Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Purpose
3 Scope
4
Acknowledgements
5 Managing
government archives
6 Characteristics
of an archival management regime
7 Distributed
custody and management arrangements
7.1 Models for
distributed custody and management
7.2
Characteristics of a distributed custody and management arrangement
8 Model
distributed custody and management agreement
8.1 Basis of
agreements
8.2 Flexible
approach to distributed custody and management
Appendix A Draft
wording for a model distributed custody and management agreement
Appendix B
Requirements for storage of archives
1 Introduction
This document has been
developed to provide information about practical models for the distributed
custody and management of government archives. These models may be used by
those CAARA members that choose to enter distributed custody or management
arrangements with another party for the management of government archives.
2 Purpose
The purpose of this
document is to:
- identify and
describe practical models for the distributed custody and management of
government archives; and
- provide sample
clauses that could be included in an agreement for the distributed
custody and management of archives.
It should be noted
that for the purposes of this document the archives referred to throughout
are those government records which have been identified through appropriate
disposal authorisation processes (as defined by each national, state and
territory jurisdiction) and which are required to be retained permanently as
part of the national, state or territory archival holdings. It is not
intended to cover government records not required for permanent retention as
archives, but which the archival authority may permit to be kept and made
available to the community through regional or local facilities.
3 Scope
This document is
intended to relate to distributed management arrangements made by state,
territory or national government archives authorities.
4 Acknowledgements
This document has been
developed with the assistance of the following organisations:
- State Records
Authority of New South Wales
- National Archives
of Australia
- Archives Office
of Tasmania
- State Records
Office of Western Australia
- State Records of
South Australia
- Queensland State
Archives
- Public Records
Office of Victoria
- Northern
Territory Archives Service
- Territory Records
Office
- Archives New
Zealand
In particular, the
document has drawn on the distributed custody and management agreement
developed by the State Records Authority of New South Wales for its network
of regional repositories.
5 Managing
government archives
The majority of
records which are retained as government archives at a state, territory or
national level will be managed in centralised facilities under the direct
control of the relevant state, territory or national government archival
authority. This arrangement can include branch or regional facilities under
the control of the archives authority. This ‘centralised model’ is used by
most government archival authorities in Australia.
However, there is an
alterative management regime which may be effective for part of the archival
holdings - this is the distributed custody and management regime. This is a
regime whereby archives (that is those records which are selected to be
retained as national, state or territory archives) are managed by another
party in facilities not under the control of the archival authority.
6 Characteristics of an archival management regime
In order to manage
archives properly and provide the care, protection and access required, an
archival/records authority undertakes a range of activities and provides a
range of services, or ensures that these are undertaken or provided by
another party.
[1]
These activities
include:
- owning (or
leasing) and managing facilities for the storage of archives;
- developing
appraisal or selection policies, undertaking appraisal activities and
determining what will be part of the archival holdings;
- taking custody
and control of archives from the creating/responsible agency;
-
managing/undertaking all aspects of the storage and preservation of the
archives, including filming and digitisation of archives;
-
managing/undertaking all aspects of the intellectual control of
archives, including maintaining contextual information;
- insuring archival
holdings against damage, theft or loss; and
- providing skilled
staff to undertake the activities.
These services
include:
- providing public
access to the archives in accordance with legislative requirements and
appropriate access/privacy regimes/procedures, including providing
research facilities and reading rooms;
- providing
reference or enquiry services;
- providing copies
of records to researchers, in accordance with requirements (including
copyright management, deposit agreements (where applicable), policies
and procedures);
- providing agency
access to the archives (in particular to agency staff) in line with
legislative requirements or appropriate procedures; and
- providing
suitable finding aids, guides and other tools for researchers.
These activities and
services need to be undertaken regardless of how the archives are managed -
centrally (and wholly within the control and custody of the archival/records
authority) or in a distributed management regime.
7 Distributed
custody and management arrangements
The centralised model (including
branch structures) for managing archival records provides a cost effective,
standardised and efficient model for keeping archives safe. However, it does
not address some of the deeper needs that agencies or communities and
individuals have for records – these include retaining convenient access to
archives which have business, regional, local and personal significance, and
maintaining a local presence for archives which are an integral part of the
history of a place, region or community.[2]
7.1 Models for
distributed custody and management
Distributed custody
and management arrangements can provide a means of enabling archives to
remain at agency, local or regional level. There are three main models for
distributed management:
7.1.1 Single agency archives
This is where a
government agency has a business need to retain its own archives. Generally
the archives are supporting current business needs and can be complimentary
to the business itself. Examples include cultural institutions (such as art
galleries and museums) where the archives can be integral to managing the
collections and where many staff need to use material on a regular basis;
and universities (where there are strong traditions of independence in the
management of archives).
7.1.2
Regional archives repository
This is where a
government agency may manage its own archives and also those of other public
sector organisations within a regional or geographic area (for example,
universities and local councils managing regional repositories). The role of
a regional repository can be seen as prestigious in some cases, providing
valuable benefits for the local community or the wider region (archives are
retained within local and regional areas, and the records are made
accessible in their ‘regional’ context). Reasons for selecting or approving
a public sector organisation for this role include a reasonable expectation
of long-term corporate existence, and the fact that the agency is likely to
be subject to most or all of the same legislation and regulations as the
archival authority (for example, Freedom of Information, privacy
legislation). The model could include arrangements made with another
government archives authority.
7.1.3
Private/community organisation
This is where
community organisations or private organisations (usually not-for-profit
non-government organisations) may manage government archives. In such
arrangements care may need to be taken to ensure the organisation selected
has a likelihood of long-term corporate existence and that it will adhere to
appropriate privacy/access regimes.
7.2 Characteristics of a distributed custody and management arrangement
While each of the
arrangements may be different in detail, they all involve taking a common
approach to the management of the archives. In addition, they all have some
common characteristics:
The archival
authority:
- maintains
control/ultimate responsibility for the archives;
- sets and monitors
policies and procedures for the management of the archives; and
- may provide
advice and training, and supplementary financial support.
The archives custodian
(by agreement, and in consultation with the archives authority):
- supplies, manages
and operates storage and associated facilities, including providing
suitable staff;
- has custody of
archives;
- may accept new
transfers of archives;
- carries out basic
monitoring and preservation activities;
- may undertake
cataloguing/documentation work on behalf of the archives authority; and
- provides
reference, copying and research services.
The archives custodian
will generally meet the day-to-day cost of undertaking the above activities
and providing the relevant services. These arrangements, as outlined above,
are in effect partnerships and should be established by formal agreements,
contracts or memorandums of understanding.
8 Model
distributed custody and management agreement
In any distributed
custody and management arrangements certain archival and operational
principles need to be established with the archives custodian. In these
arrangements acknowledgement may be made of the differing capabilities and
resources of the archives custodian undertaking the distributed
custody/management work and suitable adjustments may need to be made to the
agreement accordingly. To some extent decisions about establishing
partnerships to manage archives will be made on the basis of risk
assessment.
8.1 Basis of
agreements
Distributed custody
and management arrangements and agreements need to be based on the following
two principles:
- the archival
authority has ultimate responsibility for the records transferred to
archival care; and
- arrangements for
the archival management regime are made between the archival authority
and the archives custodian managing the repository, and should be
formally agreed upon and documented.
While the form of the
agreement or the memorandum of understanding may vary, they will include
common points. A model agreement is attached as Appendix A. While it is a
very comprehensive agreement aimed at regional repositories, it still
provides useful guidance on the types of matters that need to be considered.
Any agreement the archival authority and the archives custodian enter may
need to establish:
- the legal basis
of control and custody of the archives in accordance with the relevant
legislation and administrative requirements of the jurisdiction;
- the minimum
acceptable standards for storage and preservation – such as buildings,
storage areas, shelving, and equipment, boxing/storing, security and
climate control (details in Appendix B.);
- any arrangements
for conservation of the archives;
- rules and
procedures for handling archives and displaying archives;
- standards and
procedures for documentation of archives. This may include a requirement
to conform to the documentation standards and procedures of the archival
authority or else to use other standards and procedures;
- standards for
public access to the archives and reading room policy and procedures;
- procedures for
agency access or the temporary recall or removal of archives by the
creating agency in conformity with legislative/policy requirements and
procedures;
- arrangements for
designating responsibility and requirements for staff to have
appropriate qualifications;
- a regime of
monitoring archival holdings and reporting regularly;
- arrangements for
insurance coverage for records in case of a disaster. Consideration
should also be given to ensuring that the organisation has liability
insurance for readers/researches; and
- mechanisms for
dispute resolution, review and termination of arrangements.
8.2 Flexible
approach to distributed custody and management
Each distributed
custody and management arrangement will be unique. Each archival custodian
will have a set of different circumstances and varying resources to manage
the archives in its custody. The arrangements or agreements made between the
archival institution and the archival custodian may need to reflect these
variations in circumstance and resources.
Appendix A:
Draft wording for a model distributed custody and management agreement
An archival management
agreement will set out clearly the responsibilities and obligations of each
party in the management of the distributed archives. Below is an example of
the sections and contents that may be used in an agreement. The exact form
of the agreement will be a matter decided by the relevant archival
authority.
1.
Preamble
The preamble states the
nature of the agreement – for example, the agreement may cover:
1.1. The management of,
and access to, specified archival records that are under the control of
[name of archival authority], but which remain in the custody of the
archives custodian.
1.2 The support to be
provided by the archival authority, for example, providing support to the
archives custodian in the form of advice on archives management and
preservation, and training and assistance in relation to documentation.
1.3 Funding
allocations, including grants made to the archives custodian by the archival
authority for documentation, preservation and infrastructure projects.
2.
Terminology
The section on terminology or
definitions provides agreed meanings for technical or other terms used in
the agreement. Useful terms to include could be:
Archives storage areas
are those areas that have been specifically designated for archives storage
and have been approved by [name of archival authority].
Retention and disposal
authority is a
formal instrument that defines the retention periods and consequent disposal
actions authorised by [name of archival authority] for classes of records
that are described in it.
Distributed management
is where a public
office (or agency or other commonly used term), through an agreement with
..., maintains custody of a record but control is passed to
[name of archival authority]
Reader
means a member of the public, staff member of the host institution, the
archives custodian or representative of a public office accessing the
archives for research or other purposes.
Reading area
is a room or other space that has been designated for use by the public for
access to and inspection of archives.
[state/national/territory]
archive means
(place suitable definition here)
[state/national/territory]
record means
(place suitable definition here)
3.
Scope
The scope sets out the
boundaries of what records are covered by the agreement. This may include:
3.1 This agreement
relates to all [state/national/territory] archives, in any format, held in
the custody of the archives custodian on the date of commencement.
3.2 This agreement also
covers future transfers of [state/national/territory] records, in any
format, that have been specifically identified as required as
[state/national/territory] archives under a current, authorised retention
and disposal authority.
3.3
[State/national/territory] archives are covered by this agreement once in
the custody of the archives custodian.
3.4 This agreement does
not preclude the archives custodian from keeping as archives any other
records, in addition to those identified in 3.1, that it has identified as
having ongoing or permanent value. Such records shall not fall within the
scope of this agreement.
4.
Transfer of control
This section sets out the
arrangements and ways that records may be transferred to the control of the
archives custodian (could refer to relevant statutory provisions or
arrangements for transfer of control or possession). This may include:
4.1 When they cease to
be of use for official purposes, all records of the archives custodian that
are required as [state/national/territory] archives under a current
authorised retention and disposal authority shall be transferred to the
control of [name of archival authority] in accordance with the requirements
(note: refer to relevant legislation or procedures). (Note: this clause
covers the records of the host institution itself and would apply only where
it is a government agency).
4.2 The archives
custodian may accept direct transfers from public offices. This will occur
in accordance with the archival authority’s procedures.
4.3 Transfer of control
to the archival authority is deemed to have taken place once archival
authority has given approval for the transfer.
5.
Storage and preservation
This section outlines the
storage requirements and physical management regime for the records. This
may include:
5.1 Storage
facilities
5.1.1
[State/national/territory] archives shall be kept by the archives custodian
in secure areas or facilities that have been designated for archives storage
and that have been approved by the archival authority.
5.1.2 The storage of
[state/national/territory] archives shall comply with the minimum compliance
requirements in the Appendix to this agreement (see Appendix B).
5.1.3 The temperature and
relative humidity in the [state/national/territory] archives storage areas
shall be monitored and the results reported to the archival authority in the
quarterly report (see 10.1).
5.2 Conservation
and imaging
5.2.1 If the archives
custodian elects to carry out conservation work on a
[state/national/territory] archive or conduct a project that includes the
imaging (such as microfilming or digitisation) of [state/national/territory]
archives, approval from the archival authority is required prior to
commencement of the work.
5.3 Handling
5.3.1 If a
[state/national/territory] archive is fragile or in an unstable condition
and at risk of further damage through handling, it must be referred to the
archival authority for a decision regarding public access (note: any
statutory provisions for providing alterative access or denying access to
fragile originals can be cited here). This direction/decision may remain in
place until such time as conservation can be carried out to stabilise/repair
the item or the item is microfilmed/digitised.
5.3.2 Handling of records
by archives custodian staff will conform to the principles identified by the
archival authority.
5.3.3 Any use of original
[state/national/territory] archives for exhibition purposes shall require
the approval of the archival authority and be in accordance with best
practice (e.g. BS 5454:2000 British Standard:
Recommendations for the
storage and exhibition of archival documents).
6.
Documentation
This section outlines the
documentation requirements for transferred records and any agreed access to
or use of common control systems. This may include:
6.1 All records covered
by this agreement shall be registered progressively into the archival
authority’s intellectual control systems. The archival authority agrees to
provide the archives custodian with an interface for this purpose and to
consult and to provide such advice on procedures as may from time to time be
required by the archives custodian staff.
6.2 Registration and
description shall conform to standards and procedures approved by the
archival authority.
6.3
[State/national/territory] archives shall be clearly labelled so that they
can be differentiated from other records in the custody of the archives
custodian.
6.4 The archives
custodian and the archival authority shall negotiate a mutually acceptable
documentation work plan.
7.
Public access
This section sets out the
agreed regime for public access in accordance with statutory requirements
and professional standards.
This may include:
7.1 Access
7.1.1 Public access to
archives is to be provided free of charge. Appropriate charges may be made
for additional services such as copying or research services.
7.1.2 The archives
custodian shall maintain regular opening hours for providing access to
archives. (Note: time, hours or arrangements could be documented here, eg
these shall allow for a minimum of 21 hours per week over a minimum of 3
days).
7.1.3 Public access to
[state/national/territory] archives is to be provided only to those records
which are open to public access.
7.1.4 Public access to closed
[state/national/territory] archives can only be provided to researchers who
have specific written permission from transferring agency (note: any
specific access rules or procedures for closed records could be specified
here).
7.2 Reading or
research area
7.2.1 The archives
custodian shall provide a designated reading area sufficient to satisfy
normal demand for public access to the archives and suitable for their
inspection under constant surveillance by staff.
7.2.2 All archives
custodian staff that supervise public access will have received training in
the safe handling and provision of access to original
[state/national/territory] archives.
7.2.3 The archives
custodian shall provide facilities for photocopying of
[state/national/territory] archives where appropriate as well as provide and
ensure the proper maintenance of any technical facilities necessary for
consulting the records as required (eg microfilm reader, microfiche reader,
computer etc).
7.2.4 The archives
custodian shall enforce the rules stipulated by the archival authority
(note: if relevant refer to guidelines or information sheets about
institutional reading/search room procedures).
7.2.5 The archives
custodian shall make control documentation for the
[state/national/territory] archives in their custody available in the
reading area and provide information about access provisions.
8.
Recall/transfer of custody
This section sets out the
agreed regime for recall by the transferring agency of records held by the
archives custodian and sets out any statutory requirements or procedures for
recall. This may include:
8.1 When a
[state/national/territory] archive is temporarily recalled for official
purposes by a public office, including the archives custodian itself, this
must be done in accordance with standard procedures (note: refer to stated
requirements, procedures or rules).
8.2 Members of staff
from a public office may not recall [state/national/territory] archives for
non-business related research use.
8.2 Any other transfer
of custody of [state/national/territory] archives to another party (eg a
loan for exhibition purposes) must be approved by the archival authority and
comply with relevant standards and procedures.
9.
Staffing
This section sets out the
agreed staffing levels/requirements for the archives custodian. This may
include:
9.1 The senior officer
designated as being in charge of the archives operation/facility shall be
responsible for the management of, and access to, [state/national/territory]
archives.
9.2 At least one staff
member of the archives custodian shall have appropriate training,
qualifications or equivalent experience in archives management.
10.
Monitoring and reporting
This section sets out
reporting requirements. This may include:
10.1 The archives
custodian shall provide quarterly and annual reports containing basic
information about the management of the archives, levels of use and archival
operations (such as transfers, registration and descriptive work) in
accordance with the archival authority’s requirements.
10.2 The archival
authority may carry out inspections (annually or at other times as
necessary) of the [state/national/territory] archives storage facilities,
reading area and archival operations generally. The archival authority
agrees to give the archives custodian a minimum of two weeks notice of an
inspection.
11.
Insurance
This section sets out the
agreed insurance coverage. This may include:
11.1 The archives
custodian agrees to ensure that the [state/national/territory] archives in
its custody are covered by an insurance policy for any recovery,
preservation and conservation action that may be required in the case of a
disaster and the archival authority agrees to assist the archives custodian
in arriving at a mutually agreeable valuation for insurance purposes.
11.3 The archives
custodian agrees to ensure that it has liability coverage to cover visits by
members of the public to reading room/facilities.
12.
Compliance timetable
This section sets out the
agreed regime for compliance. Organisations will have varying degrees of
compliance for storage conditions, staffing levels, reading room
facilities. This section can set out a practical timetable for when the
archives custodian must comply with parts of the agreement. This may
include:
12.1 A compliance
timetable covering elements of the agreement that the archives custodian is
not able to comply with at the date of the commencement of this agreement
shall be negotiated by the archival authority and the archives custodian.
13.
Amendment/variation
This section allows for
amendment or change to the agreement. This may include:
13.1 This agreement may
be amended in writing at any time by mutual agreement between the archival
authority and the archives custodian.
14.
Dispute resolution
This section sets out the
dispute resolution mechanism that enables matters to be resolved without
dissolving the agreement. This may include:
14.1
Should any disputes
arise that cannot be solved by agreement between the archival authority and
the archives custodian the matter shall be resolved by [set out standard
mechanisms used by the archival authority or jurisdiction].
15.
Duration/termination
This section sets out the
duration for the agreement and a mechanism for termination. This may
include:
15.1 This agreement shall
remain valid until such time as either party terminates it or five years
from the commencement date whichever is earlier. The agreement may be
reviewed by both parties after two years.
15.2 In the event of the
termination by either party the archival authority is responsible for making
appropriate custody arrangements for the [state/national/territory] archives
in the care of the archives custodian.
16.
Signatures of the parties
This section contains the
details of the senior officers in each organisation responsible for the
agreement, their signatures and those witnessing the signing of the
agreement. The form of this section will conform to normal practice within
each jurisdiction.
