A six–week training programme hosted by Archives New Zealand has been a real eye opener says Solomon Island National Archives’ Records Management Officer Bernard Risu and Senior Researcher Louisa Laekeni.
Bernard and Louisa arrived at Archives New Zealand’s Wellington Office at the beginning of August. During their time here they have been shown many aspects of archiving, including appraisal and arrangement and description as well as preservation and recordkeeping. They say what they have learnt will be very useful in their work back home.
Louisa says, “The importance of proper archiving is only just being realised in the Solomons. The time I’ve spent in New Zealand has given me an opportunity to see what archives can really be like. We have seen a wide range of different archives and have learnt a lot that we can use when we get back.”
Bernard says they have a lot of challenges to work through but also now have a lot of ideas.
“We will be doing a mass awareness campaign to let people know the importance of good recordkeeping,” he says. “Our other priorities are staff development, working through the backlog of unprocessed records and reappraising our holdings. We’ll also be looking to advise the government on records management and disposal and improve our reference service to government and the public,” he said
There are almost 1,000 islands in the Solomons. The National Archives are situated in the capital Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal and were established in the late 1970s as part of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Approximately 120,000 items are held in the archives, mostly from 1893 to 1978 when it was a British Protectorate.
Bernard and Louisa’s training programme was funded by NZ Aid. While in New Zealand they also spent time at the Kaipara District Council and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Marist Archives in Wellington.