, comprising representatives from various university libraries, visited the Mitchell repository to inspect the Archives’ digital preservation facilities and to discuss the procedures that support the digital repository.
Members of the Executive Council of the Southeast Asia–Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association visited the National Office, where they were provided with an overview of the Archives’ audiovisual holdings and its preservation facilities and programs.
Also in February, Dr Blaine Lamb of the Californian State Archives inspected the Archives’ processing and preservation areas and its public gallery spaces. Ms Alison Midwinter from Archives New Zealand visited the Melbourne Office to discuss appraisal and disposal authorisation.
April 2006
Ms Patricia Methven from King’s College, London, visited to discuss the structure and organisation of the Archives. Mr Stuart Duff of the New Zealand Defence Force Archives visited to discuss the Archives’ digitisation of World War I service dossiers.
May 2006
Delegates from Japan visited the Archives’ Sydney Office to continue their work in arranging and describing Japanese company records seized by the Australian Government in the days following the outbreak of war with Japan in 1942.
Ms Cheryl Stanborough and Ms Anna Itamai of the Yap State Archives (in the Federated States of Micronesia) visited the Archives to discuss archival operations and imaging processes.
June 2006
Ms Rose Holley of the University of Auckland visited the Archives to discuss systems architecture for digital collections.
During June and July 2006, a series of student ambassadors from the United States of America visited the National Office. A key element of the ‘People to People Ambassadors Program’ was to provide students with opportunities to learn about the civics and history of their host country firsthand, with a focus on comparisons between countries’ political structures.
Professional engagement
Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities
The Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) is the coordinating body for national, state and territory archives in Australia and New Zealand. It meets twice yearly.
The October 2005 meeting included among its key outcomes the endorsement of the Collections Australia Network website (formerly Australian Museums and Galleries Online) as the appropriate tool to facilitate public access to archival collections at the national, state and regional level.
The two-year term of the Director-General as the Convenor of CAARA concluded at the March 2006 meeting. For the next two years, Tony Caravella of the State Records Office of Western Australia will be the Convenor of CAARA. As the Convenor of CAARA is also an ex officio director of the Collections Council of Australia (CCA), the Director-General also relinquished his position on the CCA in favour of Tony Caravella.
Archives representation on other bodies
In professional and private capacities, Archives staff contribute to various national and international organisations. Following are the names of organisations and the Archives staff who were office-bearers in 2005–06.
International Council of Archives committees and bureaus |
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Adrian Cunningham |
Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA) – Treasurer |
Ross Gibbs |
International Conference of the Round Table on Archives (CITRA) – Member representing Asia and Oceania |
Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material |
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Ian Batterham |
Australian Capital Territory Division – Secretary |
Sallyanne Gilchrist |
Victorian Division – Secretary |
Detlev Lueth |
National – Vice President and Membership Officer |
Ellie McFadyen |
Australian Capital Territory Division – Assistant Secretary |
Prue McKay |
National – Special Interest Group Coordinator |
Australian Society of Archivists |
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Fiona Burn |
New South Wales Branch – Convenor |
Greg Cope |
Queensland Branch – Treasurer |
Jenni Davidson |
Victorian Branch – Executive member |
Katherine Gallen |
Archives and Manuscripts – Editor |
Gay Hogan |
Australian Capital Territory Branch – Secretary |
Naomi Lamb |
ASA Bulletin – Editor |
Ross Latham |
Victorian Branch – Secretary |
Ted Ling |
National – Secretary |
Matt Lyons |
Australian Capital Territory Branch – Convenor |
Nicole Rudland |
Australian Capital Territory Branch – Treasurer |
David Swift |
Queensland Branch – Convenor |
Enid Woodley |
South Australian Branch – Secretary |
CPA Australia |
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Karen Sheppard |
ACT Divisional Council – member |
Museums Australia |
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Michelle Fracaro |
Education Special Interest Group – Secretariat |
Records Management Association of Australasia |
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Marian Hoy |
Australian Capital Territory Branch – Councillor Education |
Ross Latham |
Victorian Branch – Education Co-ordinator |
Mairi Popplewell |
Commonwealth Chapter of the Queensland Branch – Chairperson |
Geoff Smith |
New South Wales Branch – President |
Standards Australia committees |
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Joanna Baker |
Records Management Systems Committee, IT-021 – member |
Ian Batterham |
Micrographics and Image Management Committee, MS-004 – member |
Esther Carey |
Records Management Classification Subcommittee, MS-004 – member |
Adrian Cunningham |
Records Management Committee, IT-021 – member |
Paul Ferridge |
System Migration Subcommittee, IT-021-12 – member |
Duncan Jamieson |
Recordkeeping Metadata Subcommittee, IT-021-07 – member |
Emma Jolley |
Recordkeeping Metadata Subcommittee, IT-021-07 – member |
Anne Robertson |
Compliance Subcommittee, IT-021-05 – member |
Karen Skelton |
Recordkeeping Metadata Subcommittee, IT-021-07 – member |