Archives and e-records management in Canada: a state of the art report

The author visited Canada during March 2010 to study Canadian Archival system especially records management in archives in Ontario province; the driving rationale for the study was the realization that there existed very less or no archives and record management program in India. This study intends to report different types of archives and record management (ARM) programs in Canada, with special reference to e-records management viz. automation status, creation of virtual exhibits, preservation of digital images, metadata standard for e-records etc. The prime objectives were to overview the current state of modern record keeping in the Government of Canada and identify the core competencies required to build effective record keeping infrastructures in the electronic work environment that has emerged in most government institutions. Introduction: Canada is one of the most successful nations at identifying, valuing and preserving its history and cultural heritage. The first efforts to acquire archival records originated from the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, established in 1824. The first archivist was Douglas Brymner, a journalist, who collected historical papers, old manuscripts and records in Quebec, Montreal and Toronto; his successor, Arthur Doughty also collected and both approached the federal government to provide a building to house the growing collection of historical records. Wilson (1982) identified that Public Archives of Canada, formally recognized by statute in 1912 and not established primarily as a government records office. Its intellectual origins can be traced directly to the formation of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec in 1824. Over the past two decades, unprecedented growth has occurred in Canadian archives. As the number of archives has increased over the period, the new challenges and opportunities impel libraries to work together more closely. No longer can libraries preserve historical records without prior consultation, without a clear mandate and without a realistic look at the scope and implications of objectives The Canadian archival system comprises the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), the provincial councils of archives, national and regional professional associations and other repositories from across the country. . The following are the objectives of the current study: the status of archives and e-records management in Canada the level of computerization in archives the use of standard for managing archival records the challenges of managing e-records and associated problems. Defining archives and related terms: The term "archives" in the current context is not restricted to actual records, produced or received by any individual or organization in carrying on their work. It also refers to the institution or program responsible for taking charge, arranging, describing and conserving archives and making them accessible as and when required by anybody. Simpson (1948) opined, „Archives to most people represent an obscure and remote institution which is narrowly specialized in its organization and serves a relatively few people...he pointed out the dynamic which creates archives and maintain their vitality springs from three primary sources: a sense of tidiness, a sense of tradition and a sense of crisis. A record is defined as all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form, made or received by an agency in connection with the transaction of public business as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the organizations. The records management is viewed as a subset of the larger information management issue. The Society of American Archivists state that archives management is “The general oversight of a program to appraise, acquire, arrange and describe, preserve, authenticate, and provide access to permanently valuable records. The widely adopted ISO 15489 standards define records management as: “field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions. E-records management refers to the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the process for capturing and maintaining evidence of information about business activities and transactions in the form of records in electronic format (Roper and Millar, 1999). J.C.Eamer-Goult (1995) in his thesis traced the division of responsibilities amongst records professionals as per records life status viz. active, semi-active and inactive and opined incorrect. He further discussed separate records occupations: those who looked after active records called record managers and those who handled inactive ones leveled as archivist. The fonds register is a list of all archive records preserved at archives sorted alphabetically by the name of its creator. Fonds consists of individual's records pertaining to his career as a scholar and includes research files, professional files, manuscripts, as well as personal files. Finding aids are self lists/descriptive tools which provide an overview and detailed file lists for all of the material in an archive, For example registers, guides, inventories, indexes, containing information about records in archival custody, that establish administrative, physical or intellectual control over the holdings of an archives, and make it possible to retrieve particular records or information from these archives. Description of the archives visited: Archives in Canada range in physical format from traditional paper files, minute books, ledgers, diaries, letters and reports, to microfilm, photographic images, cartographic materials, architectural drawings, motionpicture film, sound recordings, videotape, machine-readable data files, diskettes and even Web sites. The author was based at York University which is Canada's third-largest university; the archives and special collections are located at Room 305, Scott Library on York University‟s Keele Campus. Since its inception, Archives & Special Collections has focused on acquiring high-quality research collections that support the teaching and research programs of the University. In particular, York University Archives has acquired and made accessible a large number of primary and rare secondary resources on Canadian Labor History. The records in the archives are available for use by York faculty and students, as well as external researchers at York University Archives, Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. All archival or special collections materials must be used within York University Archives. University of Toronto is Canada's largest and most distinguished university.It is equally important to visit University of Toronto‟s Archives Records Management Services (UTARMS http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utarms/) which is located on the fourth floor of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and responsible for the appraisal, acquisition, preservation and use of University records of permanent value and the private records of individuals and organizations associated with the university. Dr Garron Wells is the archivist welcomed the author on 8 th March, morning and had a wonderful discussion on the topic. The author also met Gabriela Mircea to discuss on ETDs at Tspace repository. The University Archives providing a research service, an administrative service through the development and implementation of the University's records management program. UTARMS records management program seeks to promote systematic control of university records in accordance with legal statutes and University policy. It provides guidance to administrative and academic units on management of their records. UTARMS defines a basic set metadata elements.The standard is designed to be used as a reference tool by managers, IT personnel and software vendors involved in the design, selection and implementation of electronic recordkeeping and related information management systems. Table: 1 List of Archives visited Name of the archives Date of visit Automation