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During the decades from the 1960s to the late 1980s, the Intelligence Division of the Police of Puerto Rico secretly compiled files on individuals who supported the independence of this Caribbean archipelago from the USA. The public knowledge of the existence of these files, known in Puerto Rico as las carpetas, in 1987 prompted a judicial process that ended in 1992 with a decision that opened a period where individuals were able to claim and receive their files, without any redactions, instead of transferring the records to an archival institution. The files that were not claimed stayed under the custody of the judicial branch until 2003, when after a public debate about its disposition, the records were transferred to the Archivo General de Puerto Rico. In addition, various individuals donated their files to the University of Puerto Rico. The particularity of this case has led to a situation where records from the same provenance, using the classical definition of the concept, are dispersed in various archival institutions and in the homes of hundreds of Puerto Ricans. This paper will use the case of las carpetas, and its particularities regarding custody, to analyze contemporary re-interpretations of provenance in the context of state intelligence records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although policing is a public service, police records are not public records nor can one of the most prominent work product of police forces activities—case files—be easily found in public record offices or institutional archive services. Little research has been undertaken on what documents police casework (evidence to the evidence). The whole record of police investigation encompasses textual and artefactual material, making them complex documents worth exploring under the archival lens. This article establishes a landscape of police forces' archival practice in England and Wales, through analysis of grey literature formalizing national recommendations on police IRM, especially archiving in the public interest. The study also includes a survey of current practice of what police forces loosely call 'archiving,' through a questionnaire (sent under FOI requests) to all 43 forces in England and Wales. Findings showed that there was little to no awareness of inter/national archival practice standards, in official discourse and in current practice, which correlates with little to no practical archiving of police case files in the public interest. These findings suggest that the absence of actualized police casework archives may result in an archival silence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ataturk Arastirma Merkezi Dergisi is the property of Ataturk Arastirma Merkezi Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) heralded a dreadful global disaster that had a collateral effect on many businesses. It affected people, information, and global economies. However, its impact on public records and archives management is under-researched in Africa, particularly in The Gambia. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public records and archives management in The Gambia. Adopted for the survey is pragmatic research paradigm, which employs mixed methods using a purposive sample of 65, constituting 31% of a population of 211, comprising heads of Public Records and Archives staff and National Records Advisory Committee members. The ISO 31000:2018 Risk Assessment tool was employed as the theoretical framework. A questionnaire and telephone-based interview were administered to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Science (IBM SPSS), while qualitative data was analysed based on the study objectives. The research shows that a significant minority confirmed information leakage during the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily through social media, phone, and email. Most records and archives are in physical format, as established by 59.1% of respondents. The records sector responded poorly due to inadequate capacity, emergency policies, and interventions. Most respondents claimed a lack a disaster plan, with 67.7% of respondents finding it ineffective in mitigating COVID-19's impact on records and archives, and 82.4% confirming inadequate documentation during the pandemic. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has moderately impacted Public Records and Archives Management in The Gambia, with staff being protected more than information, the effect severely affected archival services. The study recommends robust risk plans, digitalisation, professional capacity building, adequate resources, effective monitoring, and decentralisation, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I analyse the processing of two Ottoman-Turkish documents from 1589, preserved in the Hajdú-Bihar County Archive and issued by the Pasha of Buda. These documents pertain to the case of tax-collecting Serbian bishops in Debrecen. I investigate why Orthodox Serbian bishops attempted to collect taxes in the Protestant Hungarian market town of Debrecen. To address this question, I examine the structure of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Hungary and the nature of the taxes sought by the bishops from the inhabitants. Additionally, this work aims to explore problems associated with previous translations of the documents and provide new suggestions for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trudy Huskamp Peterson, an archival consultant and certified archivist, discusses the importance of archives in enriching our understanding of the past and transforming lives. She highlights the challenges that archives face, such as underfunding and the misconception that digitization solves all problems. Peterson explores the unique practices of archives in the United States, including the impact of federalism on archival responsibility and the concept of continuous custody. She emphasizes the role of archives in resolving conflicts, asserting rights, and providing a sense of place, family, and history. However, archives can also be influenced by biases and omissions, leading to silences and gaps in the historical record. Access to archives can be restricted due to concerns over misuse, political interference, and national security. Building human rights archives requires careful consideration of acquisition policies and objectives. Many archives remain underused, and the UNHCR archives, in particular, hold valuable records on global conflicts and displacement. Access to archives is essential for understanding and addressing the complexities of the past. [Extracted from the article]

Public archives are repositories of human memory and history, which collect, preserve, and provide access to the records and documents creating a bridge between the past, present, and future. Archives are dynamic structures that can be interpreted as knowledge hubs, with channels of information flowing in them, activities performed within the "black box" of the institution invisible for outsiders, and channels to disseminate information for groups that they serve. These channels develop and are designed under the impact of several factors. In this article we present six factors that have shaped the development and functioning of the Estonian Folklore Archives. We first illustrate the impact of these factors, browsing through the historical periods of Estonian folkloristics. Successively, the articles of the current volume on various aspects of tradition archives are introduced and presented within the framework of the hub conception, and the relevant impact factors are highlighted. The article demonstrates that ideological framework, public expectations, institutional status, research paradigms, individual incentives of the people in charge, and (developments in) technological equipment constantly shape the content and operation of tradition archives in various time periods and circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has widely emphasized the role of public written records and data-managing strategies in late-medieval governmental growth. The necessity to control information and to assure that a timely stream of news and communications circulated among the various components of a composite domain became central for princes and governments. Such a need was translated into new documentary techniques and archival organization by the endless work of many professionals at various territorial levels. However, the increasing recourse to recorded information was a multifaceted phenomenon. To better understand its complexity, the essay will investigate the intersection of spoken and written strategies of information-gathering and negotiation. Secondly, the paper will also take into account the ambivalent dynamics underlying the recording of the various means required not only to rule a composite territorial domain, but also to control its administrative, judicial and fiscal geography. Whereas the use of written records became the norm for the establishment of a new political order, that practice sometimes, and for different reasons, also contributed to preserving the memory of a different past. In order to adequately capitalize on late-medieval Italy's complexity, the essay will examine different records and different contexts. The examples will be taken from a set of composite polities in post-communal northern and central Italy (ranging from Milan to Florence or Mantua) which shared some common features, but which were also different in size, strength, ideological models and material constitution. The considered timespan will be a long Quattrocento going from the mid-fourteenth to the early sixteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the construction work of a documentary corpus on "magazine lists,” "ration lists" and "confinement lists or indigenous prisoners" corresponding to the second half of the nineteenth century, the book "El file and name. The indigenous population of the Pampas and North-Patagonia in state records (1850-1880)” edited by Literas and Barbuto, offers us a window into the complexity of interethnic relations on the Southern border and presents the records surveyed and organised by the participating authors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archival records exist for the benefit of society; therefore, people are at the very centre of the purpose of keeping archives. The South African government developed the Batho Pele principles to embrace them as a charter for public service to ensure a reliable and customer-oriented public service. Archival institutions such as the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives are not exempted from this responsibility. These repositories form a part of the South African Public Service and play a crucial role in promoting the preservation and access to significant records that have enduring value. The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives are responsible for preserving public and non-public records and promoting them to the public. In this quantitative study, an online survey completed by 20 archivists from these repositories helped establish whether archivists from the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the provincial archives utilised public programming initiatives to fulfil the Batho Pele principles. The analysed data indicated that the public archival institutions struggle to conduct public programming initiatives, and their limited efforts were not effective. This implies that most of these repositories did not consider public programming initiatives as tools to implement the Batho Pele principles. The study recommends that South African public archival institutions take advantage of the 'window of opportunity' presented by the Batho Pele principles to strengthen their outreach strategies to improve archival service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History in Africa: A Journal of Method is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne is currently hosting an exhibition called "Collective City" until December 1, 2023. The exhibition features contemporary street photographs curated from submissions by street photographers, as well as photographs from government archives. The exhibition explores the themes of connection and disconnection in Melbourne, both in terms of infrastructure and social connectivity. The photographs challenge viewers to consider the artistry of official records and highlight the changing nature of photography. The exhibition also examines the history of public buildings and facilities in North Melbourne, showcasing beautifully illustrated maps and building plans. Overall, "Collective City" offers a glimpse into the dis/connection of Melbourne and its people through the lens of photography and government records. [Extracted from the article]

This article investigates the relationship between public cemetery management and public records management in South Africa. The intersection of South African cemetery management and archives and records management has not previously been explored and represents a rich area for further research. In order to build a common ground for reflection and recommendations, this article centres on the present regulatory framework for cemetery records management and how records management principles are understood and implemented by cemetery managers. The investigation also draws together beliefs regarding the significance of public cemetery records. While poor records management is known to be an issue in South African public cemeteries, it is treated as less important than burial space shortages, despite representing a useful tool to overcome this primary problem. Cemetery managers have inconsistent beliefs regarding the significance of cemetery records and their role as record keepers. The research points to sufficient cause for intervention by local archivists and records managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on research for film project Nick of Time and first military acts of the Irish Civil War. It mentions Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) had an archive repository and extensive historical research with new conservation methods and innovative digital technologies. It also mentions salvaged archives restored, digitized, and made freely available online and legacy of which still informs Irish political, social, and cultural identities.

In this article, the authors use the soft power concept as a framework to examine the visibility and accessibility of public archives in South Africa. The study employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. It revealed that the public archives' current visibility activities have only a marginal effect in promoting the visibility and accessibility of archival holdings and archival services. We suggest that public archives establish an active database of key stakeholders that include government's top management, traditional authorities, legislators and donors of non-public records to collaborate on topics of interest and influence the public's decision-making pattern regarding the value of an archival heritage for economic, social and cultural development in society. This ensures that public archives remain relevant and engage their public in this knowledge economy for public good. To accomplish this, we recommend a framework to serve as a benchmarking tool for public archives that seek to improve their visibility programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic prerequisite for records, archives and information to be open to the public one day is that their own status must be public. Selected examples from the United States, France and Germany demonstrate a trend in the development of the relationship of advanced democratic societies to records of mostly official origin, especially the top representatives of public political power (presidents, government ministers and secretaries, chancellors). Civil society increasingly shows an interest in access to records that testify to the actions of their top representatives. States are gradually enforcing the interpretation of "their" records as public and not private. However, these representatives still demonstrate a strong feeling that society is not quite entitled to these records. The USA, France and Germany all deal with this matter in different ways. A top politician, especially in the performance of his role or entrusted office, is not a private citizen. Therefore, there should be much stricter and more thorough public scrutiny, and a requirement for transparency. Controversial records, perceived to be on the border between public and private status, should always be treated as public. Top political and public officials have much less "right to be forgotten" than ordinary citizens and thus it is their "duty to be remembered". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the lives of Indian travelling ayahs (nannies and servants), who are usually hard to find in the historical records of the imperial state, using travel documents, such as ships' manifests, passage slips, passage permissions and most significantly passports. Passports have recently been studied as sites of colonial and anti-colonial politics. This article puts passports and other travel documents to a different use, exploring the way they expose fleeting voices and choices in personal representation (in those documents) which reveal elements of the identities, experiences and agency of these colonised subjects. The central argument of this article is that, whilst travel documents, particularly passports were hegemonic documents, created as means of surveillance which enabled discrimination between coloniser and colonised, they also compelled colonial administrators to recognise and even humanise certain subaltern subjects, whose individual identities had often been erased in other documents. In an archival context wherein written and visual records left by travelling ayahs are scarce, this article thus also highlights the value of surviving passports for historians in re-visioning the histories of subaltern subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the methodological considerations that a historically underfunded and underresourced postcolonial archive presents for researchers. Drawing on field notes from research carried out at the Tanzania National Archives in August 2019, I examine how political and economic conditions shape the Archives and how the shape of the Archives in turn shapes researchers' methodological options and choices. I begin by tracing the history of the Tanzania National Archives' colonial collections alongside political and economic changes in colonial Tanzania. I argue that ruptures and discontinuities in the Archives are not only the result of changes in colonial administration but also reflect changes in local and regional political and economic relations. Next, I question how economic restructuring in the postcolonial period shaped the Tanzania National Archives. I then draw on my experience carrying out archival research in Tanzania to demonstrate how researchers must address lapses in recordkeeping, the damage and destruction of documents, erratic regulatory systems, and the limitation of sources to government records. I conclude by arguing that although a sparse and fragmented postcolonial archive necessitates a dynamic and generative methodological approach, often engaging multiple epistemic regimes, issues surrounding funding and resources remain essential to the accessibility of the archives and the imperative to produce knowledge from a pan-African perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the ethical issues surrounding conducting research in archives that include records of atrocities, taking Baʿth Party and Islamic State records that were de-territorialized from Iraq between 1991 and 2016 as case studies. I argue for the need to further consider whether historical subjects are being granted a voice in how their stories are being told. I will discuss the dichotomy between the imperatives to expose human rights abuses and seek accountability, against the need to consider the power dynamics defining control of the post-mortem narratives of the individuals named within records. I advocate for an approach to academic research that takes into account the affective power of records and the relations created by engaging them. I will explore how we might approach official records that document the abuse people have suffered as extensions of their physical bodies, as sacred remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The displacement of millions of Iraqi archival records to the United States in the 1990s and early 2000s generated considerable controversy about the legality and ethics of moving a country's archival records to another country, especially during wartime. Since 2020, however, most of these records have been returned to Iraq, though digital copies remain accessible in the United States in many cases. How does the repatriation of Iraqi archival documents impact the ethical arguments for and against researchers using the digitized copies of previously displaced archives? And now that records have been returned to Iraq, how can researchers continue to safeguard the identities of individuals named within these papers? This article summarizes the history of the legal and ethical controversies surrounding displaced Iraqi archives and proposes ethical considerations for researchers of Iraq to keep in mind while engaging in scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Documenta & Instrumenta is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We present the first phase of the classification and inventory of two document collections of sherry firms. In the first place, that of the collection of the firm Cuvillo & Co., whose documentation extends from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1990s, donated by the owners to the Municipal Archives in 1994. At present, it has only been possible to complete the document classification phase and a rough inventory with a simple classification table that shows us the 12 large sections in which we have inserted the documentation, since the time we had for carrying out this work was scarce. A second phase will allow us in the future to create various subsections and documentary series in the said initial classification table and also to properly arrange all this rich collection, of which we are now only making a brief presentation. In addition, we present the inventory of the small document collection of the firm Morgan Brothers, whose documentation covers from 1847 to 1921 and which entered the Municipal Archives in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National archival agencies are mandated to manage public sector archives and records. They provide guidance by issuing, among others, guidelines, policies, and procedures. With advances in technology, and in the spirit of e-government, it is expected that national archival agencies should have websites through which key documents that provide guidance on the management of archives and records are made accessible online. The purpose of this study was to compare the websites of Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BNARS) and the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa (NARSSA) with specific reference to key documents providing guidance on the proper management of public archives and records. This study is qualitative and obtained data from a content analysis of the websites of the two organisations. These were supplemented by interviews from selected key officers responsible for public archives and records management programmes. It is notable that BNARS has a website that can be accessed through Botswana's Department of Information Technology. On the website, the only downloadable guidance document is an archives search room inquiry form. Comparatively, NARSSA has a more comprehensive website with downloadable guidance documents such as file plans, templates records management policies, records retention and disposable schedules, and functional specifications for electronic records management systems, to mention just a few. It is recommended that BNARS should have a comprehensive website with guidance documents posted on it to provide guidance for proper public archives and records management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the library of Winchester College is a multi-lingual psalter formerly owned by the diplomat and scholar, Richard Pace (c.1483–1536). Pace left extensive notes in this volume, the product of his study of the Hebrew Scriptures in comparison with the Vulgate and Greek Septuagint. They demonstrate his engagement with a variety of Jewish, patristic and humanist learning. A broader set of theological and devotional themes also emerge. For Pace, the Psalms were primarily a prophetic text, foretelling the coming of Christ and the Gospels, but they likewise reflected an interest in devotion, rhetoric and prayer typical of humanists of the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Croatian archival regulations (Archives and Archival Institutions Act and Ordinance on the Management of Records Outside the Archival Institutions) prescribe the procedure of the verification of compatibility of rules, technologies and procedures for conversion of archival materials into digital form. The procedure is carried out by the Croatian State Archives as the central state archives in the Republic of Croatia. It concerns a complex procedure of verification of a specific IT system for digitization which requires acceptance and implementation of appropriate standards and norms from the public authorities, other bodies or individuals in order for digitized records to be transferred in a certain way to authorised archives and consequently ensure their long-term protection. The paper provides answers to several current issues from conformity check procedures that can help public authorities and other interested parties in reconciliation of business processes and preparing documentation necessary for obtaining a certificate of conformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary information and communications technologies pose complex challenges to public institutions and other legal persons which create, own or possess records and archives. The problems generated by these challenges are even more acute when one considers that most of the public institutions and legal persons in Croatia still predominantly rely on "paper" i.e. analogue documentation in their everyday business. In that regard the recent Act on Archives and Archival Institutions (Zakon o arhivskom gradivu i arhivima), the Regulation on Records Management of the Public Authority Bodies (Uredba o uredskom poslovanju) and the Ordinance on the Management of Records Outside the Archival Institutions (Pravilnik o upravljanju dokumentarnim gradivom izvan arhiva) laid out a robust foundation for the gradual digital transformation of the records management system. However, the provisions of all these regulations addressing these questions are not always self-explanatory and simple, especially if one takes into account the conditions set by other relevant regulations which affect the area of records management of creators and owners or possessors of records and archives. That is why this issue needs to be considered in a thorough, systematic fashion over the long-term period. In other words, public institutions and other legal persons which create, own or possess records and archives should define a strategy on how to implement a transition to digital recordkeeping, which will allow for more efficient management of both analogue as well as digital records. The paper analyses a sample of internal normative acts of creators, owners or possessors of records and archives approved by Croatian State Archives since recent Act on Archives and Archival Institutions, and other relevant regulations came into force. The indicative examples of these acts (Rules for the Records Management and Records Disposal Schedules) singled out from the sample illustrate the possibilities offered by recent legislation and regulation on how to support the transition to digital records management system. That said, the paper argues that these acts can (and must) become an integral element of abovementioned transition strategy in the period when paper documentation is still very much in circulation at the same time when digital records are inexorably becoming the new norm. Second goal of the analysis is to consider how much are the creators and owners or possessors of records and archives in Croatia prepared to adopt the described solutions offered by the regulations when it comes to implementation of the digital transformation. The paper argues that there are noticeable advances in this area, but that many still prefer to think about records management along traditional patterns related to conventional records "on paper". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the application of closure periods for access to public records and archives, their development in some illustrative countries and the impact it has on the public-state relationship and the possibilities of public inspection of records. One level of this study presents a comparative analysis of current legislation in selected countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic) and in the European Union as a whole. On the second level, the text aims to capture some contours of the historical development of closure periods since the end of World War II, primarily using the United Kingdom as an example of development which has served as a model in many countries and foreshadowed this whole domain. The study demonstrates that, over time, a gradual release occurs in what was initially a very restrictive regime of access to public records and historical sources; and also shows how this is happening and how it can happen. In conclusion, the text specifically notices the relationship of closure periods and public records and archives, together with the right to access information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess the preservation of and access to archives at the eSwatini National Archives (ENA). The study was based on the interpretive research paradigm, which encompasses a systematic literature review. Data were collected through different documents, such as journal articles, web pages, monographs, strategic plans, annual reports and archival legislation, with the latter providing the ENA with a statutory role to manage and preserve public records in the country. The key findings suggest that the ENA is making a remarkable effort in preserving public records. However, there was also evidence of different records preservation challenges for the ENA, including the absence of legislation and policies relating to the management and preservation of records, an inadequate budgetary allocation to support the archival activities, as well as inadequate archives and records preservation training. The researchers recommend the updating of the legislative and policy framework; regular training for archives staff; and soliciting government support for the ENA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appraisal and disposition of government records at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) focuses primarily on acquiring the "right" records to best document a given function of the Government of Canada. Once records pass into LAC's care, access is provided through an inconsistent approach of online descriptive records and on-site finding aids, often with minimal or incorrect contextualizing information that hinders their overall discoverability and use. Through a study of both the legacy photographic records in the National Film Board of Canada Fonds and the recontextualization project currently underway at LAC, the author examines the history of the record, from recordkeeping practices to the transfer to LAC, and some of the interventions by the archives to describe and shape these records over several generations of custodial care. All of these various actions have had a hidden impact on the use and understanding of both the individual records and the larger collection. This article provides a case study in how rearrangement based on research into creators, organizational recordkeeping systems, and archival custodial practices can draw out complex, multiple provenances and provide researchers with a fuller contextual history of the record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1880 and 1941, many Japanese migrants arrived in north Queensland and became active participants in their communities. Despite arriving during an era where a White Australia was broadly envisioned, these migrants formed lasting connections within the unique geographical and cultural climate of north Queensland. Government records and newspapers archives reveal these individuals' positive contributions to the region through business, civic engagement, and social events. This article focuses on Japanese migrant families' economic, civic, and social contributions to north Queensland communities to highlight the longevity and depth of their connections within the history of northern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attempts of the Romanian leadership to put on the first plan their view about vital matters for the Soviet Union (economic cooperation between CMEA members, Sino- Soviet split, arms race, disarmament, abolition of military blocs) trigger a negative attitude on the part of the Soviets. As a result, Romania became in Moscow's eyes a dissident who constantly tried to ignore many of the Warsaw Pact rules. Yuri V. Andropov, who became on 12 November 1982 General Secretary of CC of the CPSU after the death of Leonid I. Brezhnev, strongly believe that any dissent is a danger for the monolithic unity of the socialist bloc and might be rooted out immediately. This was the main reason for Andropov's distant and unfriendly attitude towards Romanians communist leadership, which increased when he was elected General Secretary of CC of the CPSU. In this short period (1982-1984), Andropov met tête-à-tête with Nicolae Ceauşescu twice, on 21 December 1982 and on 4 January 1983. Romanian archives don't preserve the records for this meeting, but we have found the Soviet records in the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (RGANI) in the Fond Yuri V. Andropov. We are publishing a Romanian translation of these two documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the paucity of pre-1947 Indian princely state records, especially those regarding their federalist advocacies from the 1920s through 1940s, in the various provincial archives in postcolonial India. Why is it that archives in Delhi and London have the majority of records pertaining to the federalist advocacies of the princely states, rather than the archives in provincial states that were constituted by the merger of princely states themselves? The absence of princely state federalist records reveals a surprising indifference to the preservation of historical records in various state archives. Indian archival laws pertain to public records alone, leaving out responsibility for the acquisition and preservation of historical records. Consequently, in India, the phrase "archival records" has come to mean public records more than 30 years old; there is no clarity as to what "historical records" are, nor guidance on how they should be preserved. Indian archival laws maintain a colonial understanding of the archive, wherein the function of the archive is to tame history in service of the state rather than preserve history outright. Taming the nation's history in state archives silences the multiplicity of voices about Indian federation and presents particular difficulties when writing regional histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, over 450 precolumbian and historic Indigenous agricultural fields were documented across the state of Wisconsin. Today, the vast majority of these features are generally assumed to have been destroyed. Focusing on the Wisconsin River basin, which has the highest concentration of known archaeological field systems in the Midwest, this study explores the potential of using historical aerial photographs to identify and interpret archaeological agricultural features. Relying on state site records, an archive of high-resolution 1930s aerial images, and modern lidar data, we carefully examine the region surrounding 59 sites where fields had previously been documented. At a quarter of the sites we investigated, we successfully identified both known and unrecorded archaeological features--including agricultural fields, effigy mounds, earthworks, and house basins--most of which have been destroyed by recent land use practices. Our analysis sheds light on the complexity and richness of the archaeological landscape, with vast agricultural spaces situated beyond traditional site boundaries, and suggests that precolumbian and historic Indigenous agricultural fields may have been much larger and more widespread than conventionally understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Archives Act of 1983 Australia's Second World War internees have had access to their wartime files, yet little attention has focused on whether they and their families have consulted these records, or on their responses to them. From the early 2000s historians and archivists began discussing the need for combining private oral testimony with official records as part of a wider discourse on the importance of life stories for deepening knowledge about the past. This article explores the impact of a father's official internment records on his son, through the son's sharing of memories, lived experience and his reactions to official documents, in order to provide a more complete story of his father's internment and life than either the public record or the oral testimony alone can produce. We argue that Sam Ragonesi's oral testimony, especially concerning his encounter with Salvatore Ragonesi's official records, contributes to a greater shared understanding of experiences of war on the home front by integrating social, cultural and family dimensions hidden from Salvatore's public history. In this way intergenerational experiences help both to contest the collective image of internment and create a more complex picture of the War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many scholars lament of poor infrastructure for the management and preservation of digital records in the public sector in South Africa. For example, in South Africa, the national archives repository and its subsidiary provincial archives do not have infrastructure to ingest digital records into archival custody. As a result, digital records are left to the creating agencies to manage and preserve. The problem is compounded by the fact that very few public sector organisations in South Africa have procured systems to manage digital records. Objective: This study investigated whether government departments in South Africa entrust their records to cloud storage. The study asked the questions: How are digital records managed and stored in these organisations? Do government departments entrust their records to the cloud as an alternative storage? Method: Qualitative data were collected through interviews with purposively chosen chief information officers, records managers and IT managers from public entities that implemented e-government services, as well as officials from the National Archives and Services of South Africa, which is charged with the statutory regulatory role of records management in governmental bodies and the State Information Technology Agency, a public sector Information Communication Technology (ICT) company established in 1999 to consolidate and coordinate the state's information technology resources. Results: The key findings suggest that although public servants informally and unconsciously save some records in the cloud, government departments in South Africa are sceptical to entrust their records in the cloud because of a number of reasons such as lack of trust in the cloud storage, jurisdiction, legal implications, privacy and security risks related to Minimum Information Security Standards, as well as lack of policy and legislative framework, specifically regarding cloud storage. Conclusion: Because of lack of infrastructure for management and preservation of digital records, for the purpose of increased storage and access, this study recommends that government departments should cautiously consider exploring the possibility of storing their records in a trusted digital repository cloud as an interim solution whilst observing legal obligations. As cloud storage is not very prevalent amongst government departments in South Africa, given the present challenges in managing digital records, it would be advantageous to have cloud storage tested rigorously before embarking on the exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to employ informetric research techniques to investigate the research production in archives and records management in the East and Central African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ECARBICA) since its inception in 1969 until 2018. A search query "archive'* or 'record*management'", limited to ESARBICA member states between 1969 and 2018, was conducted on Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and AJOL databases. The results suggested that there has been a significant increase in the production of research in archives and a few authors produce research in records management in the region over the past ten years, but the bulk of this knowledge, and not all countries in the region produce knowledge. The key producers of knowledge published their work in journals indexed by databases that may require subscriptions, which may limit access to many in the region. It is recommended that archives and records management scholars in Africa consider publishing their work in open access journals to ensure that the research is accessible to all in the region. The importance of research in archives and records management cannot be overemphasised, because public records have a direct impact on individuals' lives. Research suggests that the most obvious way for archivists and records managers to enhance their resourcefulness is through education and research. Furthermore, research in archives and records management can help to inform education and solve societal challenges. That said, the ESARBICA region is experiencing challenges when it comes to human resource development and capacity building, among other things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2016 US Presidential elections may have presented the most prominent illustration of email and recordkeeping in public perception, but they offer only the most recent and public story of emails as records. This article offers an overview of the development of email as a government record in the USA, as well as the evolving archival perspectives on email and political accountability. Archivists have been contending with email for over 30 years, and from its earliest days in the US political usage, email has presented a complex array of recordkeeping and archival challenges, and we trace the changing archival perspectives and regulatory situations around email as a record in the USA over the past three decades. In this investigation, we explore questions about how and why officials create or destroy email, how email records are appraised, and whether or not preserved emails can be meaningfully accessed. In light of these questions, we argue that the archival tenet of accountability is tenuous at best in the face of the changing technological and political challenges presented by email as a record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's history of colonialism has resulted in an archival record that includes evidence of ethnically diverse populations and examples of racialised oppression. Government records created within this legacy present people of colour through a colonial lens, often adopting racist language. Taking inspiration from Australian and North American protocols for the culturally sensitive management of archives documenting indigenous communities and considering the effectiveness of existing common descriptive practice in the UK, some initial recommendations for appropriate descriptive practice are made. These are offered in a tiered format of 'good, better, best' practice, responsive to widespread resource constraints in the UK public archive sector. It is hoped that considering the practicable steps that can be taken to decolonise archival descriptive practices can contribute towards broader transformations in the sector. Please note that this article contains terms that may upset or offend readers; these have been included only where necessary for illustrative purposes and are denoted with inverted commas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of early modern Irish history is undergoing major transformation. For almost a century since the destruction of the Public Records Office of Ireland in 1922, scholars have bemoaned the lack of source material for the period 1500 to 1800, which has severely limited the breadth and depth of historical research. A new project, however, is uncovering significant amounts of hitherto unidentified material and entire archives are being rebuilt, using mainly nineteenth-century transcriptions. Technological advances assist the process of exploiting these newly rediscovered manuscripts but a fundamental rethink is also required by historians of Ireland on how best to capture the myriad of experiences of all the peoples of the island, particularly the Catholic majority. These exciting developments mark a true turning point in Irish historical research. We have an opportunity to break through the barriers of rigid periodisation and to explore the deep continuities evident in the history of early modern Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on collection of Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery, Alabama. It mentions letter to Edmundson was neither the first nor the last of its kind that Thomas M. Owen wrote over the nineteen years that he managed Alabama's fledgling state archives. It also mentions Owen's preservation of Civil War-era records was a topical sub-point of a larger goal and failed to establish a legislative commission to examine and save state records.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify and assess the regulatory and institutional constraints in managing procurement records in Tanzania’s procuring entities.Design/methodology/approach This study used a mixed study design. There were explorative case study and questionnaire survey study methods used sequentially. In total, 15 procuring entities were used for exploratory case study, while 200 respondents were administered with questionnaires. A 75 per cent response rate was realised.Findings Results indicated that management and care of procurement records is constrained by regulatory and institutional constraints. The identified and assessed constraints were inter alia: incapacity of institutional actors, inadequate regulatory and institutional arrangements, inadequacy of storage space, equipment and facilities and insufficiency of security and safety measures.Research limitations/implications This research focussed on the procuring entities found in Dar es Salaam, which accounts for 40.72 per cent of the total procuring entities in Tanzania. Based on this, the generalisation of research findings can be sought in that particular context.Practical implications Findings imply that procurement records management and care is highly influenced by the constraining factors that hinder efficient records keeping in most procuring entities in Tanzania.Social implications Majority of procurement management units and user departments’ staff were found to possess inadequate knowledge, skills and competences in management and care of procurement records. The procuring entities should ensure that procurement staffs are trained in records and archives management practices.Originality/value This study contributes towards adding knowledge to the existing body of knowledge on the procurement records and archives management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The analysis of historical death certificates has enormous potential for understanding how the health of populations was shaped by diseases and epidemics and by the implementation of specific interventions. In Brazil, the systematic archiving of mortality records was initiated only in 1944-hence the analysis of death registers before this time requires searching for these documents in public archives, notaries, parishes, and especially ancient cemeteries, which are often the only remaining source of information about these deaths. This article describes an effort to locate original death certificates in Brazil and document their organization, accessibility, and preservation.Methods: To this end, we conducted an exploratory study in 19 of the 27 Brazilian states, focusing on the period surrounding the 1918 influenza pandemic (1913-1921). We included 55 cemeteries, 22 civil archives, and one military archive.Results: Apart from few exceptions, the results show the absence of a curatorial policy for the organization, access or even physical preservation of this material, frequently leading to unavailability, deterioration, and ultimately its complete loss.Conclusions: This study indicates the need to promote the preservation of a historical heritage that is a key to understanding historical epidemiological patterns and human responses to global health threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]