I came to records management via archival studies/administration. Dr.
Duranti is giving the textbook definition of "archives," and I wish more
people had a copy of this textbook. I've never really liked this bit of
English language flexibility, -- wherein people created the verb
"archive" -- but have long since stopped trying to correct people when
they tell me they want to "archive" their records. At least it's better
than "dead file." What I particularly don't like about IT's creation of
the verb "archive" is that it carries with it the connotation of
permanence. People think that if they "archive" their data onto a disk
or tape that it is thereafter accessible permanently without any further
action or measures of care from anyone.
Gary Link, CRM
Pittsburgh, PA
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Luciana Duranti
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 11:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Definition
Dear Nazariah:
In archival science, "archive" as a verb does not exist (when records
of continuing value go to an archival institution, we talk about
"transfer" from a creator's perspective and "acquisition" from a
preserver's perspective), and "archive" as a noun is an old fashioned
English version of the noun "archives", which is a collective
term. In archival science, the noun archives has three meanings:
1. The whole of the documents made and received by a corporate or
physical person or an organization in the conduct of affairs, and
preserved for action or reference. Synonymous with the term archival
fonds.
2. An agency or institution responsible for the acquisition,
preservation, and communication of archives selected for permanent
preservation.
3. A place in which archives selected for permanent preservation are
kept.
The term archives come from the Greek noun archeion, which was the
office of a public officer, and from the verb arche', which meant to
command.
To archive as a verb was invented by IT practitioners to refer to the
act of storing data, as Glenn states. In Records Management, it
should not be used (I am not saying that it isn't): records managers
may maintain records, store records, or preserve records, which are
three very different functions, but they do not archive records.
My two cents,
Luciana
Dr. Luciana Duranti
Chair and Professor, Archival Studies
Director, The InterPARES Project www.interpares.org
Director, Digital Records Forensics Project
www.digitalrecordsforensics.org
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS)
www.slais.ubc.ca
The University of British Columbia
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Suite 470, 1961 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1 CANADA
Tel: 604.822.2587
Fax: 604.822.6006
www.lucianaduranti.ca
_________________________________________________________________
Note: This email (including all attachments and content conveyed
hereby) is intended for the addressee, in person or position, only.
Unauthorized use, distribution or action based on this email is
prohibited. No rights of ownership are waived or lost through
transmission, misdirection or interception. If you are not the
intended addressee, kindly notify the sender immediately and expunge
all traces of this email from all relevant data systems.
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already
present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of
the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]
|
