New Zealand ArchivistVol IV No 2 Winter/June 1993 ISSN 0114-7676

Kai Rangitira: Food for Chiefs and Food for Thought

The images shown on this page are of the craft panel Kai Rangitira by Arnold Wilson, which hangs in the reading room of the National Archives building in Wellington. It is one of several works of art specially commissioned for the new building by Ray Grover (Director of National Archives 1981-1991), from artists including Wilson, Cliff Whiting, and Guy Ngan.

The name Kai Rangitira means 'Food for Chiefs', in the sense of sustenance as the knowledge necessary to lead and to understand. The artist explains that the symbols depict the process of Ideas, Discussion, and Recording.

A version of the work (illustrated below) has been incorporated by National Archives into their Head Office letterhead - a very appropriate guardian and public image for National Archives, whose letterhead also features the motto "Keeper of the Public Record -

The Memory of Government". It must also be the most imaginative-ever symbol of an archives agency!

As the photograph shows, the panel dominates one wall of the reading room. It is overall about 2.2m in height and more than 6.5m in length. Unfortunately it is a little too large for the space in which it is hung, or perhaps positioned too high on the wall. The tops of the figures are jammed up underneath the ceiling tiles with only a few millimetres headroom, and this detracts from what could be an even more powerful impression.

Arnold Manaaki Wilson is of Ngai Tuhoe and Te Arawa descent. He lives in Auckland, and has been prominent for many years in the cultural revival of Maori art in schools and the community. His work has been exhibited extensively in New Zealand, and over­seas.

■

High-Tech Hype: Myths and Realities of theIT Revolution

Tom Forester

In the second part of this article on the real effects of the Information Technology revolution, I review some of its unintended consequences, which were not predicted by the pundits. I call these 'megamistakes'. I conclude with some comments about the relationship between humans and technology, and argue that we need to reassert the primacy of human values in an increasingly dehumanised society-1

PART II - 'MEGAMISTAKES'

New Social ProblemsThe IT revolution has created a whole new range of

problems for society - problems which were largely unexpected. Some arise from the propensity of computers to malfunction, other arise from their misuse by humans.

Computer UnreliabilityAs complex industrial soci­

eties become more dependent on computers, they become more vulnerable to technologi­cal failure because computers have often proved to be unreli­able, insecure, and unmanage­able. Malfunctioning hardware and software is much more common than many (especially those in the computer indus­try!) would have us believe.There is little doubt that we put too much faith in these suppos­edly infallible machines. Com­puters are permeating almost every aspect of our lives, but unlike other pervasive tech­nologies such as electricity, tel­evision,and the motor car,com­puters are on the whole less predictable in their behaviour.This is because they are dis­crete state digital electronic devices which are prone to to­tal and catastrophic failure.Computer systems, when they are 'down', are completely down, unlike analog or mechanical devices which may be only partially down and are thus still partially usable.

Popular areas for computer malfunctions include telephone billing and telephone switching software, bank statements and bank teller machines, electronic funds transfer systems and motor vehicle licence databases. Industrial robots have been known to go berserk, while heart pacemakers and automatic garage door openers have ben rendered useless by electro­magnetic radiation or 'electronic smog* emitted from point-of-sale terminals, personal computers, and video games. Although computers have often taken the 'blame'

on these occasions, the ultimate cause of failure in most cases is in fact human error. The cost of all this downtime is huge: for example it has been reported that British businesses suffer around thirty major mishaps a year, involving losses of millions of pounds. The cost of software failures in the UK is estimated at $NZ1,200

million per year (Woolnough 1988). In 1989a British Computer Society committee reported that much software was now so complex that current skills in safety assessm ent wereinadequate and the safety of people could therefore not be guaranteed (Mellor 1989).

Compu ters enable enormous quantities of information to be stored, retrieved, andtransmitted, at great speed on a scale not possible before. This is all very well, but it has serious implications for data security and personal privacy, because com puter netw orks are inherently insecure. The recent activities of hackers and data thieves in the US, UK, Germany and Australia have shown how all-too-easy it still is to break into even the most sophisticated financial and military systems. Malicious virus creators have wreaked havoc on academic and government communications netw orks. The scams

perpetrated by the new breed of high-tech criminals range from airline ticket reservation fraud to the reprogramming of chips inside mobile phones, and the list grows daily. Some people have had their careers and lives ruined by unauthorised users gaining access to supposedly-confidential databases containing medical, financial, and criminal records.

Computer systems are often incredibly complex - so complex in fact that they are not always understood even by their creators, although few are willing to admit it. Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget 'runaways'. In 1988 the Bank of America had to abandon a $20 million computer

system after spending five years and a further $60 million trying to make it work. More recently, Blue Cross & Blue Shield in the US scrapped a system which had cost $120 million and six years to develop. Allstate Insurance saw the cost of its system rise from $8 million to $100 million and completion delayed from 1987 to 1993. Moreover the problem seems to be getting worse. In 1988 the American Arbitration Association took on 190 computer disputes, most of which involved defective systems. The claims totalled $200 million, up from only $31 million in 1984.

Complexity can also result in disaster. No computer is 100% guaranteed because it is virtually impossible to anticipate all sources of failure. Yet computers are regularly used for all sorts of critical applications such as saving lives, running nuclear power stations, transferring vast sums of money, and controlling missile systems - and this can sometimes have tragic consequences. For example between 1982 and 1987 some 22 US servicemen died in five separate crashes of the USAF Blackhawk helicopter before the problem was traced to its computer-based 'fly-by-wire' system. At least two people were killed after receiving lethal overdoses of radiation adm inistered by the computerised Therac 25 x-ray machines, and there are many other examples of computer foul-ups causing death and injury (Forester and Morrison 1990).

Just to rub it in, I should also point out that computer systems are equally vulnerable to fires, floods, earthquakes, and even quite short power outages, or voltage drops caused by dirty power, as well as attacks by outside hackers and sabotage by inside employees. In 1987 a saboteur shut down the entire US National Association of Securities Dealers' automatic quotation service for 82 minutes, keeping 20 million shares from being traded. The saboteur in question was an adventurous squirrel, which caused a short circuit in Trumbull Connecticut, where the main computer is located. In rural NSW around the town of Hay, foxes have taken to digging up the new fibre optic cables to eat the plastic conduits, while sharks have been doing the same to submarine fibre optic cables on the floor of the Pacific ocean.

As society becomes more dependent on computers, we also become more vulnerable to the misuse of computers by human beings. The theft of copyright software is widespread, while recent well-publicised incidents of hacking, virus creation, computer fraud, and invasion of privacy have been followed by a rising chorus of calls for improved 'ethics' in computing, and new laws to protect citizens from compu terised anarchy.

Software TheftIt can be argued that the 'information' or 'knowledge'

society cannot possibly flourish unless better protection is offered to individuals and companies who generate wealth from information. Yet copying of software is alleged to cost US producers alone $10-12 billion a year, according the the Business Software Association (BSA). In Europe, where software piracy costs producers $4.5 billion a year according to EC figures, the BSA has been forced to mount raids on major users in Italy and France. Even in Germany/'when you compare the number of PCs sold with the amount of legitimate software sold, two-thirds of the computers must be used as expensive doorstops" according to a Microsoft

spokesman.In Asia, software piracy is rampant. In Singapore it

is estimated that seven or eight pirate copies of well- known packages are sold for every legitimate copy, and the local economy benefits to the tune of millions of dollars a year from the counterfeiting of Western products. In Taiwan, police raids in 1990 netted more than 5,000 counterfeit packages of MS-DOS, 6,000 counterfeit manuals, and 12,500 disks with bogus Microsoft labels on them (Jinman 1991). Hong Kong police busted a software mail order racket, seizing no less than 109,000 disks, manuals, and other counterfeit kit from a wooden hut on a remote hillside. They had a street value of $3 million. It is estimated that 97% of all the software in Thailand hasbeen copied, while copying is also rife in Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, and China. So much for the 'economic miracles' of those 'little dragons' of Asia!

Unless more is done to curb software copying, we are likely to see, first, a sharp decline in software production. With the erosion of the potential rewards from software development, programmers are likely to move into more lucrative areas of the IT industry. And fewer software producers will mean less innovative software being produced. Second, continued copying will lead to continued rises in software prices. Already, developers have to recoup the anticipated losses from copying by charging more than would be necessary if people did not copy in the first place. Because coying software is so easy and so widespread, the law - whether it be copyright law, patent law, or contract law - is not a lot of use. Copying is hard to prove in court and it is nigh impossible to catch copiers in the act. The best hope for the IT industry is to try and change social attitudes and individual consciences.

Hacking and VirusesHackers are another unplanned byproduct of the IT

revolution. Mostly young males, these computer enthusiasts specialise in gaining unauthorised access to other peoples' computer systems for fun and for profit. Some like the challenge of computer 'cracking'. Others have ended upbetraying their country, like the members of the Chaos Computer Club of West Germany who stole military secrets which they sold to the KGB to finance their drug habits. In the last few years enormous time and effort has been spent making good the damage caused by malicious computer anarchists who have let loose 'viruses' which have infected thousands of systems and millions of disks around the world.

Invasion of PrivacyThe IT revolution has made it easier to put people

under electronic surveillance and it has increased the likelihood of individuals having their privacy invaded. Burnham (1983) pointed out that IT enables governments and commercial organisations to store vast amounts of 'transactional data', such as details of phone calls, financial payments, air travel, and so on. From these, a composite picture of an individual's friendships, spending habits, and movements, can be built up.

New IT gadgetry makes it much easier to spy on people with hidden bugs and other eavesdropping devices, to gather information by (for example) phone taps, and to directly monitor the performance of employees by video and computer. In Europe the

mandarins running the Common Agricultural Policy plan to implant microchips in cows so as to monitor their numbers on the farms. Electronic databases containing vital medical, financial and criminal records - which are often inaccurate or out of date - have often been accessed by unauthorised users. As Lino wes (1989) and Flaherty (1990) argue, this creates a major problem of how to protect privacy in 'information societies", a problem the law has been slow to tackle.

New Psychological MaladiesThe IT revolution has brought with it a number of

psychological problems associated with computer- mediated information. These have implications for both organisational productivity and human relationships.

InfoglutOne major problem is that of 'information overload',

or so-called 'infoglut'. This arises because modem society generates so much new information that we are overwhelmed by it all and become unable to distinguish between what is useful and what is not-so-useful. In essence it is a problem of not being able to see the wood for the trees. Every year 14,000 book publishers in the US release onto the market50,000 new titles. The number of academic journals has risen from 70,000 to 109,000 in the past twenty years.

There are now at least40,000purely scientific journals publishing more than 1 million new papers each year - that is nearly 3,000 per day - and the scientific literature is doubling every 10-15 years. Many of them appear to remain totally unread. According to a recent study in Science (7 December 1990) 55% of all scientific papers receive no citations at all in the five years following publication. Moreover, self-citation accounts for 5-20% of all citations. Clearly it is impossible for any individual scientist to keep up with anything more than very small specific areas of science. The scientific book and research paper explosion has been assisted by the 'publish or perish' ethic in academia, which encourages the production of mediocre, repetitive, and largely useless work. It also creates a serious headache for cash-strapped libraries.

Improvements in IT enable us to gather, store, and transmit information in vast quantity, but not to interpret it. But what are we going to do with all that information? We have plenty of informatwn technology. What is perhaps needed now is more intelligence technology, to help us make sense of the growing vol ume of informa tion stored in the form of statistical data, documents, messages, and so on. For example, not many people know that the famous hole in the ozone layer remained undetected for seven years as a result of infoglut. The hole had been identified by a US weather satellite in 1979, but nobody realised this at the time because the information was buried - along with three million other unread tapes - in the National Archives records centre in Washington DC. It was only when British scientists were analysing the data in 1986 that - hey presto - the hole was 'discovered'.

In commerce and in government it is alleged that infoglut is affecting decision-making to such an extent that some organisations now suffer from 'analysis paralysis'. Managers and administrators become overloaded and prevaricate by calling for more studies, reports, etc, instead of actually making a decision. In the

military sphere, information overload has caused pilot to crash fighter aircraft. It has also played a role in civilian and military disasters such as Bhopal and the shooting down of the Iranian airliner by the USS Vincennes, over the Persian Gulf.

There is also concern that media infoglut is having a damaging effect on society, particularly the younger generation. As Cheseboro and Bonsall (1989) show, the television set is on in the average American household for seven hours and seven minutes per day. In addition, recorded videotape is watched for a further five hours eight minutes each week, on average (1987 figures). There are 9,300 radio stations in the US and the average household has 5.3 radios. In these and other ways, the average American encounters no less than 1,600 advertisements each day, and has seen nearly ten million of them by age seventeen. It is no wonder that US academics are talking about America 'amusing itself to death', its collective mind numbed by video-pulp, ten- second sound bites, and thirty-second video clips. A report by the Times Mirror group concluded that the under-thirties generation in the US, despite the benefits of a higher standard of living, better education, information technology etc - "knows less, cares less and reads newspapers less than any generation in the past five decades" (Zoglin 1990).

CommunicaholismA second set of problems concerns the way some

people use computer-based technologies and how they relate to other people as a result. Some managers have been diagnosed 'communicaholic' because of their obsessive desire to keep in touch and constantly communicate using their car phones and fax machines. Some are said to have become 'spreadsheet junkies', playing endless 'what-if?' games on their computers, or 'e-mail addicts' spending hours sendingand answering trivial electronic mail messages. But does such 'hyperconnectedness' mean they are doing their jobs any better and making wiser decisions? There is some evidence that too much 'in touch' in the 'constant office' may actually be destructive of work relationships. Subordinates usually want to be left alone to get on with the job. Calling people at home can increase stress by blurring the distinction between work and nonwork.

And what of those car-phone conversations? Many have long suspected the quality of such communication and now research at Loughborough University in the UK has confirmed that car phones can impair negotiating and decision-making skills. It seems four out of five UK executives cannot drive and think at the same time.

TechnobabbleA further problem is 'technobabble'. This modern

malady has two aspects. The first is the inability of computer personnel to explain in plain English just what they and their systems can do, or the value in business terms of investing more money in IT equipment. In many organisations, top management and IT departments still speak different languages, and this has serious consequences for organisational efficiency. Second, Barry (1991) has described the way in which computer terminology and techno-jargon is being applied indiscriminately to areas of life which have nothing to do with technology.

Thus, people these days do not merely converse

with each other, they interface. It is not uncommon to hear people refer to their leisure hours as downtime. In Silicon Valley, getting something off one's chest is known as core-dumping. Just as some people are coming to think of themselves as computers, so they are beginning to think of computers as 'intelligent' or 'thinking' people - and yet the analogy between conventional Von Neumann computers and the human brain has long been discredited.

Putting Humans Back in the PictureWe have seen that many of the predictions made

about the impact of computers on society have been wide of the mark, primarily because they have accorded too great a role to technology and too little a role to human needs and abilities. At the same time, there have been a number of unanticipated problems thrown up by the IT revolution, most of which involve the human factor.

Perhaps the time has come for a reassessment of the new information and communication technologies. After all, havn't many manufacturers - like Nissan Australia (see The Australian, 28 May 1992) - belatedly discovered that expensive high-tech solutions are not always appropriate for production problems, that robots are more troublesome than people, and that the most 'flexible manufacturing system' available to them is something called a 'human operator'? Didn't one study of an Australian government department (Austrade) conclude that the only databases worth accessing were those carried around in the heads of long-serving employees? And is it not the case that the most sophisticated communication technology available to us is still something called 'speaking to each other'? One conclusion to be drawn from all this is that technological advances in computing seem to have outpaced our ability to make use of them.

Computers have also dehumanised many social activities ranging from commercial transactions to hospital care. Human interaction has tended to decline in the computerised workplace. ATMs have de­personalised banking. To many, the military conflict in the Gulf resembled a giant video game and even became known as the 'Nintendo W ar'. Many computer scientists and enthusiasts seem to have low needs for social interaction, and relate better to their machines than to other human beings - the so-called 'nerd' syndrome. Computers have also speeded up the pace of life, which can lead to workaholism, 'technostress', fatigue, anxiety, and burnout. Most people know that slower is heal thier,

but there is little evidence people are slowing down (Schor 1991, Killinger 1991).

Perhaps we should all go back to basics and decide what we really want out of life - a decent home, satisfying family life, reasonable standard of living, clean environment, interesting job and healthy workstyle - and then direct information technology toward these simple human ends. It would also be nice to think that our schools and colleges are helping make future generations more aware of the choices and possibilities, rather than fatalistically joining in the uncritical, headlong rush towards an ill-defined and ill-thought- out high-tech future.

ReferencesArterton FC, 1987. Teledem ocracy - Can Technology Protect D em ocracy? Sage, Newberry Park CA. Barry JA, 1991. Technobabble. MIT Press, Cambride, M A. Brody H, 1988 (Sept). 'Sorry, Wrong Number', Business W eek. Brody H,1991 (Jul). 'Great Expectations', Technology Review . Burnham D, 1983. The R ise o f the Com puter State. Random House, New York NY. Chesebro JW & Bonsall DG, 1989. C om puter-M ediated Com m unication. Univ Alabama Press,Tuscaloosa AB. Flaherty DH,1990. Protecting Privacy in Surveillance Societies. Univ North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill NC. Forester T & Morrison P, 1990. Com puter Ethics. Basil Blackwell, Oxford. Gibbs N, 1989 (April 24). 'America Runs Out of Time', Tim e. Harvard 1988 (October 25). 'Harvard University Study7 cited by Reuter correspondent in The A ustralian. Jinman R, 1991(2 Jul). 'Microsoft Beats Taiwanese Counterfeiters', The Australian (and subsequent reports). Kilbom PT, 1990 (July 1). 'Brave New World for Robots Stalled by Quirks and Costs', New York Times. Linowes DF, 1989. Privacy in A m erica. Univ Illinois Press, Urbana IL. Markoff J, 1988(31 Jul). 'American Express Goes High Tech', New Y orkTim es. Olson MH, 1989. IT and the Where and When of Office Work', Proceedings o f SOST 89. Australian Computer Soc, Sydney NSW. OTA 1988 (13 Sept). Office of Technology Assessment report quoted in The A ustralian. Rosenberg R, 1991 (Jan). 'Debunking Computer Literacy7, Technology Review. Schnaars S,1989. M egam istakes - Forecasting and the M yth o f Rapid Technological Change. Free Press, New York NY. Schor JB, 1991. The O verw orked American - the U nexpected D ecline o f Leisure. Basic Books, New York NY. Seghers F, 1989 (6 Feb). 'A Search and Destroy Mission Against Paper', Business Week. Varley P, 1991 (Nov-Dec). 'Electronic Democracy', Technology Review . Woolnough R, 1988 (13 Jun). 'Britain Scrutinises Software Safety7, Electronic Engineering Times. Zoglin R, 1990 (9 Jul). T h e Tuned-Out Generation', Time.1 For the first part of this article, see N ew Zealand A rchivist

(Autum n/M arch 1993). The cartoon featured in Part I was by Brian Kogler, reproduced courtesyof the Sydney M orning H erald. The cartoon reproduced in this part is by Mark Lynch, courtesy of The A ustralian.

ARANZ Invites Gerald Ham to Advise on ArchivesEducation

The ARANZ Council has announced that F Gerald Ham will be visiting New Zealand during July, to undertake a review, for ARANZ, of the training needs of archivists and records managers. Dr Ham, now re­tired, is a prominent US archivist who hasbeen active in the SAA on education matters, and as an educator at the University of Wisconsin.

The ARANZ review is a completely separate initia­tive from the official New Zealand Qualifications Au­thority review presently under way to identify the skills

and knowledge needed in national information man­agement qualifications. It is not yet clear how the two might fit together, but the ARANZ statement expected they would be "complementary".

The NZSA will be making a submission to Dr Ham, and any members who would like their views to be considered in this respect should contact Rosemary Collier by 22 June, on tel (04) 233-8155 (H) or 801-6874 (B) or by writing to PO Box 11-100, Manners Street, Wellington.

1900.

N E W Z E A L A N D .

RECORDS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.MEMORANDUM ADD RESSED TO TH E HON. TH E SPEA KER.

Laid on the Table by the Hon. the Speaker.

M b . S p e a k e h ,—During last session of Parliam ent I addressed to you a memorandum, of which the

following is a co p y :—18th July, 1899.

I have the honour to bring under your notice the following remarks and suggestions:—Eor forty-five years an accumulation of manusoript and other records of the House has been taking plaoe.

Many of the documents have been printed and bound in the volumes on the shelves of our reference libraries, and many originally of only temporary value have beoome useless. The shelves and door of the Record Room are novr so encumbered that it is found almost impossible to keep the papers in order, or to readily find any record that may be required for reference.

As I understand that a muniment room can be provided in the basement of the building now in course of com­pletion, I would urge that the coming recess would be a fitting time for the destruction, by a competent officer under the supervision of the Clerk of the House, of a large proportion of the accumulated papers, and the rearrangement of the remainder.

I would therefore suggest that, If necessary, a resolution be passed by the House authorising the selection and burning of the following documents:—

(1.) Papers laid upon the table prior to the year 1896 (?), whioh have been printed in the Appendloes to the Journals of the House.

f2.1 Petitions presented to the House before the year 1880 (?).(3.) Clerk’s (including uotioes of motion) and Clerk Assistant's notes (taken at the table and elaborated in the

Journals) prior to 1896 (?).(4.) Manuscript of all division-lists prior to 1896 (?).(5.) Minutes, proceedings, and papers of Seleot Committees, prior to 1896 (?), whioh have appeared In print in

the Appendices.

16.) Reports of Seleot Committees whioh have been printed in the Journals or Appendices.7.) Reoord copies of Order Papers, with Clerk's original notes, prior to 1896. (?)

8.) Messages from the Governor and messages from the Legislative Counoil prior to 1896. (?)9.) Miscellaneous maps and plans whioh, lu the opinion of the Clerk, are no longer of any value.

Auy of the above which the Clerk may consider of historio or other interest to be retained.I would also suggest that permanent authority be given on the lines of the above proposals for the future

periodical destruction of accumulating reoords by tbe Clerk.H. Ottb rso n , Clerk, House of Representatives.

No opportunity having presented itself for you to bring the m atter before the House during - the session, on leaving Wellington in October last you instructed me to employ during the recess Mr. Kane, .Reader and Clerk of Bills and Papers, on the preliminary work of sorting and arranging the records for proposed retention and destruction respectively.

This has now been done in a satisfactory manner, and the destination of the various papers, which have been tied up and labelled according to description and year, awaits the sanction of the House.

In addition to arranging the records named in the memorandum quoted above, Mr. Kane has, under my supervision, dealt with other books and records as follows :—

H as set aside for retention the whole of the manuscript Journals of the House, with the exception of volume for 1855, m issing; all m anuscript letter-books, all published documents having unpublished plans attached, and six copies of each B ill introduced into the House since 1861, with the exception of the Bills of 1876, which have gone astray.

H as set aside for destruction all manuscript books which can be of no further use ; and H as arranged in order of number petitions proposed to be retained, from 1880 to date.“ Records of historio or other interest ” which I proposed to retain, although coming under

one or other of the descriptions of those proposed to be destroyed, have proved to be few in number; but I have set aside several scarce books laid upon the table, including an incomplete set of the Transactions of the New Zealand In s titu te ; also, all the oath-books of the House containing autographs of members.

As regards the last paragraph of my memorandum of last session, I would suggest th at power be given to the Clerk to deal with one year’s additional records at the end of every session, in continuation of the process now proposed to be. carried out.

21st June, 1900. H . Ot t b k so n , Clerk, House of Representatives.Jwiroeciinats Cost o f Paper.—Preparation not given ; p rin ting (1,376 uopioa), 18a.

Price HU. jBy Authority: J ohn M ackav , Government Printer, Wellington.—1900,

NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS INCORPORATED

Bylaw N o.l

ASSOCIATES OF THE SOCIETY

Approved by the Council o f the Society on 31 May 1993 and to take effect from 1 June 1993

Purpose of the Bylaw

1. This bylaw governs the procedures according to which Ordinary Members of the Society may be enrolled as Associates in accordance with sections (2.7) to (2.9) of the Constitution.

Associate membership

2. According to the Constitution, appointment as an Associate of the Society marks peer recognition of a level of achievement that entitles the appointee to be regarded as a fully professional archivist. Therefore, Associate status is a benchmark of achievement to which all Ordinary Members should aspire. It does not represent recognition of long or meritorious service to the profession. There is a presumption that any Ordinary Member fulfilling the requirements of section (2.9) of the Constitution shall be entitled to seek Associate status through the peer recognition process laid down by the Constitution.

Associates Committee

3. There shall be an Associates Committee within the Society, which shall consist of: the President of the Society; one other member of the Council of the Society; and between three and five Associates not being Council members.

4. Membership of the Committee

a) All members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Council. The Associates who are not members of Council shall be appointed for terms of not less than one year nor longer than three years, and no such person shall serve for two terms consecutively.

b) Following every Annual General Meeting, Council shall review membership of the Associates Committee in light of the above. Within two months of every A.G.M. Council shall fill any vacancies on the Associates Committee.

5. The President shall chair the Committee, unless and until the Committee chooses another chairperson from among its members. The Committee shall choose its own Secretary from among its members. The Committee shall meet at least twice in every year, at such times and places as it shall decide, or as Council may direct. All members shall receive at least twenty-one (21) days written notice of the time, place, date, and agenda of a meeting, and a copy of the names and all papers relating to each application to be considered. As much of the Standing Orders of the Society as apply to Council meetings shall also apply to meetings of the Committee. A quorum of the Committee shall be one (1) more than half the total membership. A quorum must be present for any business to be transacted.

Records of the Committee

6. The Committee shall ensure that accurate minutes are taken at all meetings, and shall ensure that a certified fair copy of all such minutes, and of all meeting papers laid before the Committee, are properly kept. The Committee shall also ensure that full records are maintained relating to the examination and decision on every proposal for Associate membership. All records of the Committee shall be made available to the Council and shall be made available to no other person except as provided for under Clauses 10 and 13 below (the Committee) and Clause 14 below (the Associates). Specific Council authorisation is required in every other case. This applies to all copies of such records made for Committee members or for any other purpose.

Powers of the Committee

7. The Council of the Society delegates to the Associates Committee the powers to propose Ordinary Members for Associate Membership; and to conduct the required ballots of all Associate Members. The Council of the Society also defines the powers of the Associates Committee.

8. The Committee may also discuss other matters relating to the Society and to its objectives, and advise the Council of its views and conclusions on any such matters. The Council may request the Committee to consider and advise on any matters.

9. All applications shall be examined by the Committee and shall proceed to a ballot if the Committee resolves that they meet the requirements of section 2.9 of the Constitution.

10. To enable the Committee to ascertain whether or not an application meets the requirement of Section 2.9 of the Constitution of the Society, the Committee shall have before it for evaluation and shall make available to all Committee members.

a) An up-to-date curriculum vitae of the archival and related career of the applicant, including proof of training as required by section s.2.9 (b) of the Constitution.

b) At least two examples of written work completed by the applicant, such as archival finding aids, records appraisal reports, or professional writings on archives-related topics.

c) Two written references, at least one of which must be from an Associate attesting that, in the opinion of the referee, the applicant has attained a high level of professional competence and commitment.

11. In addition the Committee may require any applicant to submit a written response to two questions, one of which shall be common to all applications at any one time.

12. If three or more members of the Committee dissent from a decision of the Committee to propose or not propose any applicant for the postal ballot, the Secretary of the Committee shall refer the matter to the Council of the Society, including any submission by any dissenting member of the Committee. No further action shall be taken on the application by the Committee until Council has decided the case. The decision of the Council shall be final.

Ballots for Associate Membership

13. The Committee shall appoint a Returning Officer and Scrutineers for the ballot, from among its own members.

14. The papers sent to all Associate members shall include:

a) A ballot paper that states the name of each applicant for Associate membership together with instructions for indicating a vote for or against each applicant, and the address and deadline for returning the ballot paper to the Returning Officer. All ballot papers shall be returned within one calendar month from date of issue.

b) A curriculum vitae provided by each applicant in any ballot, the written responses to any questions by the Committee under Clause 10 above, and the names of all referees. Any editing of these documents must be approved by the applicants to whom they relate.

c) A stamped return-addressed envelope for the return of the ballot paper.

15. Any Associate shall be entitled to ask the Associates Committee Secretary to supply further papers described under Clauses 9 and 10 above.

16. The discovery of any voting irregularity shall render the entire ballot invalid, but shall not prevent the same applicants being proposed in a subsequent ballot. Any such irregularity shall be immediately reported to the Council.

17. The Returning Officer shall report the results of a ballot in writing to the Committee, and the Scrutineers shall attest to the result.

18. When evaluation of all applications considered at any one time has been completed, the Committee shall inform Council in writing of:

a) those applications not proposed for postal ballot under section 2.9 of the Constitution

b) those applicants who fail to secure 75 per cent of the vote as required in section 2.7(c) of the Constitution.

c) the applicants who meet the requirement and have secured the requisite vote and are recommended to be Associates.

19. On receipt of the Committee’s recommendations, Council shall notify all unsuccessful applicants as to the result of their applications, informing them of the grounds of failure under section 2.9 of the Constitution or the percentage they received of the votes cast.

Confirmation of Associate Membership

20. Upon confirmation as an Associate of the Society by resolution of the Council, an Associate member shall receive a certificate to that effect signed on behalf of the Society by the President, and the Chairperson of the Associates Committee. If these two positions are held by the same person, the signatories shall be the President & Chairperson, and the Secretary of the Council of the Society.

21. Associates of the Society shall be entitled to use the abbreviation "ANZSA" after their names, in right of holding a professionally administered and recognised qualification.

22. Once appointed, an Associate of the Society shall continue to hold that position for so long as he or she remains a member of the New Zealand Society of Archivists Incorporated.

NZSA Trading Account

Balance 1992 b/f 510.37Deposits July 1992 to 13 April 1993 4.727.35

$ 5,237.72

Expenditure from July 1992: Postage & Secretarial services Printing & paper costs Survey costs TravelAGM & Symposia Various Bank chargesBalance trading account

$ 534.64 1,101.25 2 0 0 . 0 0 706.00 408.10 219.3945.50 3.214.88

2.022.84

Debts OutstandingPrinting $ 708.75Postage 53.00

$ 753.75

NZSA Conference Account

Conference Fees Sponsorship U-Bix Sundry deposits

$ 1,815.002,000.00272.88 $ 4,087.88

ExpenditureRefundCateringAirfaresSpeakers' feesPhotographsPrintingPostageBank charges

$ 50.001,140.00130.00500.00 47.80900.00 43.62 23.04 2.834.46

Balance account February 1993. $ 1,253.42

Summary:Balance Trading Account

Conference Account$ 2,022.84 1.253.42

$ 3 , 2 5 6 . 2 6

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS

for the year ending 31 December 1992

to be presented at the Annual General Meeting, 14 April 1993

at National Archives, Mulgrave Street, Wellington

I have pleasure in presenting the third annual report of the New Zealand Society of Archivists.

CouncilCouncil has met regularly throughout the year, with a good attendance of Council members, who were Rosemary Collier (President), Ian Matheson (Vice- President), Kevin Bourke (Secretary), Hank Driessen (Treasurer), Mark Stevens (editor, New Zealand Archivist, Cheryl Simes and David Better.Pow Lin James resigned at the last AGM, and has since returned to Canada; David Retter, Research Services Librarian, Manuscripts and Archives, Alexander Turnbull Library, came onto Council in her place. Cheryl Simes has chaired the important Code of Ethics Committee, and Rosemary Collier the Associates Committee. David Retter has organised and provided refreshments for the symposia, and, along with other Councillors, has kept going a flow of information to our Editor, in Sydney.

Membership

There has again been a small increase in membership, including more overseas members and institutional members. While the latter form of membership gives staff of these institutions the right to participate in Society activities (a fact they perhaps need to be made aware of), it would be pleasing to see more individual members from the institutions which employ the most archivists.

We regret the recent Telecom decision not to open the Telecom Museum and Archives as planned, and deplore their making reaudndant the archivist, Mr R. Newlands, a member of this Society. We trust that New Zealand Post will continue to have regard for its archives in the face of moves towards privatisation, and note that some of the archives it holds are public arhives - doubtless true also of Telecom.

We note the retirement of Sheila Robinson from long service in charge of archives at the Gisborne Museum and Arts Centre, and wish her along and happy retirement. We congratulate Anna Blackman for her success in gaining the Dame Catherine Tizard scholarship, offered to women in local government, and wish her well for her year’s study at the University of New South Wales archives course.

We also note that Tony Mackle, who was in charge of archives at the National Art Gallery (now part of the Museum of New Zealand) has moved on to another position and has not been replaced.

We need to encourage people interested in archives to join as associate members - please circulate membership brochures among such people known toyou.

Conf erence

We believe the conference was a considerable success, being attended by over 40 people, and having a high standard of speakers; most of the papers have subsequently been published in New Zealand Archivist. We were grateful for the attendance of the Minister of Internal Affairs and his remarks at the opening. A lively discussion on a professional code of ethics was ably run by Mark Stodaart, and led to the establishment of the Code of Ethics Committee.

Not least of the excellent features of the conference was the catering undertaken by National Archives' newly-appointed caterers. There was a good atmosphere to the conference, and plenty of lively informal discussion took place. Highlights for many of those attending were the tours, especially that of the new National Archives premises.

Financially, the conference broke even, which meant that the grant from U- Bix was in effect a profit, since they kindly in addition printed our programmes at no cost. The accounts for the conference are shown as part of the annual report. The separate conference bank account has been maintained as reserves, and with a view to funding future conferences.

Now we should be looking to the organisation of a 1994 conference. And in prospect is a joint conference with the Australian Society of Archivists in 1996, to be held in New Zealand.

Associates

The Associates Committee has met regularly during the year to consider the revision of the Bylaw, as discussed at the last AGM. Recently a draft Bylaw was circulated to members and written responses requested, of which there were only two. The Committee has considered these and made some alterations. The final Bylaw will be circulated shortly. After this is out, we will advertise in New Zealand Archivist for applicants who wish to become Associates. Council encourages all who are eligible under the constitution and Bylaw to apply for this recognition of their professional standing and experience.

We were pleased to have Pamela Hall from Gisborne at a recent Associates Committee meeting. My thanks to Judith Hornabrook for acting as Secretary to this Committee.

New Zealand Archivist

Mark Stevens has continued his excellent work as our Editor; his report is attached to this one. With plenty of copy from the Conference and a slightly healthier financial state, in 1992 there were two issues of 12 pages, one of 16 pages and the main post-Conference issue in June was 24 pages long.

The standard of articles has been high, and while we congratulate the Editor on his work we also urge members to take heed of the comments in his report, and provide suitable copy to maintain the New Zealand content in our own journal, and also to provide articles on basic archives knowledge to assist those without professional training.

FinancesThe Financial Report is printed separately. Mention of the financial results of the Conference are mentioned above.The increased subscriptions helped keep our situation healthier this year and we do not propose another increase.

We need to discuss whether it is necessary for a small Society such as ours to have a qualified accountant to audit our accounts. The requirements on members of the Society of Accountants when conducting an audit mean that such people are unlikely to do this work free of charge, and that the charges would be quite unrealistic for us. Difficulties we have had in obtaining an auditor underline this. If we decide to dispense with a qualified auditor, a change to our constitution will be needed. Of course, there may be people who are qualified but not members of the Society of Accountants - if you know any such, please tell us!

We also need to introduce a clause in our Constitution which maintains our non-profit status, which in turn means we can gain exemption from tax on interest at the bank, and do not have to pay charges on cheque deposits.

Directory of Archivists

We still hold 78 copies of the Directory of Archivists in New Zealand 1990- 91, which represents a considerable amount of money we are yet to realise. If you or your institution do not have a copy, may I suggest you buy one, at the reduced price of $18. Other offers considered! It is proposed to publish an update of this, in the form of a Supplement to NZ Archivist.

Code of EthicsAs mentioned above a Code of Ethics committee was set up, chaired by Cheryl Simes, the other members being Mark Stoddart and Robin Griffin. In addition to the discussion held at the Conference in February 1992, a symposium was held on the subject in February this year, following the circulation of the draft Code to members. The committee will now incorporate comments from members at the symposium as well as some written comments received, and then produce their final version.

After consideration and formal adoption of the Code by Council, it will be circulated to all members as this Society's Code, following which all full members will be required to sign it. So now is the time to make any last- minute comments. Members should note that the Code is intended to cover ethical standards and considerations for archivists, not what the job of archivist consists of.

Following the completion of that task, we intend to turn our attention to stating the job or delineating the role of the professional archivist.

Education and TrainingTo some extent the above-mentioned task is currently being done for us.The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has set up an Advisory Group, on which 1 am your representative, to develop what are called Unit Standards for the information managment professions - library, records management and

archives. They have appointed a writer, Ken Miliar, who is now nearing completion of his task of writing descriptions of the skills required at the various levels of each of the three professions. I nave had a lengtny discussion with him, and Ian Matheson and others have also. In addition, Ken attended our symposium on Code of Ethics, talked to us about his task, answered questions, and gained information. This was a good follow-up to our earlier symposium on archives training.

At the end of the process, after the Advisory Group has made any additions and changes necessary, the descriptions of the skills required in the professions will be the basis on which training can be carried out by any educational institution (aside from universities, at this stage) which wishes to train people in these professions and to be approved and accredited by NZQA.

The Wairarapa Community Polytechnic archives course is, as of late last year, approved as a national certificate course by NZQA; I was your representative in a group which met as a part of the process of recognition. Following the finalisation of the unit standards, the Community Polytechnic, which is now teaching the course at the Auckland Institute of Technology only, will have to go through this process again.

Another development under the heading of training is the invitation by ARANZ to Dr Gerald Ham of the United States to visit New Zealand and conduct a review of archives training needs. The Association organised a meeting last May to discuss training, and I was your representative at that. Recently it has set up a steering committee and circulated severalquestionnaires as part of the review process.

Your Council did not entirely agree with the need for or the wisdom of such a venture (see NZ Archivist vol. Ill no 4), but will make a submission to Dr Ham when he visits. Nor did it agree with the lack of support for the Wairarapa course implicit in statements made at the ARANZ Conference last year. An analysis of training needs was conducted by the Community Polytechnic before the course was established, and numbers of experienced professional archivists were involved in the course's development and ongoing management and monitoring.

Archives Bill

We made a lengthy and detailed submission on the draft Archives Bill circulated to interested parties early in 1992. The Bill contains many clauses which are additional to the present Archives Act, particularly in relation to local government archives. While there were certain items, and in particular some loose use of terminology, which we took exception to, we support the Bill and hope to see it introduced - although this may be unlikely in an election year. On the other hand, this might be the very time to bring it the attention of your local MP and other candidates, and seek their support for it.

SymposiaThe commencement of a series of symposia was in response to the wish of some members for more meetings, and of 'lone' archivists for professional training. The first symposium, on training, had a good attendance; the

second, on the Code of Ethics, a rather more modest turnout. If there is a topic you wouid like discussed, please let us know - and if there are other activities you would like the Society to arrange.

Survey

The Society's survey questionnaire entitled The Archivist: e profile was initially circulated at the conference, then later to all members. The response was quite good - 63 returned, which was a little under half the number circulated. Quite a number of those who responded are not members.

The Executive plus Pow Lin James began considering the analysis in the middle of 1992, using guidelines set out by the compiler of the question­naire, Cheryl Simes. We came to the conclusion that professional help was needed for these, and were fortunate through the good offices of former Government Statistician John Darwin to obtain the services, at very moderate cost, of statistician Garry Dickinson, who commenced his work late last year. He has come up with excellent tables, and the resuling booklet is now available to members for 45, the cost of photocopying. We are looking at other ways of using the information, but would urge members to make use of them where they are applicable in their own work situations.Our thanks to Cheryl Simes and Garry Dickinson for the work they have done, and to Frank Rogers for preparing the booklets.

National Archives Buildings

It is gratifying to meet for this AGK in National Archives' own purpose- adapted headquarters building. We note with pleasure that the Dunedin building for National Archives is to be ready in a few months'- time, and that an appointment to the position of Regional Archivist has been made.

We trust that a definite announcement on proceeding with the Auckland building will be made soon. The lobbying we carried out on selected MPs on this question did not prompt many replies, but did elicit a letter promising his support from Hon Peter Tapsell, former Minister of Internal Affairs under Labour.

In conclusion

I wish to thank the immediate past and the present Councils for all the work put into organising the Conference, and particularly Kevin Bourke, who is standing down from Council, for his considerable effort, especially for the conference as chair of the conference committee, and latterly as the Society's Secretary.

Rosemary Collier April 1993

NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS INCORPORATED ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1993

REPORT BY EDITOR, NEW ZEALAND ARCHIVIST

1 This report covers the period in which the Society produced four issues o f the journal, Vol III No 2 (Winter/June 1992) to Vol IV No 1 (Autumn/March 1993). The major article which have appeared in these issues have included: selected papers from the 1992 Conference; Archives Pluralism & Information Policy ( a review article on the Librarian's view of 'information'); the preservation o f Census Schedules; and the first part of an article on the myths and realities o f the information technology 'revolution'.

2 During the year under review, seventeen articles appeared in the New Zealand Archivist credited with authors' names (I have not counted Letters to the Editor). Of these, five were written by overseas-based authors, and seven New Zealand-based members of the NZSA appear. Comments made in the last Editor's Report, about the difficulties of obtaining material from New Zealand, continue to apply. From Sydney, it is often just as easy (or difficult) to ferret out material for the journal from Australia or the rest of the world, as from New Zealand. So in the absence o f contributions from the NZ membership it seems inevitable that the trend to higher levels of foreign- sourced content in the New Zealand Archivist will continue, at least while I am the Editor.

3 When the survey of members was undertaken last year, to try and find out what types o f articles should appear in the journal, the responses indicated that more could be done to provide for the needs o f archivists who do not have formal training, or who work alone and in small workplaces. It has been possible to meet this demand to some extent, for example by items such as the Handle with Care page in the Autumn/March 1993 issue. But other attempts by the Editor to persuade members to write suitable articles have not, as yet, had any positive result.

4 During the coming year, there are plans to do some follow-ups to articles which have already appeared: on the shake-ups at the PROs in the UK and Victoria; and on the reappraisal project at the Glenbow Archives. The Autumn/March 1994 issue will also contain a supplement to the Chronology of Archives Keeping in NZ to 1990.

5 I wish to thank the Council of the NZSA for their support during the year. I am prepared to remain as Editor for the forthcoming year, should Council choose to retain me.

EDITOR

An Early Records Disposal ScheduleMark Stevens

The document on the facing page is from the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representa­tives, the lower house of the Parliament of the Colony. It was printed in the 1900 AJHR as paper H28.

The discussions which had been taking place between the Clerk and the Speaker were clearly the result of a records management problem - shortage of records storage space and, related to that, difficulty in retrieving records when required for current business. There is no definite recognition that the records of the House of Representatives themselves, as opposed to scarce [published] books, might have wider research value, although the decision to preserve all oath books suggests at least an awareness of the curiosity value of autographs!

Henry Otterson was appointed Clerk of the House (the chief permanent official) in August 1898. He was only the fourth holder of the office since the House had been created in 1854. The first Clerk died that year, so Otterson succeeded two men who had between them seen forty-four years' service. During this time, the number of elected members of the House increased from 37 in 1854 to 74 in 1896 (and had reached 95 briefly in the 1880s). The amount of business, and thus work and records for the Clerk and his staff to manage, had also increased over the years - for example the average daily hours of sitting increased steadily, though unevenly, from around 7.00 in the later 1880s to over 8.00 a decade later.1

So Otterson moved fast after taking up his job. His memorandum of 18 July 1899 is probably the first example of a records disposal sched ule in New Zealand, and it would be interesting to know if many earlier examples exist elsewhere, which exhibit so many of the essential characteristics of schedules as archivists know them today. For this is much more than a mere list of records to be destroyed.

An examination of the two memoranda which make up this document (18 July 1899, within 21 June 1900) reveals the follow ing features, all considered fundamental to records disposal and disposal schedules by archivists today -

Identification of records management problemsThe d ifficu lties for efficient and effective

management of current records are referred to, as is the need to ensure that theenvisaged new records accommodation is not wasted by ignoring the problem. The problem is specifically identified as forty-five years accumulation of records and the absence of any previous disposal work.

Records surveyThere is evidence throughout the document of

detailed knowledge of all the records, not only the current ones. For example Otterson is aware that Bills for 1876 and the journal for 1855 are missing. However

he does not attempt to indicate quantities of records, which is considered important nowadays. The records have also been sorted into recognisable series, by the most knowledgeable officer - Mr Kane, the Clerk of Bills and Papers (Records Manager?).

Retention and disposal sentencesThe records of the House, having been listed

according to their records series, are scheduled for destruction or preservation according to definite rules. Admittedly, it took Otterson two goes to establish comprehensive coverage, for his first memorandum is concerned only with records to be burned. But by June 1900 he has made some decisions about what series of records are worthy of preservation. In this he includes a discretionary category, for preserving any records not otherwise covered, or which might be up for destruction, but which should be excepted for preservation by management decision. This is all very familiar to archivists today.

Otterson's focus on the records which are to be destroyed would not pass Terry Cook's new test of appraisal, which holds that all records should be assumed suitable for destruction, so we must justify saving, not burning them.^ But in this Cook represents a sea-change in archival thinking, and working archivists (and the policies of archival institutions) are still rather emeshed in the formula of justifying what they destroy.'1

Continuing authorityOne of the most recognisable 'modern' touches is

that Otterson assigned continuing disposal periods to his records of temporary value. At first he decided that the key date was 'prior to 1896'. The previous Parliament did not end (for new elections) until October that year, so it appears he chose the date to delineate records at least three years old. By June 1900 it had occurred to Otterson to seek ongoing authority to implement the sentences he had developed, and therefore a regular disposal program based on annual culling of records. But why was he more cautious in disposing of petitions than of other temporary records?

Approval by top managementThe Speaker of the House, an elected member, was

the Clerk's superior and responsible for all sides of its management, including the records. Therefore, Otterson approached Sir Maurice O'Rorke (Speaker 1879-1890 and 1894-1902) requesting approval for his recommendations. O'Rorke was clearly interested in solving the records management problem, as he instructed Otterson to work on it over the 1899-1900

recess, but evidently he felt unable to make a final decision alone, referring the matter to the House by laying this document on the Table.

I have not been able to discover that Otterson ever achieved his aim of a records disposal program for the House of Representatives. There does not seem to be a resolution of the House on the matter. In 1907 a fire destroyed the Parliament Buildings and many records were lost. The material held now at the National Archives is thin. But whether records disposal before the fire had any impact on what has survived today, cannot be stated conclusively.

1 Wilson, JO, New Zealand Parliam entary Record 1840-1984, Wellington (Government Printer) 1985.

^ Cook, Terry, The A rchival A ppraisal o f Records Containing Personal Inform ation: a RAM P Study w ith G uidelines. Paris (UNESCO) 1991. pp33, 54. Cook is not the first archivist to enunciate this principal, and some institutions (including the NY State Archives) have adopted it, but he has stated it most forcefully as central to the rapidly-developing field of appraisal theory.

^ For example: New Zealand, A rchives A ct 1957. ssl5-17.^ Note that a 'session' is an annual sitting of Parliament. Each

NZ Parliament lasts (normally) for three sessions before elections for a fresh Parliament.

A Profile of New Zealand Archivists Comments on the 1992 Survey

Cheryl Simes

Last year's survey of archivists has now been analysed, thanks to the assistance of G arry Dickinson. Full results, which are quite extensive, are available from the Society for $5.00 (to cover the cost of photocopying and postage), m em bers are encouraged to offer responses to the survey findings - is there any action you think Council should take as a result o f these findings?

For love or money?Of those who responded to the survey, 15% do it for

love (beingunpaid). Nearly two-thirdsare paid between $25,000 and $45,000. But over half work more hours than they are paid for (only 1 said they worked fewer hours than they were paid for). Even allowing for some skewing according to those who responded, this does reflect the lack of support staff in many archives positions. Over half were the head of the archives unit in their organisation, and a third reported to the head of the archives unit.

What do we love about it?We most enjoy accessing historical material and

working with historical material and artefacts. We also enjoy organising conserving and preserving material. But all of this has a purpose - and giving service to customers is another aspect we find most satisfying. And we do not enjoy appraisal (which is sad, since it is the basis of the rest of what we do!). We would it seems prefer to spend our time on reference, or arrangement and description (and in fact we do spend most of our time on those two activities).

Two-thirds of us are graduates, almost half also have postgraduate qualifications. Over 40% majored in history or art history, the other major subjects ranging from English through anthropology to architecture and mathematics. We have been archivist-trained mostly

on short courses, although about 20% have an archives certificate or diploma. We may take for granted a commitment to history and culture in the wider community; we may need to learn to understand philistines who despise ivory towers - and our commitment to customer care may be one avenue to such communication.

Are we professionally committed?We don't move around much - nearly 40% have been

in their present job between two and five years, while a further 40% have longer than five years' service. Nearly two-thirds are in their first archives job. Nearly 60% of us belong to AR ANZ and nearly 60% belong to the New Zealand Society of Archivists. Only 15% belong to no professional association. More than three-quarters of us read professional literature, and over 10% contribute articles to professional journals. Nearly 20% of us are not paid for our involvem ent in professional- development activities, but do them unpaid.

Only 27% have archives work as the whole of our present jobs. The rest also do library, records management, records storage, museum or historical work as well. This does not count conservation/repair work, which is part of the job for more than 75% of us. So do we really mean it when we insist that to be an archivist is a distinct profession, or should we embrace 'information management' as more realistic?

Some Common Photographic ProcessesWhen They Were Introduced,

and When They Were Most Popular1839-1860C1839-1860C1851-18901851-18851880-19201889-1951

1850-1900C 1885-1905 1880,1900-1934-1935-

1948-

1960-1963-

Daguerro typesSalted paper printsGlass plate negatives (general)Collodion wet plate glass negatives Gelatin diy print glass negativesNitrate negatives (introduced by Kodak; ceased production in 1951; dates of production outside the United States vary)Albumen printsGelatin and collodion printed-out photographic prints Black-and-white gelatin developed-out photographic prints Acetate negatives introduced for sheet filmChromogenic colour film and transparencies (introduced by Kodak; Kodachrome was the first process)Instant black-and-white process (introduced by Polaroid; sepia first, the black-and-white in 1950)Polyester film introducedInstant colour print process (introduced by Polaroid; Polacolor was the first process; SX 70 introduced in 1972, Polacolor 2 in 1975)

IFLA Photographic Conservation News

Behold thy portrait!— day by day,I've seen it's features die;

First the moustachios go away,Then off the whiskers fly.

That nose I loved to gaze upon,That bold and manly brow,

Are vanish'd, fled, completely gone—

Alas! where are they now?

Thy hair, which once was black and bright, Much worse than grey has grown;

Indeed, I scarce can say 'tis white,For ’t has completely flown.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United NationsChief, Records & Archives Unit Rome

Responsibilities: to develop and operate the FAO records and archives program. Requirements: University degree and training in modern archives and records administration. Five years professional experience in an archives and records management establishment. Demonstrated ability to write descriptive material in English. Familiarity with m icrofilming and automatic data-processing techniques. Supervisory ability. Limited knowledge of French/Spanish/Italian and familiarity with the general subject matter related to agriculture forestry and fisheries is desirable. Benefits: The position carries a net salary per year (inclusive of a variable element for post adjustment) from $US46,385 to $US59,481 (without dependents) and $US49,642 to $US64,110 (with dependents). Other benefits of the International Civil Service apply. Please send detailed curriculum vitae, quoting VA234-AFS to: Central Recruitment, FAO, Via delle Therme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy. Fax (39)+(5)+797-3152.

Letter to the Editor(This letter is a follow-up to Susan Kooyman's article

on Reappraisal and Deaccessioning at the Glenbow Archives, in NZA Spring 1992)

The reappraisal project has now been completed. In all, we identified 130 accessions which had research value but did not fall within our collecting mandate, and which we believed should be transferred to other institutions. Altogether, these accessions represented 55 metres out of our total holdings of 3,000 metres. The sixteen institutions to which we have recommended transfers are the National Archives of Canada, eight provincial/territorial archives, and seven thematic/ regional archival institutions.

We have already begun the process and to date, with the blessing of Glenbow's Collections Management Committee, have transferred 44 metres. The recipients have been unanimously delighted, and in the case of the Provincial Archives of Alberta, quickly retaliated by transferring to us a large box of the papers of a Calgary individual!

Two relatively minor issues have arisen with respect to transfers to other institutions. The first is that the institution may not want the records we want to give them (this is rare), and the second is the matter of who is to pay for the shipping costs, especially where there is a large volume of records.

During the reappraisal project, we also identified 24 accessions of duplicate or redundant records. In most cases these were reproductions we had acquired from reluctant donors who subsequently had given us the originals after all. In many cases we decided to keep the copies for research purposes, especially when the original is in a fragile condition.

The final group of possible deaccessions were records of 'poor quality', which we felt did not warrant inclusion in the Guide. [The recently-published Glenbow Archives: A Guide to the Holdings - Ed]

These records would have no resale value and no interest to other institutions. Their fate would be intentional discard or return to donors. We identified several hundred accessions which fell into this category,

but in the final analysis have decided not to proceed with deaccessioning. The two main reasons are that the total volume is insignificant - less than five metres altogether - and that they simply do not warrant the amount of time and paperwork that would be involved in the deaccessioning process.

Most consist of very small amounts of ephemera. We have successfully dealt with those accessions which consisted of certain 'orphaned' paper artifacts by creating artificial collections of greeting cards, programs of events, calendars and menus. Our researchers have been very pleased with these new collections.

We have decided to leave the rest of the 'poor- quality' accessions exactly where they are, at least until some undetermined date in the future when we have more time and resources than at present (sadly, in February this year the Glenbow lost one-quarter of its staff, laid off due to financial problems). They are still accessible through our manual card catalogue system, but have not been included in the on-line database on which the Guide is based.

In conclusion, I am very glad that we had the opportunity to reappraise our holdings, but I would not recommend it to any institution that was not linking the process to some larger collections management project. The amount of material that we identified for possible deaccessioning was less than 2% of our total holdings. We, and the recipient institutions, are very pleased about the transfers which we have made and are to make over the next few months. In the case of small amounts of material with little research value however, the time and effort involved in the deaccessioning process may outweigh the inconvenience of having them remain on the shelves.

Thank you again for your interest in Glenbow's activities. I would love to hear from New Zealand archivists about what they are doing, particularly with respect to automation and descriptive standards.

Susan Kooyman(Glenbow Archives, Calgary)

IT Developments at the PROTwo major information technology projects are under

development at the Public Record Office, London. Automation of the research services function will be extended to cover entry to the reading rooms. Readers will be issued with a redesigned ticket incorporating a bar-code to enable them to pass through the turnstiles that will automatically record attendance.

The other main project currently being undertaken by the IT Department of the PRO is an investigation of optical disk to preserve (and ultimately make available) computer readable datafiles selected for permanent preservation. A particular focus is on COLD (Computer Output to Laser Disk) systems, as they have the advantage of combining the archival integrity of optical disk with the flexibility of the indexing capabilities of COM (Computer Output to Microfiche) software.

Terry Cook's Visit to AustraliaAs announced in the last issue of NZA, Dr Cook will

be in Australia during November this year. He will be speaking at three seminars at the State Library of NSW in Sydney on 25-26 N ovem ber, on: Archives Management in the Post-Custodial Age; Appraisal of Public Records; and A rchival Docum entation (Arrangement & Description). Registration fees for the seminars are $35.00 for NZSA members or $50.00 non­members per seminar, or $90.00 / $125.00 for all three. There is a further discount of $10.00 for each person after the third, who attends from the same workplace. These prices are in NZ dollars.

If you would like more information and a registration form,write to: Australian Society of Archivists NSW Branch, PO Box 72, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, Australia.

Logo Design for NZSAThe Council has decided to offer a prize (a book

token for $50.00) for the best design / suggestion for a logo for the Society. The competition will remain open until enough good ideas have accumulated to allow the Council to make a choice. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please forward them to the Secretary.

Some examples of logos or 'corporate symbols' adopted by other archivists'organisationsare illustrated. The Australian Society of Archivists chose a row of archives boxes surmounted by reels of microfilm. The PARBICA logo wittily includes symbols of the Pacific region with symbols for archives. The Society of American Archivists' makes use of the 'SAA' initials. Another logo familiar to some readers is the ARANZ symbolic representation of a book - an excellent logo now unfortunately banished from Archifacts.

Reproduced with permission

A good logo or symbol should be capable of conveying what the Society represents or stands for, in a direct sense or indirectly through its connotations. It should be capable of standing alone, or as part of a wider 'corporate livery' such as a letterhead or the front page of New Zealand Archivist. It should be simple and striking, and distinctive.

NZSA NewsAt the Annual General Meeting in April, Kevin

Bourke retired from the Council, and the other mem­bers were re-elected. The 1993-1994 Council is: Presi­dent - Rosemary Collier (consultant); Vice President & Treasurer - Hank Driessen (National Archives); Coun­cil members - Cheryl Simes (Telecom); David Retter (Turnbull Library); and Valerie McVety (The Hutt City Council) who was co-opted after the meeting. A Secre­tary is currently being sought.

NZ Post Donates Philatelic Archive to MONZ

New Zealand Post has donated it'sarchive of stamps to the Museum of New Zealand, to ensure thecollection is never sold. The Chairman of NZ Post, Michael Morris, stated that "the main aim in gifting the stamp archive is to ensure it will never be sold, broken up, mortgaged or in any other way jeopardised". The archives contains stamps from 1855 to the present day, and includes not only a nearly complete set of NZ stamps, but exceptional coverage from other countries since about 1890. The Museum will have the collection valued in the future. The actual transfer will not take place for about three years, when a suitable high-security vault has been constructed at the new MONZ site on the Wellington waterfront.

Evening P ost (27 April 1993)

Education Board Records Blowing in the Wind

Computer printouts from September 1989 were found by a passer-by, blowing along a Wellington gutter recently. The papers showed names, salaries, and other information about individuals employed by the former Welington Education Board and Depart­ment of Education during the restructuring process at that time. A spokesman for the Ministry of Education defended his organisation by pointing out that (a) the records were from predecessor agencies, and (b) the Ministry shredded "all that sort of stuff" these days. With approval from the Chief Archivist, we assume?

Evening P ost (24 April 1993)

Erasmus Prize Awarded to Archivo General de IndiasThe Erasmus Prize is awarded annually by the Netherlands Government to a person or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to European culture, society, or social science. The 1992 award was to the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, for an archival automation and access project, reported in NZA Spring 1990. Since 1986 the AGI has transferred onto optical disk, as facsimile images, over eight million pages of documents (both text and maps) relating to the Spanish discovery and colonisation of the Americas. A further three million pages are due for transfer. In parallel, sophisticated search and retrieval software has been developed, permitting researchers to make use of both traditional archival finding-aids, and keywords derived from the content of the documents. The project was funded jointly by the government and corporate sponsors including IBM Spain. The year 1992 marked the quincentenary of the discovery of the New World by the Old.

US Archivist Resigns Amid Controversy

The Archivist of the United States, Don W Wilson, resigned on 12 February as Head of the National Archives & Records Administration, to become Research Professor of Presidential Studies and Executive Director of the George Bush Center at Texas A&M University.

Wilson was appointed seventh Archivist of the US in late 1987. During his term, NARA managed to claw back many of the resourcing and staffing cuts initially suffered in the Reagan administration's attack on the public sector, and to largely complete a major new building, 'Archives 2'. But there was also criticism, from Congress and the research and 'public interest' communities, that NARA under Wilson was poorly managed, and that it was too willing to make concessions to the Executive Government on matters such as the status of the Iran-Contra tapes.

Shortly before his resignation, Wilson approved an arrangement whereby ex-President Bush will have far- reaching control over access to and disposition of computer tapes containing electronic mail records of the White House and National Security Council, which are acutely sensitive because they could be a 'smoking gun', showing conclusively whether Bush was involved in or knew about the 'arms for hostages' negotiations with the Iranian Government in 1980.

TransitionsThe New Zealand Film Archive has a new Director,

Frank Stark. He succeeds Cheryl Linge whose contract expires this month. Mr Stark is a former Chief Executive of the Crafts Council and heads his own arts and cultural consultancy business. The Rotorua District Council has appointed Richard Overy as Records Man­ager. National Archives has appointed Peter Miller, formerly Archivist at the Hocken Library, as the new Regional Archivist at the Dunedin Office (which serves Otago and Southland). Robert Newlands, the Telecom archivist/curator, has been made redundant and will be retiring. Robert is a foundation member of the NZSA and we wish him well. The British Council/Waitangi Foundation centenary scholarship, to survey NZ wom­en's suffrage material in archives in the UK, has been awarded to Penny Feltham, of the Turnbull Library. A new Branch of ARANZ has been formed, covering the Waikato/Bay of Plenty regions. Contact address is care of the Rotorua District Council, Private Bag, Rotorua. Mark Stevens has been elected to the Council of the Australian Society of Archivists, and to a second term on the Committee of the NSW Branch of the ASA.

In This Issue

Kai Rangitira: Food for Chiefs and food for thought

High-Tech Hype: Myths & Realities of the IT RevolutionPart II - 'Megamistakes' Tom Forester

An Early Records Disposal ScheduleThe House of Representatives 1900 Mark Stevens

A Profile of New Zealand Archivists Comments on the 1992 Survey Cheryl Simes

News ItemsLogo Design Competition for NZSA; Terry Cook's visit; Chronology of Some Common Photographic Processes; F Gerald Ham to Advise ARANZ on Archives Education; US Archivist Resigns Amid Controversy; Erasmus Prize Awarded to Archivo General de Indias; NZ Post Donates Philatelic Archive to MONZ; FAO Chief of Archives & Records Unit; IT Developments at the PRO; NZSA News; Education Board Records Blowing in the Wind; Transitions

Letter to the EditorReappraisal & Deaccessioning at the Glenbow Archives - an Update (Susan Kooyman)

About the Contributors

About the ContributorsFor a note on Tom Forester, see the previous issue of

NZA. Cheryl Simes is a consultant archivist specialising in arrangement and description, and also works for Telecom as an Information Specialist. Mark Stevens is Archives Manager for the Sydney City Council, Convenor of the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Society of Archivists, and Editor of New Zealand Archivist.

New Zealand Archivist (ISSN 0114-7676) is the quarterly journal of the New Zealand Society of Archivists Incorporated. It is published each year in: Autumn/March; Winter/June; Spring/September; and Summer/ December. The editor is Mark HS Stevens, whose authorship may be assumed for all items not otherwise credited. Copyright © NZSA & contributors 1992. Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the NZSA. The editorial address is PO Box 136 Beaconsfield NSW 2014 Australia (Fax {02} 313-6680). All other correspondence to the Secretary NZSA, PO Box 27-057 Wellington New Zealand. Contributions for publica­tion are invited. Deadlines for next issues are: 13 August and 12 November 1993. The journal is available through membership of the Society ($40.00 in NZ, $50.00 overseas) or separately by subscription ($40.00 in NZ, $50.00 overseas). Overseas airmail, add $10.00.