Community Archives Education and Advisory Program

The recent news about cuts to program funding to the AABC have certainly shifted our sense of ‘what’s happening’ in B.C.’s archives community. Despite that, we have daily proof of the value of the services we offer. New archival repositories are springing up, needing courses for staff and volunteers, preservation advice, assistance making holdings accessible through the internet; these include the Unitarian Fellowship in Powell River, and the Rick Hansen Institute at UBC. In particular, the advisory service assists newly established archives to begin, at the beginning, to base their policies and practices on accepted archival standards, to qualify for institutional membership in the AABC.

In this vein, it is good at this time to recall exciting successful initiatives. During the summer, I had the very great pleasure of presenting our "Introduction to Archival Practice" course to a class of 26 First Nations students, as part of the first ever "First Nations Information Workers Summer Institute". The Institute was the result of a "Back to the Future" forum held by the B.C. Library Association’s First Nations Interest Group in November, 2000. In February, 2001, a committee composed of representatives of the UBC First Nations House of Learning, SLAIS, Langara College, UNBC, the University College of the Fraser Valley, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the Public Library Services Branch, and, latterly, the AABC, began meeting to plan both the Summer Institute, and long-term goals.

The 10-day Institute offered three introductory courses, on cataloguing, archives, and mapping. It was clear, from discussion arising in my own course, that the students are dealing with very mixed holdings in their own communities, including current records, photocopies of materials in distant church and government archives, oral history recordings on audio and video-tape, museum materials, and library holdings. For many, the demands of managing current records in emerging self-government offices overwhelm available staff. I felt the most pressing goal for the coarse was to make clear the distinguishing characteristics of archival material, and to provide an overview of all the elements of the management of archives. Of the 26 students, four were currently members of the AABC; the other 22 represent repositories in the process of getting going, potential members for the future, all very much in need of AABC support. On the last day of the Institute, I attended a wrap-up evaluation session, and hopes for another summer Institute to be held next summer, possibly in Prince George, were discussed. It was clear there is a pressing need for both Records Management, and Principles of Conservation training, and it is likely an effort will be made to include such courses in next year’s offering.

I have asked to be included, on behalf of the AABC, in the ongoing meetings of the First Nations Interest Group. The long-term goal for the group is to provide, through Institute’s, Distance Education, and flexible Community College programs, a program for certification of First Nations Information Workers. To that end, the committee is developing curriculum lists based on existing Library Technician programs at UCFV and Langara College. I will report on the progress of this committee as there is news to share.

As regards our regular course offerings, our schedule goes ahead unaffected for this year. It will be increasingly necessary that courses generate enough revenue to cover the associated costs, as they currently do for sponsored workshops. Good registration levels will ensure that courses can go ahead. Here follow the courses confirmed so far.

Community Archives Education Program:

Course Descriptions – 2001-2002

Mini introduction / Arrangement and description - Three-day

October 18-20, 2001 Vernon
Registration Deadline: 27 September 2001

Review the basic archival principles and functions, and understand the concepts and practice of arrangement and description in detail. Participants will be introduced to the CCA Rules of Archival Description (RAD) as the descriptive standard to be met in either paper or computer-based format. Workshop exercises provide hands-on experience in preparing archival collections for public access. The preparation of inventories and basic finding aids is also introduced.

Instructor: Patti O’Byrne
Sponsored by Okanagan region

Archival Management of photographs

November 16 &17, 2001 Mission Archives
Registration Deadline: 26 October 2001

This new two-day workshop revisits the underlying principles of archives as they apply to photographic holdings. The course combines lecture, discussion, and hands-on exercises to survey the archival functions - appraisal and acquisition, accessioning, arrangement and description, reference and outreach - focusing on the special needs of photographs. The description portion offers ample opportunity to practice the Rules for Archival Description at fonds and item levels.

Refer to update announcements on the AABC website for confirmation of dates and location.

Instructor: Janet Turner
AABC Archival Education and Advisory Service

Care and Handling of Photographs

January 11 & 12, 2002 Surrey
Registration Deadline: 22 December 2001

This is an intensive exploration of the care and handling of photographs for long-term preservation. Through a combination of lecture, demonstration, and hands-on exercises, the workshop will introduce participants to all the elements of a preservation management program for their photographic holdings. Topics include: composition of photographs; identification of historic types; storage requirements and materials for differing photographic media; preservation through copying; issues in restoring photographs; digitizing photographs for preservation.

Instructor: Rosaleen Hill
BC Archival Preservation Service

Care and handling of Photographs

March 9 & 10, 2002 Prince George
Registration Deadline: 16 February 2002

Course description, as above.

Instructor: Rosaleen Hill
BC Archival Preservation Service

To register for any of these courses, submit registration form, with payment, to:

Janet Turner
1260 Victoria Drive
Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3B 2T9

jeturner@aabc.bc.ca

604-942-9790

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© 2001 Archives Association of British Columbia