Ngā Tapuwae December 2010
Chief Executive's Greeting
Kia ora everyone
Welcome to the December edition of Ngā Tapuwae, our newsletter keeping you up-to-date with events and information about Archives New Zealand.
This is the last newsletter for the year and it has been an eventful one for us. The department’s integration with the National Library of New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs takes place on 1 February pending the passing of legislation.
A great deal of effort is going into making this a smooth transition for staff, stakeholders and customers. From the beginning of the process I and the chief executives from the two integrating departments have been clear that the new Department of Internal Affairs will champion customer service. This involves creating new opportunities to share knowledge and information with many more people.
The final decision document on the new department’s organisational design released on 12 November adds clarity to this by placing both the National Library and Archives New Zealand in the newly created Knowledge, Information, Research and Technology (KIRT) arm of the department.
Being in the KIRT group is a good fit for Archives New Zealand because it positions us closely with others whose purposes complement our own. KIRT includes Government Technology Services and the office of the Government Chief Information Officer; both exist to improve government’s use and management of information – a substantial part of our purpose.
Working with groups such as these has always been essential for Archives New Zealand because we can only achieve our goal of improving government’s recordkeeping through collaboration. Being connected with the other key players in information management provides a sound base.
Increasing our ICT capacity also means we can connect with more people to ensure the wealth of information in the archives is readily available online.
Last week the Minister Responsible for Archives New Zealand, the Hon Nathan Guy officially launched two new recordkeeping standards, the Disposal Standard and the Digital Recordkeeping Standard. These recordkeeping standards are a critical means of influencing and changing for the better the information management practice of the public sector.
More information about the event is in this issue. You can also read about the Tūhoe digitisation initiative as well as a work in progress report on the new Government Digital Archive. A number of staff were involved in the annual National Digital Forum and you can catch up with conference highlights in this issue of Ngā Tapuwae.
The final Government Recordkeeping Forum for 2010 held in Wellington on 1 December was an opportunity to introduce the forum’s new coordinator. Other items of note include the new online exhibition Walter’s World, showcasing the records of former Prime Minister Walter Nash. News from the regions tells of the transfer of Land Information New Zealand records to Archives New Zealand’s Dunedin office; while in Auckland our staff hosted visitors from Australia who were impressed with the new purpose-built repository.
I want to take this opportunity to wish outgoing National Library Chief Executive and National Librarian Penny Carnaby all the best for the future. Penny and I have been colleagues since she first stepped into the role and we have work closely together through the integration process.
Penny’s foresight, drive and determination is an inspiration.
To all of you every good wish for an enjoyable break over the festive season and a very happy new year.
All the best
Greg
Minister launches two new recordkeeping standards
Raising the recordkeeping standard across all sectors of government is one of the primary reasons for the Public Records Act 2005, the Minister Responsible for Archives New Zealand, the Hon Nathan Guy, said when he launched two new recordkeeping standards.
Speaking at last week’s official launch of Archives New Zealand’s Disposal Standard and the Digital Recordkeeping Standard Nathan Guy said, “Good creation, maintenance and disposal of records is fundamental to good governance.
“Good governance helps protect the rights and entitlements of individuals, supports accountability, transparency, and first-rate evidence based decision making.
“Good recordkeeping also makes for more efficient business.
“Ensuring resources are spent managing only those records needed for business and accountability purposes, means we have some pretty powerful reasons for taking the time and trouble to make sure that the public sector gets it right.”
Above: Front from left: Lisa Judge, digital recordkeeping standard project manager, Hon Nathan Guy, project advisory group members Alice Patterson and Liz McLean. Back, from left: John Roberts, Acting Group Manager, Government Recordkeeping Group and Paddy Power, Manager, Government Recordkeeping Programme.
Nathan Guy said the two new standards are important, practical tools. They will help ensure public sector information is trusted and available when it’s needed now and in the future.
The Disposal Standard is mandatory for all public offices and local authorities, with the exception of schools. When done well, disposal means organisations can reduce storage costs and save unnecessary time and expense managing records no longer required.
The Digital Recordkeeping Standard is an adaptation of the International Council on Archives 2008 digital recordkeeping standard. Archives New Zealand was a significant contributor to the creation of this international standard and its local adaptation here is the first such undertaking in the world.
“This standard addresses the many significant challenges we face in today’s digital world,” Nathan Guy said. “The public sector needs to ensure records created in dynamic business systems and electronic recordkeeping systems are available when they are wanted.”
The Digital Recordkeeping Standard provides valuable guidance when making substantial changes to existing systems or developing new ones.
Nathan Guy thanked the many people involved in creating the two new standards; particularly the two project leaders, Mark Crookston, who led the development of the disposal standard, and Lisa Judge who led the adoption of the digital recordkeeping standard.
Pictured above: Mark Crookston, Disposal Standard project manager and Lisa Judge, Digital Recordkeeping Standard project manager.
He said the standards are held in high esteem and this is in large part due to them being developed with significant input into their content from members of the recordkeeping community and from stakeholders.
Two advisory groups bringing together people from across the recordkeeping fraternity worked on their development.
The members were:
Disposal Standard Advisory Group
Mark Crookston, Project Manager, Archives New Zealand
Bronwen Clifton, Information Services Manager, Officer of the Controller and Auditor-General
Joanna Newman, independent contractor, nominated by the Records Management Association of Australasia
Seren Wendelken, Knowledge Advisor, Department of Conservation
Manu Huatahi, Senior Information and Records Analyst, ACC
Antonia Di Maio, Senior Business Advisor, Office of the Ombudsman
Sarah Padey, Archives Manager, Auckland City Council, nominated by the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand
Susan Souren, Information Technology and Systems Manager, Taupo District Council, nominated by Association of local Government Information Management
Danny Naylor, Records Manager, Victoria University of Wellington
Anna Gulbransen, Advisor, Government Recordkeeping Programme, Archives New Zealand
Zhimin Ding, Archivist, Archives New Zealand
Digital Recordkeeping Standard Advisory Group
Lisa Judge, Project manager, Archives New Zealand
Liz McLean, Team Leader Data Quality, Capital and Coast District Health Board
Fiona Staples, Information Services Manager, Department of Internal Affairs
Maria Molina, Records Manager, GNS Science
Jeremy Knowles, Consultant, Infocentrik
Alice Patterson, Team Leader, Information and Document management Services, The Treasury
Paula Smith, Information Management Consultant, Techtonics
Bruce Balfour, Support Services Manager, Western Bay of Plenty District Council
James Geddes, Project Manager, Wintec
Meta Mair, Senior Consultant, Information Leadership
Tūhoe digitisation Initiative – Naku Na Tūhoe
The presentation of a DVD and book containing quality digital images of archival records to Tūhoe from Archives New Zealand on 26 November at Piripari Marae, Waimana, signified the successful completion of the Naku Na Tūhoe digitisation initiative.
Above: the cd and book presented at Piripari Marae.
The ceremony hosted by the Executive Committee of Te Waimana Kaaku (Tuhoe Eastern Executive) and Piripari Marae, was attended by around 100 people representing the 42 Tūhoe marae in the district.
Archives New Zealand was represented by Philip Green, Group Manager, Finance and Corporate), Ihaia Biddle, Kaumatua, Terehia Biddle, Kaihautū and Group Manager, Responsiveness to Maori and Community Archives) and Tikina Heremia, RTM researcher.
“People were overwhelmed and appreciated having the records so they can tell their stories now and to future generations,” Philip Green said.
The Tūhoe Digitisation Initiative was established in December 2008 following a request to Archives New Zealand from Te Kotahi a Tūhoe for access to information of historical and cultural value to Tūhoe iwi.
Archives New Zealand agreed to work in collaboration with Tūhoe to provide access to records of significance to Tūhoe.
The one-year initiative identified an extensive range of Tūhoe related records from Archives New Zealand holding. It was agreed to digitise or copy records of significance prior to 1920, pertaining to Tūhoe homelands generally referred to as Te Urewera National Park.
The work has resulted in a database of over 1800 records pertaining to Te Urewera pre 1920. The DVD of images of the archives and of books containing a sample of the work will be distributed to each marae within the Tūhoe rohe. Images and photographs in the book were sourced from the Alexander Turnbull Library.
During the presentation Philip Green acknowledged the valuable contribution of iwi researcher Here Titoko. Archives New Zealand had agreed to pay Here for 12 months as the Kairangahau to undertake the research. Here had work experience and training in the department on the Tainui digitisation project. Her knowledge of Tūhoe history and whakapapa, an ability to transcribe both English and Maori documents, an ability to translate documents as well as fluency in te reo were fundamental to the success of the project.
Pictured above: Philip Green presents a copy of the book to Here Titoko in recognition of her work in the project. The presentation was made during the ceremony at Piripari Marae (Here's father's marae).
The Tūhoe initiative is a further example of the way Archives New Zealand works in collaboration with iwi, to access information that recognises the unique nature of each request for archival support and advice.
The work with Ngāi Tahu, Tainui, Taranaki and Tūhoe iwi, has helped Archives New Zealand to improve the ways it develops quality relationships with iwi and learn how to negotiate more meaningful and relevant outcomes in a sustainable way.
Government Digital Archive Programme on target
The programme to establish the new $12.6 million Government Digital Archive is up and running and meeting all targets on time.
“The Government Digital Archive is like the other archive, but digital,” says Evelyn Wareham, Digital Continuity manager. “While it has the same principles and processes, we need to think about working in a new environment.
“We have begun developing relationships with stakeholders across the public sector to determine what their expectations of the digital archive are and to ensure we create an archive which will meet their needs as well as our own,” Evelyn Wareham said.
With the initial planning stage now complete steady progress is being made in the programme’s four workstreams: Programme Management, Technical Delivery, Public Sector Digital Continuity and Archives Business Transformation.
“Several key achievements have been made, including the implementation of the structure and governance of the programme, plus we have agreed on the scope and direction,” she said.
“An engagement strategy has been developed as well as a disposal policy for digitised archives, and the primary activities of the Digital Continuity Action Plan have been defined.
“We are currently increasing the capability of the team so that we can meet our 2013 deadline for getting the digital archive up and running.
“As more and more records are created digitally it’s important to have a secure system to store, preserve and give ongoing access to important public records.”
Members of the workstreams are: Programme Management Alison Fleming and Frances Duncan. Technical Delivery Matthais Nowak, Helen Brown, Robin Newton. Public Sector Digital Continuity Evelyn Wareham, Euan Cochrane, Mark Crookston, Anna Henry, Mick Crouch, Monica Greenan.
Pictured below, some members of the GDAP, front from left: Francis Duncan, Alison Fleming, Evelyn Wareham. Back, from left: Helen Brown, Matt Nowak, Mark Crookston, Anna Henry.
Country Lads gets feature film treatment
In an experiment to gauge the possibilities of film digitisation for Archives New Zealand’s collection, Country Lads (1941), the first official film to be made by the National Film Unit, has been digitised to the quality of a feature film.
David Smith, Senior Adviser Audio-Visual Records said, “the vast majority of film digitisation that we do is for access, and so it’s done at a relatively low level (DVD quality) called analogue.
“We were originally going to digitise Country Lads in this format, but as the film we hold is the absolute source material for that title (a 35mm black and white master negative), we wanted to capture as much of the original as possible.
“We went to Weta Digital and Park Road Post Productions to perform the digitisation, and Archives’ Preservation Technician Reiner Schoenbrunn had a key role with getting the film ready (cleaning it, doing preservation work) and ensuring the integrity of the archive through the digitisation process.
Above: Damaged nitrate original next to digital duplicate negative. This restoration work was performed by Reiner.
“Country Lads and This is New Zealand (our first high-end digitisation project) are being submitted to appear in a short-film festival in France.
“Undertaken in 2006, the digitisation of This Is New Zealand was very expensive. Since then there has been a significant price drop, and this has enabled us to explore the wider possibilities of film preservation in this format.
“At the moment we are in a period of evaluation where we’re looking at whether or not to make this process part of our business as usual,” David said.
National Digital Forum – linking people and data
It was a time of sharing knowledge and gaining new experiences at the National Digital Forum 2010 Conference held in Wellington, 18 -19 October.
With the conference theme of linking people, linking data, keynote speakers Michael Edson from the Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, USA, Nick Poole, the Collections Trust, UK, and Dan Hill urban designer, Australia, were complemented in their presentations by the breadth of knowledge of local experts who led and participated in the impressive programme of workshops and panel sessions.
Archives New Zealand was a major sponsor and trade exhibitor, with staff taking part in all aspects including workshop facilitators and speakers.
Minister Responsible for Archives New Zealand, Hon Nathan Guy opened the conference. On behalf of the government he thanked delegates for the work they are doing in the digital arena.
“As the Minister responsible for the National Library and Archives New Zealand, I've been very impressed with the excellent work done by the National Digital Forum.
“Your goal of working together to enhance electronic access to New Zealand's culture and heritage is a very worthy one. On behalf of government, I thank you all for the work you are doing.”
The Minister updated delegates on some of the government’s major digitisation projects, including the Archives New Zealand led Digital Continuity Action Plan and National Library’s National Digital Heritage Archive.
“Looking ahead, given that most Government information is now online and increasingly digital, there are very real opportunities for other departments to leverage from the NDHA.
“The best example of this is the new Government Digital Archive, which I was proud to announce in June.
“As part of the 2010 Budget the government is providing $12.6 million in new funding to develop this new system. This is a major investment in the future, providing a secure system to store, preserve and give access to important public records.
“This is a real coup, given how tight the government's finances are. It shows how seriously the Government takes the work of Archives New Zealand, and the importance of preserving information.
“It will be created by extending the National Library's National Digital Heritage Archive system so it can be used by Archives New Zealand for public sector records.
“This will ensure that digital information is accessible, usable, and reusable by those who need it for as long as it is needed.
“It's also an endorsement of the digital preservation work already underway by Archives and the National Library.”
The Minister’s speech and together with keynote addresses and all other presentations held in the Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, are available on the NDF website .
Community Archive a hit with Arctic region visitor to NDF
Community Archives/Responsiveness to Maori researcher Tikina Heremia (left) and Ericka Chemko from the Arctic region at the National Digital Forum.
From the Arctic Region to Wellington New Zealand is a long way to travel to attend the National Digital Forum. But Ericka Chemko, Project Manager, Inuit Heritage Trust said every kilometer was worth the effort.
Born and bred in Vancouver, Canada, Ericka has a background in museum studies and anthropology and was thrilled to learn about Archives New Zealand’s online register The Community Archive (http://thecommunityarchive.org.nz/).
With an interest in how the internet can provide greater accessibility to heritage collections, Ericka was particularly interested in learning about The Community Archive.
Community Archives/Responsiveness to Maori researcher Tikina Heremia demonstrated the site and set Ericka up with her own log-on so she could explore the various functions for herself and see how easy it was to find our about archives held in communities around New Zealand. Ericka said she had not previously seen anything like The Community Archive which provides a range of free services for users and was quite keen to share her knowledge on her return to Canada.
The Inuit are indigenous people of the Arctic and the trust holds collections such as clothing made from sealskin and caribou skins, natural history items, art and sculpture. Ericka says digitisation will provide greater accessibility to the collections across the territory (a large area that spans three time zones) as well as giving worldwide access.
Ericka says the trust is situated in Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) one hour west of Nuuk, Greenland. Travel to Wellington took approximately three days, starting with a three hour plane trip to Ottawa, then across to Vancouver, onto Auckland and finally Wellington.
Walter’s World: The Nash Collection – now online
Former New Zealand Prime Minister, Sir Walter Nash.
Legendary among archivists, the records of Sir Walter Nash span 3000 bundles – each containing between 30-1500 items – and 700 feet of shelving at Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office.
This treasure trove of history has been delved into by Arrangement and Description archivists Tony Connell and Jeff Carr as part of a programme to get the Nash Collection onto Archway, Archives New Zealand’s online search engine.
Walter’s World, an online exhibition dedicated to showcasing some of the weird, wonderful and utterly miscellaneous items of the Nash Collection, was also developed as part of this programme.
The exhibition was made available on the Archives New Zealand website in November 2010.
You can visit Walter’s World, and to learn more about one of New Zealand’s longest serving politicians, at http://archives.govt.nz/events/walters-world-nash-collection.
Work on the Nash Collection continues and the online exhibition will be updated periodically as more items are made available on Archway.
Large LINZ transfer for Dunedin office
Dunedin Regional Archivist Peter Miller gives an update on the latest goings on from Archives New Zealand’s southern-most office.
Peter says, “in September we received a large transfer of archives over three days from Land Information New Zealand’s (LINZ) Dunedin Processing Centre.”
These archives, ranging in date from the 1850s to the 1990s, originated from the Dunedin and Invercargill offices of LINZ’s predecessors (Lands and Deeds, and Lands and Survey).
“Most of the transferred volumes relate to the Deeds systems of land administration (the predecessor of the Land Transfer system). All of these archives were made available for public access on 2 November – except for the Deeds indexes, which are being digitised and will become available as digital images on Archway (the department’s online search engine).
“The team of volunteers from the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Dunedin branch continue their excellent work in listing mining applications from the archives of the Otago Wardens Courts.
“This is a very long-term project, and in due course the resulting lists will go on to Archway for all to access. We are most grateful to them for giving their time and skill, and to the branch for taking on this project,” said Peter.
New face organising recordkeeping forums
Three days after joining the Archives New Zealand team as an advisor for the Government Recordkeeping Programme, Karamdeep (Kazz) Sahota was given the task of running Wellington’s final Government Recordkeeping forum for 2010.
The 1 December forum, he explains, was all about digitisation.
Keynote speakers included: Danny Mollan, Director of Strategy, Government Technology Services at the Department of Internal Affairs, who provided a wider perspective to digitisation; Hamish James, Manager, Information Management at Statistics New Zealand, told the story of the digitisation of the census project; and Stephen Beighton, Director at Desktop Imaging in Tawa, spoke about projects his company has undertaken with public sector agencies and the processes involved.
Archives New Zealand staff gave updates on the Public Records Act 2005 Audit Programme and recordkeeping events, as well as outlining the framework Archives New Zealand has in place to support the digitisation of the public sector.
Left to right: Appraisal Advisors Derek Clear and Peter Bisley, with Government Recordkeeping Senior Advisor Lisa Judge and new coordinator Kazz Sahota, at the launch of the new Disposal Standard and Digital Recordkeeping Standard.
Despite being thrown into the proverbial deep-end, Kazz says the planning went well.
A recent addition to both the Archives team and New Zealand itself, Kazz moved to Wellington from England in October.
With a master’s degree in Archives and Records Management, Kazz worked at the University of York and in local government in Birmingham prior to his New Zealand move.
“I’ve mainly worked with historical records, so I’m really enjoying using the records management half of my degree,” he said.
“I never imagined I’d be working in New Zealand, this is a once in a life time opportunity and I’m really enjoying it.”
PARBICA Secretary gets a Deputy
Above: Newly appointed Deputy Secretary General Aaron Braden (left) demonstrating the new listing system to staff at Taoga Niue.
Batman had Robin, and now PARBICA (Pacific Regional Branch International Council on Archives) Secretary General Mark Crookston has Aaron Braden.
A Business Analyst for the department’s Information and Communication Services group, Aaron was chosen from a “tough field of candidates” to be the new Deputy Secretary General, said Mark.
“Aaron has extensive archival experience and a great understanding of archives in the Pacific (he worked with Niue’s National Archives after Cyclone Heta in 2007/8). We’re thrilled to have him onboard,” he said.
Aaron adds, “I’ve also worked in small museums where lack of funding means you have to make the most of what you’ve got. I found working in the Pacific similar in that respect, you have to be really practical.”
So far this year Aaron and Mark have run two teleconference meetings with the PARBICA Bureau, which are “big events logistically” said Mark.
They have also started work on creating a Disaster Preparedness and Response Guide for the Pacific, and will soon begin planning for the 2011 PARBICA Conference in Samoa.
“A lot of what we do is very administrative, for example, working out funding – all of that unglamorous stuff. It’s very rarely sweet trips to the Pacific,” Mark jokes.
They both agree that the best thing about working for PARBICA is helping to “make a difference – it’s important to give back to the profession.”
Above: PARBICA Secretary General Mark Crookston with Elenoa Delailakeba.
Fijian archivist on fact-finding trip at Archives New Zealand
Elenoa Delailakeba from the National Archives of Fiji is currently on secondment to Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office for three weeks as the recipient of an International Council on Archives scholarship.
Mark says, “Elenoa is based in Appraisal during her stay, and is learning about what we do and how our government appraisal and disposal programme works. She is looking to establish a similar model in Fiji.”
Elenoa says, “at the National Archives of Fiji we don’t currently do any appraisal and disposal at all, we keep everything.
“I have been learning how to make an appraisal list, and how to describe the content on those lists. Archives New Zealand’s appraisal and disposal processes are well developed, I’m very grateful of their knowledge.
“Staff have been really helpful and inclusive. I have attended a government recordkeeping forum, staff meetings, and even a baby shower!” she says.
Sharing many similarities despite the distance
Two visitors from National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), were given the royal treatment when they visited Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office recently.
Desi Pratiwi, Head of Research and Development for Electronic Records Management and Rini Agustiani, Head of Research and Development for Records Management Division were interested to learn about Archives New Zealand’s developments in the area of digitisation and recordkeeping.
Pictured above, from left: Rini Agustiani, John Roberts and Desi Pratiwi.
During their visit Hywel Williams Arrangement and Description Archivist took them on a tour of the repository; Evelyn Wareham Public Sector Digital Continuity Manager told them about our digital continuity and government digital archive work and John Roberts acting Group Manager Government Recordkeeping Group covered-off the department’s government recordkeeping role.
The ANRI has 450 staff, including 128 archivists serving a country of 240 million people. Their oldest records date from 1602 when the Dutch were active in Indonesia.
“It was great to have Desi and Rini visiting us and to learn how close their organisation is to Archives New Zealand’s current priorities and programmes,” Evelyn Wareham said.
“We learnt about their technical development projects, which include a multinational portal to digitise Dutch East Indies records held in Indonesia, New York, Sri Lanka and other countries. ANRI has also developed an electronic records management system that has been rolled out to 10 agencies and links directly to their government digital archive system.
“As part of the 2004 tsunami recovery effort they have also set-up a programme to provide ready emergency response for records affected by disasters.”
Archives New Zealand scholarship exhibition
Rarely seen photos from Archives New Zealand’s National Publicity Studios (NPS) collection are the subject of an exhibition by Auckland artist and writer Emil McAvoy.
The recipient of the Archives New Zealand 50th Anniversary Scholarship, Emil McAvoy created the exhibition that documents the studio’s own display products, promoting trade, tourism and public relations.
Archives New Zealand’s Acting Chief Executive Greg Goulding says the scholarship encouraged the innovative use of Archives New Zealand’s collections.
“Many of the archives held in our repositories are rarely viewed because their condition requires them to be kept in a climate controlled environment. We are delighted Emil’s exhibition brings to life these rarely seen images in a way that can be enjoyed by the wider community,” Mr Goulding said.
Issues & Returns: Borrowings from the National Publicity Studios Archive features a unique selection of 20 photographic prints taken from original NPS negatives for which no prints previously existed.
“I hope they will be both celebrated for their contribution to our national self image, along with the NPS wider contribution to our visual and material culture,” Mr McAvoy said.
The images document NPS display products promoting trade, tourism and public relations in the post World War Two period, and were shot in the studios themselves.
The NPS was established in 1945 as part of the Information Section of the Prime Minister's Department. The studios remained the official documenters and publicists of New Zealand from the 1920s through to the late 1980s.
The exhibition had its debut at the Elam School of Fine Arts Graduate Show, on 20-21 November at the University of Auckland. Mr McAvoy says he intends touring the exhibition at a later date. For more information: www.emilmcavoy.com
Return visit to Auckland
Above: Shauna Hicks (far left) and Archives New Zealand Auckland office staff and volunteers.
When Australian Shauna Hicks first visited Archives New Zealand’s Auckland Regional Office it was located at Mt Wellington. A return visit on 25 November enabled her to see the current purpose-built repository at Mangare that opened in 2007.
A former Senior Manager Access Services, Public Records Office, Victoria, Australia, Shauna was accompanied by Louise St James, Managing Director of the National Institute of Genealogical Studies and Elaine Collins, Business Development Director, Findmypast.co.uk.
During the course of the visit the trio was shown the repository and talked to volunteers about the projects they were working on.
Auckland Regional Archivist Mark Stoddart said, “we also talked about digitisation projects such as the prioritisation matrix used by the National Archives (UK), and different arrangements institutions have entered into with outside agencies. We discussed for example getting the costs of preservation work paid by the agency seeking to digitise the records and charging to download images. Overall it was a very useful exchange of information.
“Shauna commented favourably on our new premises and took the opportunity to carry out some research on her family history.”
News Bytes
Focus on food for Records and Archives Week 2011
From the Hangi pit to the Weekbix kid: Recording the history of food in New Zealand, is the theme of Records and Archives Week (RAW), 1-7 May 2011.
This annual event, organised by the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ), marks the importance of records and archives as a means of documenting the impact of food on our daily lives; and in particular, the changes to how food has been gathered, produced, prepared, distributed and consumed over the years.
For further information contact Kirsty Cox email kirsty.cox@natlib.govt.nz
Meeting in style
Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office has several new meeting rooms and a streamlined, open plan office environment, as a result of a recent refurbishment of the main staff work area on level 2.
The redevelopment means staff are working closer together and the refit has created additional meeting rooms for staff and external visitors to meet.
Corporate Profile brochure
Archives New Zealand corporate profile promotes the services to our customers and the holdings in each of our repositories.
Copies of the brochure are available from our offices in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, or Dunedin or by contacting communications@archives.govt.nz.
PARBICA publication a winner
The Recordkeeping for Good Governance Toolkit, developed by PARBICA (Pacific Regional Branch International Council on Archives) with contribution from Archives New Zealand, recently won the Australian Society of Archivists’ Mander Jones Award for the publication making the greatest contribution to the archives profession in Australia, written by or on behalf of a corporate body.
This document can be viewed at http://www.parbica.org/toolkit%20pages/toolkitintropage.htm.
Archives’ first film survey
Wellington-based Archives New Zealand Preservation Technician, Shane Jackson has completed – on his own initiative – a survey of the department’s nitrate film holdings and photographic material to detect instances of vinegar syndrome (film degradation).
The survey has provided Archives New Zealand with its first comprehensive data on the magnetic media held here and has identified the challenges and priorities for future preservation.
Mixing and mashing archives
A partner in The Great New Zealand Remix and Mash Up Competition, Archives New Zealand has supplied digital material to be moulded by participants into a modern day masterpiece.
Senior Adviser, Audio-Visual Records David Smith said, “the aim of the project is to improve access to content, and to make it easier to reuse.
“We have supplied a lot of stock material – for example, an aeroplane in flight, and New Zealand in the 1960s – which are basically shots without a story. We’ve also provided complete films that are outside of copyright,” he said.
For more information on the competition, go to www.mixandmash.org.nz.
Penny Carnaby
Penny Carnaby has announced her intention to step down from her role as National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library. Her last day is Friday 17 December.
Appointed Chief Executive and National Librarian in January 2003, Penny Carnaby has worked collaboratively with Archives New Zealand’s Chief Archivist and Chief Executive in areas of significant work to both departments. This relationship has added great value to the services being provided across the culture and heritage sector and to the users of archives throughout the country.
Archives New Zealand thanks Penny for her valuable contribution. We wish her every success for the future.
UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for New Zealand
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has established a Memory of the World Committee for New Zealand.
The committee comes as a result of an initial meeting held at Archives New Zealand’s National Office in Wellington on 22 June to establish a working group
Memory of the World is an international initiative aimed at safeguarding, protecting and facilitating access to and the use of documentary heritage, especially heritage that is rare and endangered.
Archives New Zealand holds the two New Zealand documents inscribed on UNESCO’s International Memory of the World Register – the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi and 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition – in the Constitution Room in our National Office in Wellington.
A third New Zealand document, the papers of the Tokyo War Crimes Trials 1946-1948, held by the McMillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury is the first documentary heritage from New Zealand to be inscribed on the Asia Pacific Memory of the World register.
The New Zealand Committee will focus on registering documents at a New Zealand level. The Committee Chair is Dianne Macaskill, former Chief Archivist, Archives New Zealand.
Promotional videos capture moments in history
How would you describe Archives New Zealand in 60 seconds? This was the rather daunting task tackled by the team behind the development of the department’s six new promotional videos.
The 60 second films are each based around a “moment in history”, said Alan Ferris, Access Development and Operations Manager at Archives New Zealand.
“The first video focuses on David Gallaher, captain of The 1905 Originals, the first All Blacks team. From archives held in our collection we know that when Gallaher served in the South African War (1901) he declared his age was 25 when he was actually 28.
“We also know that on 6 March 1906 a reception was held for The Originals on their return from the United Kingdom, where they had played 34 matches and lost only one.
“The programme from this historic dinner records the results of the tour games, the dinner menu, the toasts, guests, a team photograph, and the signatures of all the players.
“This programme is part of our collection; as is the record that Gallaher enlisted for World War One in 1916, and was shot and killed in Belgium on 4 October 1917.
“Gallaher’s gravestone at Nine Elms British Cemetery in Belgium records his age as 41, when he was really almost 44.
Alan says, “we know all of this because it’s in the Archives. All the material shown in the promotional videos – the music, artefacts, videos, images and stories – are from our collection.
“We wanted to take a documentary approach with these films, tell a story, and show what we really do here at Archives New Zealand. We let the archives speak for themselves,” he said.
Look out for the Archives New Zealand’s promotional videos in the new year when they will be shown on the Archives New Zealand channel (http://www.ecasttv.co.nz/channel_detail.php?program_id=&channel_id=60).