University Archives and Records Management Advisory Committee

Minutes - May 19, 2004

Archives Activity Report (Chris Hives)

New Digital Resources

In addition to on-going efforts to digitize our extensive photograph collection we have, over the past seven or eight months, identified and digitized select University publications and documents. We feel that such efforts significantly enhance access to materials that document the University’s historical evolution. This will be particularly important as UBC prepares for the writing of its institutional history as part of a centenary celebration that will be staged in the period 2008-2015 and for subsequent historical projects.

The largest of these digitization activities, the “UBC Publications Digitization Project”, includes approximately 52,500 pages from the University’s three primary publications – The Ubyssey, UBC Reports and the Alumni Chronicle. This project was made possible through the development of a unique on-campus partnership that included: the President’s Office, Graduating Class 2002/03, UBC Library, Alumni Association, Public Affairs and the Ubyssey Publications Society. With the exception of the issues of The Ubyssey that had to be scanned from microfilm copies of paper (1925-1958), PDF copies of all these publications are now available from the Archives website.

stikine.library.ubc.ca/ubcpubs/ubcpubs_form.html

In cooperation with the Senate secretariat we also undertook a project to scan 11,370 pages of Senate minutes that were not available electronically (1915-1991).

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/senate_minutes.html

We identified and digitized a number of early University documents and reports pertaining to the selection of the site for and the early building program for UBC’s Point Grey campus (1919-1925).

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/early_docs.html

In the next couple of years the University will be producing a new popular history of the University that will be written by Cole Harris, Jean Barman and Bill Bruneau. Given its relative scarcity I thought it would be useful to digitize and make available Harry Logan’s 50th anniversary history Tuum Est. His work provides an excellent chronological recounting of the history of the institution up to 1958 and as such represents an important historical resource.

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/tuum_est_contents.html

The annual UBC Calendars provide important information about the evolution of academic programs and the associated courses offered at the University. In addition they provide important administrative information about the University itself. Each year the Calendar lists members of the institution’s governing bodies, senior administrators, as well as all the academic units and their faculty members. To provide access to this important information pertaining to governance, departments, and faculty members, we have scanned the relevant section of the Calendars for the period 1915 to 1960 and the yearly material is available through the link below.

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/calendars/calendars.html

We have now completed the migration of our digitized photographic collection to ContentDM. A recent upgrade of the software has improved searching options and makes it easier to navigate between collections. We are exploring opportunities to partner with other campus units that are interested in providing access to their own digitized material.

angel.library.ubc.ca

Over the past year we have digitized approximately 65,500 pages and 4,000 photographic images. Cumulatively we have now digitized approximately 71,500 pages of publications/documents, 32,800 photographic images, and 550 architectural drawings. We have also digitized over 100 audio recordings but have not yet made them available on-line.

In addition to our efforts to digitize archival documents and publications we have also a large and growing collection of on-line finding aids. Fully searchable on the web, these HTML documents can run from 7 or 8 pages to several hundred and provide detailed listings for each of our archival collections or fonds. Currently we have 342 full finding aids available on-line for the 349 processed collections. Inventories created or updated since January can be found at:

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/new.html

Finally, before going on leave, Erwin mounted a new virtual display based on the “UBC Faculty Book of Remembrance”.

www.library.ubc.ca/archives/memorialbook

Records Management Project

On the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the UBC Library provided funding for a nine-month University Records Survey during which a contract archivist contacted all academic and administrative units and he visited 210 of the approximately 250 units. The survey indicated that the University collectively maintains over 10 km. of institutional records and this volume is expanding at a rate of about 1.2 km per year. Records storage consumes approximately 20,000 sq. ft. Not surprisingly there is no consistency across units as to what records are retained or for how long. The survey revealed or confirmed other information as well.

• Generally, the older permanently valuable institutional records not already housed in the University Archives no longer exist. Not only does this seriously impair the development of the corporate memory but it also puts the institution at serious risk in the event of litigation and at the very least often forces administrators to unnecessarily “re-invent the wheel” to assemble information necessary to make current decisions.
• In the absence of institutional records keeping guidelines many units are retaining too much material of a routine nature too long. The storage of large volumes of unnecessary records makes it time consuming and expensive to locate information, results in needless costs of storage equipment (i.e. filing cabinets) and space, and actually threatens the survival of permanently valuable records as units conduct periodic “purges” as their limited storage space fills. Even if material is not wilfully destroyed the inappropriate space in which records are stored often leaves them at risk of inadvertent destruction by fire, flood or insect infestation.
• Duplicate records are maintained by multiple offices unaware of their existence elsewhere or alternatively units have discarded records assuming that they were being kept elsewhere.
• A growing volume of what might be characterized as “homeless” records created as a by-product of organizational restructuring as well as materials that have been stored off-site and, with numerous personnel changes, have simply been forgotten.
• Numerous instances where records are being maintained and stored in contravention of provisions of the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation.
• Increasingly institutional records are being created, maintained, distributed and preserved electronically. While mitigating some of the physical storage concerns presented by paper records, electronic information, because of its dependence on rapidly-evolving software and hardware, is actually much more vulnerable to loss in a much shorter time frame than that in paper records.
• University records-keepers consistently cited the importance of developing and communicating guidelines governing institutional records retention.

Beginning May 1st the President’s Office and UBC Library have jointly funded a 6.5 month project to develop records retention and disposition schedules for the University’s administrative records. These schedules detail how records should be maintained and when they can be destroyed in compliance with legal and institutional requirements. Development of these schedules will involve research into existing legislation at the civic, provincial and federal levels as well as an extensive survey of ‘best practices’ at other North American universities. Using the information provided by this research draft guidelines will be developed which will then be communicated to particular units to ensure that the provisions coincide with operational requirements.

The preparation of records schedules will provide a basic tool for beginning an institutional records management program. There are, however, a variety of associated issues that will need to be addressed including (but not limited to): monitoring and adjusting records schedules based on user feedback or changes in regulatory requirements, development of a strategy and programs for preserving electronic records, development of generic office file classification systems, providing assistance with the management of operational records (unique to specific offices), development of proper records storage facilities, implementation of micrographic/imaging program for University records, participation in vital records program.

The University Archives and Records Management Advisory Committee has recommended, and the University Records Survey has confirmed, the need to establish a continuing position of University Records Manager within the University Archives which, by virtue of two Board policies, has been assigned responsibility for co-ordinating an institutional records management program. In such a large and decentralized organization where it is necessary to rely on “buy-in” rather than mandated compliance, any records management program at UBC will have to be very proactive and consultative and this cannot be accomplished without an individual to provide the necessary leadership and coordination.

In March I made a presentation to the Senate Library Committee in which I provided some context for the discussion of institutional records management, discussed some of the survey results, and pointed out the very pressing need as a preliminary step to establish an on-going position for a University Records Manager. The provision of central coordination in this undertaking is absolutely critical particularly within a highly decentralized organization such as UBC. The Library Committee offered to write letters of support to the Vice Presidents voicing its support for an enterprise-wide records management program.

Staffing

During Erwin Wodarczak’s six-month parental leave from October ’03 to March ’04 we were able to use salary savings to hire a 60% time contract archivist and two Graduate Student Assistants who worked for 20 hrs./week.

Next meeting of the Committee: Fall 2004

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