EMu and Archives

EMu and ArchivesNA EMu Users Conference – Oct. 2006

Slide 1

EMu and Archives

Experiences from the Canada Science and Technology

Museum Corporation

http://technomuses.ca/


Slide 2

Goals

Share our experiences in managing archival collections with EMu

Identify items of potential common interest

Discuss and learn from others in the EMu community



Slide 3

Overview

Archival Collections at CSTMC What is an archive? Using EMu to manage archives Challenges and lessons learned



Slide 4

About the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation



Slide 5

Archival collections at CSTMC



Slide 6

Archival collections



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Slide 11

Archival access projects

Several photographic collections digitized for public access

Popular Web site features Earlier initiatives stored in MS Access

databases Current initiative using data in KE EMu



Slide 12


http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/image_bank/imagebank.shtml


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http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/


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http://www.images.technomuses.ca/


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What is an archive?

Archival records are the products of everyday activity

Archives are the non-current records of individuals, groups, institutions, and governments

Formats may include photographs, films, video, sound recordings, computer tapes, unpublished letters, diaries, and other manuscripts

Each archival object exists as part of a group



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Why are archives important?

Researchers use them both for their administrative value and for purposes other than those for which they were created

Used for many different reasons Open to the ingenuity of the researcher



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How does an archive differ from other collections?

Library collections consist mainly of distinct published works

Museum artifact collections are generally distinct, “3-D” objects

Archival collections are unique groupings of material in the context in which they were produced

With an archival collection, the sum is greater than the parts



Slide 18

Structure of an archival collection



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CSTMC’s Archives in EMu

Catalogue disciplines:Artifact

Inventory

Archive

Engineering Drawing

Photograph

Trade Literature



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Archives discipline

Hierarchical Arranged respecting the original structure of

the fonds or collection Modeled on Rules for Archival Description

(RAD) Allows us to catalogue as deep as resources

allow Can account for a wide range of materials



Slide 21

Archival fields and tabs



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Other disciplines that manage archival collections

Photographs, Engineering Drawings, Trade Literature

Structure is flat (no hierarchy) While many are photos, may

accommodate other types of media



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Flat in structure…P000001P000002P000003P000004P000005P000006

.

.

.P049998P049999P050000P050001P050002P050003P050004P050005



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Customized fields and tabs



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Three archival initiatives at CSTMC

1. Digitizing and presenting historic image collections (mainly photographs) for public access

2. Documenting and cataloguing archival collections as a whole

3. Capturing institutional memory



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1. Historic image collections for public access

Current initiative is using our "photograph" discipline in the Catalogue

This is one of our “flat” archival disciplines

Objective is to make collections available to a wide audience, not to fully document the archival collections in question



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2. Documenting and cataloguing archival collections as a whole

Hierarchical (based on RAD) May go in-depth, or stay at the top level

for now Intended to allow us to go to the level of

detail we can manage, given resources Make existing finding aids (documents)

available and searchable as multimedia attachments



Slide 28

Archival finding aids



Slide 29

Archives in EMu



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3. Capturing institutional memory



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Institutional memory: where to catalogue?

(a) photograph discipline (flat)

(b) in archives discipline (hierarchical)

(c) multimedia attachments in events module

(d) somewhere else?



Slide 32

Institutional memory in EMu



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Challenges and lessons learned



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Access control

Often have volunteers and short-term staff involved in cataloguing projects

Such staff are not EMu experts – we need to carefully manage what they are able to edit

Record level access should help



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Limitations in our implementation

Search limitations of our Archival hierarchy

For example, may be difficult to search for all objects in a Fonds, given our structure

May need to adjust implementation



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Subject terminology

Multiple sets of terminology – no universal controlled vocabulary

New archival cataloguing is loosely based on Library of Congress

Cataloguing by volunteers is a challenge (they know the material, but are not cataloguers)



Slide 37

Digital Asset Management

Many reasons to digitize Born digital vs. digitized Digital preservation Capturing and managing metadata Managing licensing and commercial use Is EMu the best repository? Noted that other EMu Users are also working

in this area



Slide 38

References

Rules for Archival Description (RAD)http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/archdesrules.html

“Basic RAD”http://scaa.usask.ca/rad/

Society of American Archivistshttp://www.archivists.org



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Discussion



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Contact

Brian Dawson

Director, Informatics Services

Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation

Ottawa, Ontario

Phone: (613) 991-1340

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: http://technomuses.ca


Documents

EMu and Archives