DSM2820 - ARCHIVE MANAGEMENT: PRINCIPLES & TECHNIQUES

Module Identifier	DSM2820
Module Title	ARCHIVE MANAGEMENT: PRINCIPLES & TECHNIQUES
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Ms Mary E Ellis
Semester	Available all semesters
Assessment	Semester Assessment	Archive office project equvalent to 4,000 word essay in terms of the enquiry	60%
	Semester Assessment	Essay approx 2,000 words	40%

Learning outcomes

After completing this module, you should be able to:

state the principles of archive administration;
define the nature of archives;
list the major considerations to be taken into account in planning and designing an archive building;
discuss archive preservation and conservation management;
outline the basic principles and standards for the arrangement and listing of archives;
identify the user services commonly available in archive repositories.

Brief description

Archives form part of a nation's heritage. They tell us about the policy-making of the past and the reasons behind those decisions; they reveal the existence and activities of individuals; they provide us with an insight into the lives and circumstances of past generations.
For the administrator, records are the basic tools of business or administrative transactions. They are used to justify official actions, to record proceedings, to explain and record policy decisions, and to establish and maintain rights under the law for citizens, corporations and governments. When set aside for permanent preservation as archives, they act as the corporate memory of institutions, associations and businesses and represent an essential research tool for the historian.
This module introduces the principles of archive administration and provides the necessary information to allow you to apply them to the management of archives, to appreciate current trends in archive management, and to understand the development of archive theory.

Reading Lists

Books
** Essential Reading
Ellis, J., ed. (1993) Keeping Archives. 2nd. Port Melbourne: Thorpe in association with the Australian Society of Archivists

Journals
Archives (British Records Association).

Books
** Essential Reading
Jenkinson, H. (1965) Manual of Archive Administration. 2nd. London: Lund Humphries

Journals
Archivaria.

Books
** Essential Reading
Schellenberg, T.R. (1956) Modern Archives, Principles and Techniques. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire

Journals
Archives and Manuscripts.

Books
** Essential Reading

Journals
Archives and Museum Informatics.

Books
** Essential Reading
Additional reference to a number of sources is made at each morule unit.

Journals
Archivum.
Business Archives (British Archives Council).
Journal of the Society of Archivists.
National Preservation Office Journal.