IAML newsletter

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Reported by Inger Enquist

Monday July 19, 11:15 - 12:45

At our first session Steve Stuckey of the National Archives of Australia gave a paper on electronic records, covering aspects such as what do records represent in modern society, modern recordkeeping and how it has changed, how does one manage digital records, and the future role of the record keeper. Staying in the world of automation. Judy Tsou spoke about Encoded Archival Description, EAD. She gave a brief history of the project as well as the latest up-dates and she also displayed the search possibilities, and how it works in practice.

Tuesday July 20, 14.15 - 15.45

Our second session had a mixed programme. First, Jill Palmer and Lynn Benson presented TAPUHI. This is the system used by the Alexander Turnbull Library to manage, describe and provide public access to the unpublished collections of the library. The system provides for a whole lot of documentation and we had a demonstration of the access points and the rich search possibilities. Then Chris Walton talked about libraries and promotion of holdings. At his institution, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, he has successfully tried various ways to gain good publicity and marketing the collections of the library. This includes music publishing, fundraising, exhibitions, concerts, press releases, homepages for composers donating their manuscripts and a good net of personal contacts. Several sections have been of commercial interest when marketed properly, and widespread publicity has resulted in an increasing number of donations. To finish, Inger Enquist talked about how to process an archive and make an inventory to it. This was a presentation focusing on the practical side of the work; how to organize the work, how to sort the papers and to describe them. It also touched upon the appraisal work and problems related to storage and preservation.

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The branch has a working group on the Registration of music archives chaired by Judy Tsou. The working group has been extended for another three years. So far a prototype database has been established based on an international description standard set by the International Council on Archives. In the near future the group will start inputting test records to the database. Some important issues including language, authority record, and location code have received much discussion. At the meeting this year the group also discussed the use of an expanded RILM thesaurus for the project. The most efficient way to organize the work and collect data will be through national groups. Several areas that the Working Group will work on in the coming years include the issue of a permanent home to house the project.

In Wellington, we also had a joint session with the Research Libraries Branch on research materials and archives relating to the local music traditions of the region. Grace Koch presented AIATIS, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Islander Studies, and Richard Moyle presented the Archive of Maori and Pacific Music.