COMMUNITY ARCHIVE
OPEN POLYTECHNIC LECTURERS EXPLORE THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY ARCHIVES
Research recently publishedby Open Polytechnic lecturers in library and information studies, Sarah Welland and Amanda Cossham, focuses on the many definitions of community archives.
They covered the research in an article during a spot as guest editors for the journal Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication late last year. This issue of the journal focused on community and small archives. The article, ‘Defining the undefinable: an analysis of definitions of community archives’ explores discussion amongst archivists about what the exact definition of community archives is, and explains some of the purposes behind why they exist.
Amanda and Sarah say they have shared many discussions and ideas about archives and community archives and their role in preserving cultural heritage. They say they wanted readers to understand a bit more about the role and place that community archives have in creating and maintaining community memory.
Highlighting the benefits of community archives, Amanda explains ‘Community archives are created by a community so meet their needs first and foremost. They are not constrained by heavy-duty archival theory, so collections can be more varied and include material not stored in more traditionally run archives. For example, a local club’s archive might include the records of the club, but also published histories of the area in which the club is mentioned.’
A big difference community archives have from mainstream archives is they are selfdetermined by the community creating them. Sarah says, ‘Community archives provide the opportunity for that community to remember itself from its own point of view, without the bias of a dominant group determining what “should” be remembered about them. For example, marae archives will provide a much better picture of the life of the iwi than local government archives from the same area.’
They agree that the way community archives are viewed is changing. Amanda says, ‘Archival theorists, sociologists, historians and researchers are now considering community archives to be a powerful tool in ensuring social and cultural accountability, as they can fill gaps in society memory in areas that may not have been considered by published sources or other heritage or information repositories. They also provide evidence of, and argument for, alternative points of view.’
It’s expected that community archives will continue to grow in the future, and will need to move online to be more accessible. Sarah says, ‘One thing we are fairly sure of, and that is that the concept of community archives is not going away! The number of community archives seem to be growing as more communities become aware of the benefits of creating and maintaining their own memories and history their way.’
The full article can be found through this link.
If you are interested in learning more about archiving and gaining a qualification in this field, the Open Polytechnic, New Zealand’s specialist provider of online and distance learning, offers the New Zealand Diploma in Records and Information Management. To see the full range of information and library studies qualifications available at Open Polytechnic, head to their website.