From administrative records of staff and offices, to recordings of significant people associated with the University, Deakin archives go back over 100 years, with the earliest items dated 1915.<\/p>\n
The University Archives collects and maintains records relating to Deakin and its predecessor institutions that have permanent value \u2013 be it for legal, research, teaching or historic reasons. <\/p>\n
Staff, students and the public are encouraged to access the archives<\/strong><\/a>, and Antony has been helping faculty members lost amongst the boxes since 1993<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Fresh from his Graduate Diploma in Information Management, Antony first thought his position at Deakin would be temporary.<\/p>\n \u201cDeakin was still a very young University at the time and hadn\u2019t yet incorporated a sound records management culture. In a competitive and niche field, Deakin offered a rare opportunity for a recent graduate \u2013 there was a lot to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Antony at Deakin\u2019s purpose built archive for audio visual materials<\/p><\/div>\n The job quickly grew, and Antony developed a passion for helping staff and students access Deakin\u2019s history.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s gotten more interesting and more supported by the University \u2013 it\u2019s a good time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe job of archiving is important for many reasons. On one level, it\u2019s about maintaining evidence of transactions \u2013 an essential but legalistic vision. Archives ensure accountability and underpin democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cMaintaining archives also has an historical-cultural function, supporting memories of individuals, institutions and societies. We help translate primary sources into sources of meaning for users.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI spend a lot of time retrieving files and items for users, including staff, students, and the public, and finding the answers to why things were done a certain way in the past. I also spend time processing, cataloguing and digitising archives to ensure their preservation and ongoing access.\u201d<\/p>\n Antony in his office (Building EA) at Melbourne Burwood Campus<\/p><\/div>\n What kind of archives are held across the Burwood and Geelong Waterfront campuses?<\/p>\n \u201cMostly official records of the University, kept for their ongoing administrative value, legal compliance and a community expectation that the University preserves its history.<\/p>\n \u201cThe archives also accept records of significant people associated with the University, such as Max Charlesworth, founding Dean of Humanities at Deakin. His records were donated by his family, and they document an exceptional career as an Australian philosopher and public intellectual.<\/p>\n \u201cOther records document social and student life at Deakin. For example, we have Student Association records going back to 1954 \u2013 pre-dating Deakin and established in previous institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, at the time of creation; in reality, decisions around archiving are often made when someone wants to make space and clear out old cupboards.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe Public Records Office of Victoria outlines retention periods for all records of Victorian public agencies including universities. If there are items that have special value to Deakin, we can choose to keep them. For example, we chose to retain recordings of Deakin\u2019s distance education programmes from the \u201970s, because it was such a defining feature of the University.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDigital technologies continue to transform the nature of the record, and the way people and organisations operate. Twenty-five years ago, we worked solely in hard copy and we applied consistent methodology to all records. Now, we have to constantly adapt to new technologies \u2013 a challenge we don\u2019t always win.<\/p>\n \u201cMany records stored on redundant technologies have been lost. The challenge is to capture and ensure the integrity, authenticity and preservation of digital records into the future.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, hardcopy records remain as hardcopy. When an item is publicly available and of high public interest, it will be digitised and made available online. An item may also be digitised if the item is fragile or stored on redundant media.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m currently working through a recently donated AV collection, which includes videos and audio of official events and classes at Deakin, with material going back to the 1970s. Amongst these are speeches by Malcolm Turnbull<\/strong> and Max Charlesworth<\/strong>, and numerous other politicians, scholars and artists. I\u2019m hoping to finish listing the items by the end of the year, and put digital versions of important finds online.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also heavily involved in student projects requiring archived collections. Recently, I helped student intern Olivia Brewer find items for the Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies 40th<\/sup> anniversary<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 a hands on process of digging through history that both Olivia and I really enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n Antony and student intern Olivia Brewer searched the archives for the Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies 40th anniversary<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cItems documenting the full working history of the old Prahran Technical School<\/strong> were found in a room that had been abandoned and locked for more than twenty years. The collection demonstrated the institute\u2019s full bureaucratic history, from its establishment in 1915<\/strong> until its evolution as a College of Advanced Education<\/strong> in 1974<\/strong>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe archives were found in the early 90s behind a door nailed shut in the Prahran Mechanic\u2019s Institute building, and only discovered because of a need to make space. They were donated to Deakin because they complemented our existing collections so well.\u201d<\/p>\n If you would like to access Deakin\u2019s archives, you can do so here.<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n If you are unsure if an item should be archived, you can get more information here<\/strong><\/a> or email Antony<\/strong><\/a> directly. <\/p>\n Originally published by Network, August 2019<\/em><\/p>\n By Student Intern Dev Nelson and Katelyn Swallow<\/strong>, Internal Content Coordinator, Media Relations & Corporate Communications<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The library is not just responsible for four campus buildings, 24-hour online databases and chat services, hundreds of thousands of collection items, copyright guidance and research support for the University \u2013 we also maintain the historical archives for the entire institution. Deakin University\u2019s relatively short, yet impressive, history is held in the hands of University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33472,"featured_media":2535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,221,2],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-2534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-history-deakin","category-library-services","tag-deakin-archives"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pao1A6-ES","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/326\/2019\/09\/Article-Blog-Header-Image-1-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33472"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2534"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5195,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2534\/revisions\/5195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Antony](\"http:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/326\/2019\/09\/IMG_Article_Interview-with-Antony-Catrice.jpg\")
<\/a>An average day in your life?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Antony](\"http:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/326\/2019\/09\/IMG_Article_Antony-office.jpg\")
<\/a>When is it deemed an item should be archived?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How long are items archived for?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How has archiving evolved with the digital era?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Exciting projects you are currently working on?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Antony](\"http:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/326\/2019\/09\/IMG_Antony-and-Olivia-Brewer.jpg\")
<\/a>Tell us about a really memorable find of your career.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n