Preservation of Public and Private Memories: Philosophical Implications of AV Digitisation

Abstract:

Much of what has been written and said in the course of our move into the digital domain relates to standards, technicalities and practicalities – the “how to” part of the equation. Much less attention seems to be devoted to questioning underlying assumptions and testing their validity, and to considering the inherent differences between digital and analogue documents – and hence the consequences for preservation strategies. UNESCO’s Memory of the World guidelines defines preservation as “the sum total of the steps necessary to ensure the permanent accessibility – forever – of documentary heritage” and a document as comprising a “carrier” and “content”. Do digital documents still have a “carrier”? Is the concept of an “original” meaningful in the digital domain? Should analogue originals be discarded if there is a digital surrogate? These and other issues will be probed from a philosophical viewpoint, with particular reference to the audiovisual media.

Canada

Establishing an Accountability Framework: Macro-appraisal in the Canadian Federal Government Context

Abstract:

Since Library and Archives Canada (formerly the National Archives of Canada) introduced its macroappraisal methodology in 1990, there have been a number of challenges to its implementation for Canadian federal government records. The information management environment in which Library and Archives Canada archivists apply the methodology continues to feel both the effects of the massive government downsizing exercise of the mid-1990s and the increasing impact of electronic records. However, recent developments within the government’s management infrastructure that are designed to support greater transparency for its activities, supported by modern notions of accountability and comptrollership, will greatly facilitate and strengthen the ongoing development of macroappraisal.

Total Archives in Canada: The Changing Role of Government in Preservation of Canada's Documentary Heritage

Abstract:

The "total archives" concept originated in Canada in the 19th century as an approach to acquiring and preserving the broadest spectrum of documentation relating to the country's history.

Inherent in the total archives philosophy are the following concepts:
(1) the government has a central role to play in the culture of the country;
(2) the government also has a responsibility to help Canadians foster a sense of identity;
(3) acquiring private-sector records and preserving copies of material from other sources were valid archival activities for publicly funded institutions; and
(4) public institutions had a responsibility to preserve in one place archives created in all media, from print to audiovisual to cartographic.

In this presentation, Dr Millar provides an overview of the history of the total archives concept in Canada. She then considers the understanding of, and application of, the total archives concept in Canada in the 20th and 21st centuries. Economic constraints, the growth of computer technologies, and concerns about access and privacy have all changed the way that public institutions in Canada view their role in the preservation of the country's documentary heritage. Dr Millar will consider how social and economic pressures have shifted institutional priorities, often shifting attention away from the preservation of non-government archives, oral histories, community stories, and local traditions.

Singapore

Oral History: The Interaction Between Memory and Text

About the speaker:

Mr Kwa is Head of External Programs, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University and Co-Chair of Singapore's National Committee of the Council for Security Co-operation in the Asia Pacific. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of History, National University of Singapore.  He was previously Head of the SAFTI Military Institute's Department of Strategic Studies which he helped establish and concurrently, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of History of the National Institute of Education's School of Arts. Before joining the SAFTI Military Institute, Mr Kwa served in various capacities in the National Heritage Board, the National Museum and the Oral History Center. He continues to be associated with their institutions through their advisory committees, Mr Kwa started his working career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being posted to the Ministry of Defence. He was commissioned into the Singapore Armed Forces in 1969 and had served in a variety of reservist command and staff appointments up to Division level. He was educated at the old University of Singapore and the University of Kent in Canterbury. Mr Kwa authored papers on the heuristics of Asian security practice, Singapore historiography and the Southeast Asian art history. He recently helped co-edit Oral History in Southeast Asia, Theory and Method published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.  He is also the editor of IDSS Monograph Series, “Beyond Vulnerability? Water in Singapore-Malaysia Relations."

Restoring Legibility of Manuscript Writings with Ink Bleed Through Use of Digital Technology

Abstract:

This presentation will discuss a joint research project between the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) and the National University of Singapore, School of Computing that focuses on developing image-processing software that can help restore the legibility of archival documents adversely affected by ink-bleed-through.   The software works on digital images of the affected documents and is designed as a semi-automated technique in which the user uses a paint-like interface to mark small examples of foreground ink, bleed-through ink, and background in the image of the document.   Using this small amount of user-supplied “markup”, an automatic procedure then corrects the remaining text in the document.   Additional tools for visualizing the corrected results, as well as methods for saving this new digital edition of the document will be discussed.  The presentation will also be accompanied by several live demos of this software tool.

Dr. Brown is the Sung Kah Kay Assistant Professor at the School of Computing at the National University of Singapore.  He received his PhD and Bachelors of Computer Science from the University of Kentucky in 2001 and 1995 respectively.   His PhD thesis was focused on developing novel 3D imaging techniques for acquiring and digitally restoring medieval manuscripts housed at the British Library.  He has continued this research over the years working on various imaging and restoration techniques for library and archival materials with the latest research focused on ink-bleed correction.   His overall research interests include image processing, computer graphics, and computer vision.

From Emails and Instant Messages to Records: Capturing Digital Records as Evidence

About the speaker:

Mr Lim is the founder and CEO of SQL View Pte Ltd, a provider of Knowledge and Record Management Solutions. Holding a Masters in Management Science from Imperial College, London University and a BSc in Electronic Engineering from Birmingham University, UK, Stephen has been an active player in ICT. A 25 year veteran, he won many awards such as the recent Singapore Computer Society IT Leader Awards - Person of the Year (2007). This award honours individual who has made outstanding contributions to IT industry in Singapore. Stephen contributes his experience and expertise as member of advisory committees. Currently, he co-chairs the "Infocomm Singapore Band Management Committee", an SiTF and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) initiative. He also serves as committee/board member in iN2015 (Singapore's 10-year masterplan), IDA, Singapore Science Centre, National Internet Advisory Comittee and the e-Government Advisory Panel formed by Ministry of Finance.

Enterprise Document Management System - Transformation and Innovation

Abstract:

The vision to create and develop a fully integrated Enterprise Document Management System (EDMS) had inspired LTA to embark on a journey of transformation and innovation.

Mr Ang will share with us the birth of EDMS in LTA, how they transform conventional document management to electronic mode by leveraging on the latest Document Management Technology and by "out of the box" re-engineering pocess. What are the business strategy they adopted, lesson learnt and the cost benefits achieved.

USA

Preserving Evidence, Constructing History: How Government Archives Sustain the Memory of the Nation

Abstract:

This presentation explores the synergy between archives, history and
collective memory specifically in the construction of national identity and nation building. Utilizing the case study of the records of the United States Virgin Islands (formerly Danish West Indies), a small island territory in the Caribbean Sea, whose historical and colonial records were removed following its sale to the United States in the early twentieth century, the presentation discusses the responsibility of the Archives to collect and preserve the memory of the nation in all its forms and how that might be achieved.

Dr Bastian is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts where she directs their archives education program.  She was the Territorial Librarian and Archivist of the United States Virgin Islands from 1987 to 1998 and received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999. Her research interests and writings are in the areas of post-colonialism, collective memory and archives education.  Her publications include Owning Memory, How a Caribbean Community Lost Its Archives and Found Its History (2003) and a book on internships, Archival Internships:  A Guide for Faculty, Supervisors, and Students is in press.

The World Bank

The Tidal Wave of Records: Records Management and Accountability at the World Bank Group

Abstract:

This presentation examines how records management theories and best practices can be implemented within the framework of a large multilateral organization – the World Bank Group.  The World Bank Group is an international organization co-operatively owned by 185 member countries, and which provides financial and technical assistance to developing nations.  The World Bank Group Archives is responsible for the Bank’s records management policy, and for the care and custody of archival materials created by the institution.  The Archives’ functional responsibility spans the entire lifecycle of the records – from creation to final disposition – and it creates many opportunities and challenges that affect the documentary memory of the World Bank Group.   The presentation will examine the Bank's records management culture and the policies and procedures the Archives has put in place to increase capture of both paper records and electronic records, as well as to ensure legitimate disposition.  Practical examples of Archives’ activities will be examined in the presentation such as: policy work; business continuity planning; training; outreach; information technology systems development; information disclosure; and traditional archives work such as arrangement and description.

In addition, the World Bank Group Archives occasionally provides advisory services to Bank staff who are designing and implementing development projects that involve a records management component. Ms Miller will introduce one of these projects, and the possibility this advisory service has to increase the Archives’ impact on the Bank’s development work.

Ms Miller is an Archivist at the World Bank Group since 2003, where she is responsible for the Bank’s Records Management Monitoring Program, the Archives and Records training programme, and the description of semi-active and archival holdings function.  Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Ms Miller was an Archivist in the Government Records Branch of the National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada) responsible for a portfolio within the Natural Resources and Culture section.  She holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Calgary (1998) and a Masters of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia (2001).  Her work in the country offices of the World Bank Group in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, has nurtured her interest in the link between public sector governance and the role of records management and archives.