Advice on other Archives

• Guide to Australian archival sources for labour history
• Links to other archival resources

Advice on using and finding archives

• Introduction
• Definitions
• Using archives
• Types of archival institutions

Introduction

We all create records - at work and home, for various purposes and in various media. Some of these records can and should be disposed of once their immediate purpose is served. Other records should be retained for varying periods for administrative, financial or legal reasons.

Some records are permanently valuable, either for their inherent evidentiary value and/or for their continuing informational or historical value, which may be quite different from the original purpose for which they were created. These are an individual's or organisation's archives.

Definitions

Taken from: Ellis, J (editor). Keeping archives – second edition, Port Melbourne: Thorpe in association with The Australian Society of Archivists Inc, 1993

Agency	A government body, business, organisation or institution that creates or manages its own records in the course of its business or activities. In the case of large organisations or institutions, subordinate parts such as departments or sections may be regarded as separate agencies. The series created by an agency constitute a record group.
Archives	(1) Records that have been appraised (assessed) as having continuing value. Traditionally the term has been used to describe records no longer required for current use, which have been selected for permanent preservation. (2) A place where archival material is kept - 'repository' is frequently used as an alternative. (3) An organisation, or part of an organisation, responsible for appraising (assessing), acquiring, preserving and making available archival material.
Item	The smallest discrete unit of record material. An item may be a single document, a bound volume, a bundle or a file of papers.
Record group	A body of organisationally and functionally related series created within an agency.
Records	Documents containing data or information of any kind and in any format (eg paper, microform or electronic), created or received and accumulated by an organisation or person in the transaction of business or the conduct of affairs, and subsequently kept as evidence of such activity through incorporation in a filing system. Records are the by-products of organisational and social activity.
Series	A number of items having the same form, origin, system or purpose eg a run of minute books or ledgers; a set of case files; an office filing system, classified or otherwise; an individual's correspondence.

Using archives

Before using archival resources, you should read all available secondary sources, and work out who and which institutions are involved in your topic. Archives are arranged by their creator - whether an individual or an organisation - and it is, therefore, important to learn as much as possible about the creator in order to make best use of the records.

Types of archival institutions

Government archives are established and operated under Commonwealth or state archival legislation. In some cases they hold, or are responsible for, local government archives as well. Some semi-government institutions maintain their own archives within the government archives system, for example, the Reserve Bank, universities and hospitals.

The situation of non-government or private archives, whether those of businesses, institutions, associations or individuals, is less clear. Recordkeeping practices vary widely, and the survival of archives may well be a matter of chance. Some private organisations maintain their own archives and allow public access. In most cases, however, private archives and manuscript collections are deposited in separate archival institutions.

National and state libraries hold collections of archives and manuscripts. The National Library Manuscripts Collection, for example, focuses on the papers of national figures and national associations.

Universities hold major collections of both national and local importance. Notable examples within Australian include the Australian National University Archives Program and the University of Melbourne Archives. Other archives are to be found in museums, local history collections, and historical and genealogical societies.

The National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet 2 Addresses of other Australian archival institutions provides contact details for Australian institutions holding archival material, including state and territory government archives and libraries.