Archival science

Spunti archivistici per la biblioteca medievale dell’Abbazia di Nonantola. I frammenti membranacei (sec. X ss.) e un elenco di codici liturgici (sec. XV) dell’Archivio Storico Abbaziale. I frammenti greci (sec. XIII-XIV) e gli altri frammenti (sec. IX ss. ) dell’Archivio Storico Comunale

by Riccardo Fangarezzi

in Sant’Anselmo di Nonantola e i santi fondatori nella tradizione monastica tra Oriente e Occidente. Atti della Giornata di Studio. Nonantola, 12 aprile 2003, a cura di Riccardo FANGAREZZI - Paolo GOLINELLI - Alba Maria ORSELLI, Viella, Roma 2006, pp. 287-319

Writing Archives / Crafting Order : A critique on the longstanding archival practices of arrangement and description

by Bertram Lyons

Archives are a discipline, a profession, and a philosophy; and archives are a story—a way of telling the future about... more Archives are a discipline, a profession, and a philosophy; and archives are a story—a way of telling the future about the past from an ever-changing present, a tool for remembering. The practice of archives is not inherent to human society. Archival practice has a history, a dramatic history with dynamic and diverse characters, power struggles, and disparate intentions.

My story, this critique, is an evaluation of the deterministic principles upon which archival practices are built. “Writing Archives / Crafting Order” traces the development and implementation in Western archival practice of the underlying theories of provenance, respect des fonds, and original order. By evaluating the narratives of these theories, I explore the discourses of naturalness and authenticity that shape and bolster longstanding archival practices of arrangement and description—the lenses through which users of the archive view its contents.

Archives today—as agents, sites, and contents—are the protectors and revealers of history and the prime locations from where history is written. My critique demands transparency in archival practice. It evaluates the power of the archivist and advocates for the illumination, recognition, and responsible use of that power. Archives, as institutions and collections, are also sites of power, where users see the contents as the ultimate, authentic evidence of the past. Recognition of the incompleteness of the archive and of the always already mediated quality of archival contents lessens the imperialistic power of the archive and simultaneously enriches the evidential and interpretive power of archival contents. Electronic communication revolutionizes the contents of the archive. This new information paradigm undermines many assumptions on which archival practice is built. My critique loosens the hold of longstanding principles, allowing archives the flexibility to adapt and respond to the advancing reality of digital creation and communication.

Archives for Administrators or Archives for Antiquarians? A History of Archive Cataloguing in Four Oxford Colleges

by Michael Riordan

Co-authored with Robin Darwall-Smith. Published in the Journal of the Society of Archivists vol. 30 no. 1 (2010)

The history of archive cataloguing, particularly before the 20th century, has been much neglected. This paper offers a... more The history of archive cataloguing, particularly before the 20th century, has been much neglected. This paper offers a case study of archive cataloguing practices at four Oxford colleges from the 15th to the mid-20th century. The authors propose a model of changing attitudes towards recordkeeping that can be tested against archives elsewhere. Evidence from these colleges suggests that archive cataloguing practices varied widely at different times according to the needs of administrators and the wants of antiquarians.

Printing, Selection and the Cataloguing of Oxford Archives, c. 1850-1950

by Michael Riordan

Published in the Journal of the Society of Archivists vol. 32 no. 1 (2011)

In the late nineteenth century Oxford colleges opened up their ancient muniments to be catalogued by external... more In the late nineteenth century Oxford colleges opened up their ancient muniments to be catalogued by external scholars. Their cataloguing was heavily influenced by the culture of records printing that relied on a linear way of thinking about documents and on the selection of records, so that only the most significant documents utilized the limited space. This essay will examine this culture at work in the early publications of the Oxford Historical Society and show how it influenced the college archivists to concentrate on the content of records in their cataloguing, and ignore their context and provenance.

Historical context and the information age: the Diaspora of Holocaust archives

by Raymund Schütz

Article is in revision now

The main question is how we can obtain real digital sustainability. The problems are demonstrated by the example of... more The main question is how we can obtain real digital sustainability. The problems are demonstrated by the example of Holocaust-related archives.

Aftermath of: WW II. Death dates of the missing in the Netherlands

by Raymund Schütz

Explanation of the legal procedures in the Netherlands, concerning the death dates of missing people. Explanation of the legal procedures in the Netherlands, concerning the death dates of missing people.

Vermoedelijk op transport

by Raymund Schütz

Holocaust, Jewish Council archives, deportation, archival science.
Updated version: june 2011

English summary: The interpretation of Dutch Jewish Council Records

The main question in this thesis is:... more English summary: The interpretation of Dutch Jewish Council Records

The main question in this thesis is: how do we interpret historical documents if we do not know the exact context in which they were created? It is a basic question for researchers and it will be all the more important in the digital age if we want to secure digital sustainability. The problem is demonstrated from the example of the Jewish Council Records that are part of the Information Bureau archives, at the Red Cross in The Hague. On these paper index cards a large amount of personal and procedural information was recorded by staff of the Jewish Council during the occupation of the Netherlands. On the appr. 180000 cards nearly every individual Jewish person was registered individually. After the war, the same card system was used by the Netherlands Red Cross as a basis for tracing the victims and to determine their fate.

Recreating the context
If we want to read the information on the cards and understand the meaning of the scribbled notes, we have to recreate the procedures that created these records. The card in itself is only the end product of a complicated chain of administrative events in a paper bureaucracy. The procedures changed many times and were scarcely documented. This means that the paper network has to be reconstructed, that existed when the records were created. The implication is that all the archives that may hold key-information have to be analysed. In that way the context of the Jewish Council records can be reconstructed. Context is required to interpret the information on these records. There are two layers of context. The first is the archives of the Information Bureau of the Red Cross and consists of deportation lists, personal files and other collections that were connected tot the Jewish Council Records after the war. The second level are the external archives that hold context information are scattered all over the Netherlands, but are mainly at NIOD-Amsterdam, National Archives the Hague and in local municipal archives.

How to obtain robust digital sustainability
To obtain robust digital sustainability, a detailed analysis of the interconnection of all these files is necessary. This analysis should be part of the meta-data. The paper bureaucratic network has to be reconstructed, and the remaining context-carriers have to indentified. Isolated digitisation of complex systems like the Jewish Council Records will lead to digital representations that cannot be interpreted. This is in fact what happened already, when microfilmed copies of the Jewish Council Records were transferred to ITS-Arolsen in the 1950’s. This organisation provided copies to Yad Vashem. Now all these microfilms are digitised and made available to institutions like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. These ‘orphaned’ digital files have no metadata attached about the creation, history and interrelations with other archives. Researchers will not be able to use the full potential of these files, because the context-environment was lost.
It is also argued that the new historian of the paperless information age will not understand the way a paper bureaucracy works. If this problem is not addressed, misunderstandings will arise interpreting the products of a paper bureaucracy: deportation list and file-card etc.

The thesis provides a detailed description of all the interrelations between internal (in the Red Cross Information Bureau archives) and external archives. It also analyses the way the German occupying authorities exerted their rule over the information that was provided to the Jewish council. The German authorities were conducting a war against the Jews and used their power to restrict the communication of the Jewish council and to destabilise the day-to-day practice of the Jewish council.

Archieven als fundament voor beleid. Nederlands-Indië 1816-1942

by Ton Kappelhof

Deel en Heers! Kennis delen 2.0

by Tom Cobbaert

L. de Brouwer, T. Cobbaert en T. de Haan, "Deel en Heers! Kennis delen 2.0" in: E. Hokke en T. Laeven, Archivaris: Professie, Professional, Professionaliteit en Professionalisering (S@P Jaarboek 2010). Den Haag, Stichting Archiefpublicaties, 2010, p. 298-305.