Metadata in Context

 

In today’s laboratory session we completed practical exercises on the use and functions of metadata through standards, schema and using controlled vocabulary. For those readers  who have no knowledge of the term ‘metadata’, essentially it is ‘data about data’. For those  of you who visit an archives or a library, you usually encounter meta data when searching for your records of interest in a database or catalog. Metadata is useful for discovery, determining authenticity, sharing and reuse. For the archivist or librarian, metadata is also essential to the appraisal process and the management and reuse of records.  Like other archival processes, metadata application is guided by specific standards and schema. It is critical to not that these standards are guidelines and are not rules. In this practical session we explored meta data elements on three diverse types of resources: sound, text and sound preservation. The first exercise focused on identifying and annotating elements of metadata using the PREMIS . The various classes “descriptive”, “source”, “rights”, and “technical” were easily identifiable. However, some of  the elements of PREMIS were identified in the handouts, but it was discovered that some of the elements were not located on each type of resource provided. The second exercise comprised of three games on metadata. The objective of the Zen Tag Game was to list as many metadata descriptions/tags as possible. The Next Tag game was layered in that it consisted of audio, visual and moving images.  Therefore the metadata created would incorporate these three elements.The more terminology you were able to use to describe the files the more points you earned. Ultimately, I discovered that the world of metadata is complex and also very time consuming.

DIY Digitisation and Archival Outreach

In today’s dissertation session we had a lecture by Dr. Johanna Green on Special Collections as Archives with a concentration on Medieval Manuscript Archives. She highlighted the Exeter Book as a Digital Resource through the Exeter Manuscript Project. The segment of this lecture that stood out for me was the usage of emerging tools such as touch screen tablets to allow students to interact with manuscripts by examining the elements of a manuscript. It was also revealed that through markup language the manuscript text was also translated for users of the app to read in their language. This segment was of particular interest to me because it incorporated an underlying theme of specialist repositories employing technology to achieve effective archival outreach. An additional aspect of the lecture was the willingness of some institutions to allow users to capture images of these documents to contribute to DIY digitisation projects on the institution’s Flickr account. These initiatives extend the arm of archival outreach requiring users to participate in the process. Although DIY digitisation was not the central focus of this lecture, this lecture gave me greater insight into the potential capabilities of DIY digitisation as an effective outreach strategy . DIY digitisation projects involve all stakeholders including users (especially academic researchers), potential users and holding repositories. These projects present a 360 approach to archives in that all stakeholders are involved in the process. Nevertheless, I do admit that issues with format compatibility, quality and integrity may arise in these types of projects. Yet these can be resolved accordingly with standards. Besides , contributors still have to comply with research room guidelines and permissions. Ultimately, DIY digitisation with the platform for sharing is advantageous for everyone as it is cost effective, creates dialogue and it provides a medium to examine records from different angles and perspectives. Most importantly, it is a tool that can be used to reach a global audience. After all, the conservation, preservation and storage of archives is meaningless without some form of user access.

LOOKING BACK: A DISASTER IN PARADISE

Set amidst the beautiful tropical backdrop of sun, sand and sea lies an archipelago of islands called The Bahamas, where I call home. Seven hundred islands and cays scattered along the eastern coast of the Atlantic once served as the gateway to The Americas upon Columbus’ discovery in 1492. Throughout its history, the  islands also served as a strategic location for native Lucayan Indians, explorers financed by the Crown, Puritans seeking religious freedom, opportunistic Pirates, British loyalists and their slaves and Slavers in the  African slave Trade.  Today, these picturesque islands are sought after as an ideal tourist attraction because of the sunny climate, crystal clear blue waters and rare pink sands. Beneath these idealistic characteristics lies a former British Crown colony deeply rooted in the iconic vestiges of its colonial past.

Among these islands, lie the capital city Nassau, formerly known as Charles Town on the island of New Providence which is the center of commerce and government.  As you walk along Bay Street (the city centre), you are virtually taking a walk through history.  The buildings along Bay Street, adjacent to the foreshore bears distinct architectural features from the colonial era. Chief among the colonial architecture are: Christ Church Cathedral, The Sheraton British Colonial Hotel, The Pompey Museum of Slavery (formerly a market for slaves), and The House of Assembly (where parliament meets). These historic buildings are in a sense, living records and a testament of the past, bearing the same evidence as the records which were created within their halls.

However, the House of Assembly, noticeably stands apart from the rest, not just for its distinct architecture but the for the historic role in which it represents. The assembly, as a body started in 1729 by Woodes Rodgers, the colony’s first Royal Governor and the man responsible for expelling the pirates. These seafaring bandits were particularly destructive and a perpetual nusiance to the British colony in the eighteenth century, as depicted in the block buster movie “Pirates of The Caribbean“. Woodes Rogers’ heroic feat is evident in a commemorative plaque adorning the structure which reads in latin ” Expulsis Piratis-Restituta  Commercia” (Pirates Expelled, Commerce Restored).  Furthermore, at the forefront of Parliament lies a statue of Queen Victoria, a visual testament of the nation’s colonial past.  More importantly, the records that were created by this bicameral parliament were among the first to be placed into the custody of the  Bahamas National Archives formerly known as The Public Record Office. This office was established by an act of parliament in 1971.

As circumstances would have it, some of the non current records of the Cabinet Office (predecessor of the colonial secretary’s office) were the first to endure a near tragedy in the Straw Market  Blaze of 1974 on Bay Street.  At the cusp of celebrating its first year of Independence, on June 15th 1974  a blaze of fire overtook the Bay Street Straw Market-the cause unknown. The non-current records of the Cabinet office were held in the attic of an old Ice house adjacent to the Market. The records at risk included the Colonial Secretary and Cabinet Office files. These records like many of government are not always housed in the facility in which they are created due to space issues.

Unsorted Rescued Records. Courtesy of The Department of Archives. Nassau, Bahamas 1974.

Although the Market was destroyed, it slightly damaged the old ice house allowing the records to be rescued from the blaze.  According to the archivist, the documents suffered from water damage. The archivist was called upon to supervise the transfer of these records to a temporary store room in the Ministry of Works compound. Most of the records were moved by Saturday the 15th of June 2015. The job was completed by the end of the week and the ice house was subsequently demolished. By the next year the records were in the custodianship of The Public Records Office  (now The Department of Archives) which operated out of three facilities.The rescued records were then moved to the Mosko building in the Ministry of Development with the kind permission of that Ministry. Shelving had been installed by The Archives Department and there the records were sorted listed and boxed. (Department of Archives Annual Report 1975)

Correspondence Re: Accommodation for Records From The Old Ice House. Courtesy of The Public Records Office. Nassau, Bahamas.

Records in Transit from Bay Street to The Mosko Building. Courtesy of The Department of Archives. Nassau, Bahamas.

Today, these records are widely sought by researchers as they provide a unique insight into the administrative framework of the Colonial Secretary’s Office. The Colonial Secretary was  considered the chief public servant responsible for the administration of goverment. All government functions were corresponded through this office and thus this deposit is one of the largest of the holdings to date. The fire in a sense brought to the fore the need for proper storage of non-current files. Since then, these records are presently housed in the Records Center located onsite at The Department of Archives Nassau, Bahamas.

C.S.O. records in The Records Center. Courtesy of The Department of Archives Nassau, Bahamas 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos (used with permission) from The Department of Archives Nassau Bahamas.

The Tribune. Saturday, June 15th 1974. P.1

Department of Archives Annual Report 1975.

Correspondence Re: Accommodation For Records from The Old Ice House. June 18th 1974. Department of Archives, Ministry of Education File 1974.