So, you’re into memory institutions…where do you go to find out about…?
Our project members wanted to provide shortcuts to a selection of information sites that enable you to quickly access a snapshot of priorities, policies, guidelines and more about archives and other memory institutions on our national and transnational landscapes across time.
You can choose your adventure over to the right…
This list is constantly being updated. Please contact us if you think we are overlooking some valuable sources of information and we will endeavour to add them here.
Here’s where you can go…
Australian Government
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In August 2024, the Australian Government revitalised their National Science and Research Priorities, to guide Australian science and research efforts.
The National Science and Research Priorities are:
Priority 1: Transitioning to a net zero future
Priority 2: Supporting healthy and thriving communities
Priority 3: Elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems
Priority 4: Protecting and restoring Australia’s environment
Priority 5: Building a secure and resilient nation
For those working in academia, the Australian Research Council includes these on its website for those applying for grants to consult. They write, ‘Each Priority includes outcomes to work towards in the next 10 years, and identifies critical research needed to achieve these outcomes.’
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In January 2023, the Australian Government launched their new 5-year cultural policy. Revive is structured around 5 interconnected pillars which set out the Government's strategic objectives:
First Nations First: Recognising and respecting the crucial place of First Nations stories at the centre of Australia's arts and culture.
A Place for Every Story: Reflecting the breadth of our stories and the contribution of all Australians as the creators of culture.
Centrality of the Artist: Supporting the artist as worker and celebrating artists as creators.
Strong Cultural Infrastructure: Providing support across the spectrum of institutions which sustain our arts, culture and heritage.
Engaging the Audience: Making sure our stories connect with people at home and abroad.
You can download the policy here.
International Organisations
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The International Council on Archives aims to promote efficient and effective management and use of records, archives and data in all formats and its preservation as the cultural and evidentiary heritage of humanity, through international cooperation, by sharing professional experiences, research and ideas on the management and organisation of archives and archival institutions’.
Their constitution claims that:
“Archives constitute the memory of nations and societies, shape their identity, and are a cornerstone of the information society. By providing evidence of actions and transactions, archives support administration and underlie the rights of individuals, organisations and states. By guaranteeing citizens’ rights of access to official information and to knowledge of their history, archives are fundamental to identity, democracy, accountability and good governance.”
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UNESCO was established in November 1945 and is ‘dedicated to strengthening our shared humanity through the promotion of education, science, culture and communication’. They have many directives including:
Directive that minorities need access to decision-making about heritage to have a role in creating ‘new cultural meanings and practices’ (in Shaheed, F, Keenan, P, Nowacha, K & Patchett, L et al. 2014. Gender Equality, Heritage & Creativity, 5-7. Paris: UNESCO)
There is an imperative to safeguard documentary heritage and pass it on to the next generation as ‘a legacy of humankind’ (UNESCO Memory of the World programme, 2023).
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ICOM, a non-governmental organisation which establishes professional and ethical standards for museum activities, was established in 1946.
They have five main missions:
· Establish standards of excellence
· Lead a diplomatic forum
· Develop a professional network
· Lead a global think tank
· Carry out international missions
Their current strategic plan (2022-2028) outlines their commitments to its members and the museums sector.
ICOM’s other governance and strategic documents are available on their website.
Individual Institutions | Australia
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The National Museum of Australia was established in 1980. A publicly funded institution, it ‘researches, collects, preserves and exhibits historical material of the Australian nation’.
It has 6 goals as outlined in its Mission Statement and Strategic Plan (2024-2029)
We strive to build a just and equitable society that honours and respects the First Nations peoples of this continent and all who have come after.
We collect, document, research and make accessible heritage collections that represent the diversity of experience in Australia.
We engage with audiences physically and digitally to promote learning, dialogue and debate about our past, present and future.
We promote collaborative work across the breadth of artistic, historical and creative practice to enhance the cultural life of our nation.
We value and respect the commitment and contribution of all who participate in and contribute to the Museum’s community.
Its Collections Development Policy outlines the ‘three interrelated thematic areas’ which ‘guide the Museum’s range of operations’ and ‘assist in explaining the broader history of human interaction with the Australian continent’. These are:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Australian history and society since 1788
people’s interaction with the environment.
You can find other important guidelines and development policies on the museum’s website.
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The National Library of Australia was established by an Act of Parliament in 1960, with the premises opening in August 1968, though its origins lay in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library which was established soon after Federation in 1901. A history of the Library’s foundation and development until 1980 was published in 1981.
The library’s Collection Development Policy ‘guides the continuing development of [the Library’s] collection, to ensure that collecting supports its mission to collect today what will be important tomorrow, to connect all of Australia’s peoples to the nation’s past, present and future’. Focuses of the collection include:
published Australian materials;
materials that represent the contribution of all Australians as the holders and creators of culture;
overseas resources to inform and enhance Australians’ understanding of the region and their place in the world.
You can find their Collection Strategy Roadmap (2024-2028) here and more corporate information here.
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The National Archives of Australia (then known as the Commonwealth Archives Office) separated from the National Library of Australia in 1961. It was renamed to the Australian Archives in 1975, and to its now-name in 1998. You can read more of its history here.
They ‘ensure that Australian Government’ information of enduring significance is secured, preserved and available to government agencies, researchers and the community’. The collection mainly includes Australian Government records from 1901 through to the present day. The organisation provides ‘stewardship of the nation’s archival collection’ and makes ‘the national archival collection accessible to the public, to enrich and inform Australians of who they are today and into the future’. Their latest (and historic) corporate plans are available on their website.
Individual Institutions | Global
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Atria was established in 1935 by Rosa Manus, Johanna Naber and Willemijn Posthumus-van der Good, as the International Archive for the Women’s Movement (IAV). The founders of the IAV felt that the cultural heritage of women and the women’s movement should be preserved, as young feminists needed access to historical knowledge to arm themselves against attacks on women’s rights. During the Second World War, the archive was emptied by the Germans, and only 10% of the collection was recovered after the war. In 2003, some of the collection was returned from Moscow. Atria was renamed in 2012. As one of the oldest archives of women’s history, Atria focuses on collecting, storing and documenting material ‘about the position of women in all fields – such as law, politics, labor, care, history, art, literature, science, religion, sexuality, gender equality and feminism, in the past and present, from within and abroad’.
You can find out more about the library and archive here and search their collections.
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The Women’s Library is the oldest and largest British library devoted to the history of women’s campaigning and activism. Inaugurated as the Library of the London Society for Women’s Service in 1926, its aims were ‘to preserve the history of the women’s suffrage movement and to provide a resource for newly-enfranchised women to take their part in public life’.
Today the LSE library has identified six themes of ‘special strength’ within their British political and economic history collection. These include:
· Women’s equality and rights
· LGBT+ equality and rights
· Peace and internationalism
· Britain’s relationship with the European Union
· Development of left-wing thought
· Poverty and welfare
You can discover more about their Collection, Equity and Diversity and Cataloguing policies on their website.
University Archives
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The University of Waterloo hosts the Lady Aberdeen Women Library on the History of Women, also known as the Lady Aberdeen Collection. It was donated to the library in 1967 by the National Council of Women of Canada, who started the collection in 1954. The collection includes books, periodicals, government documents, pamphlets, clippings, manuscripts, ephemera, and realia written by and about women.
As part of their current strategic plan, the library has a goal to ‘create and curate unique collections with a commitment to conservation, preservation and the incorporation of diverse voices’. Other policies can be consulted on their website.
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RMIT University Archives is an institutional repository which aims to preserve and make available institutional records which help to tell the story of RMIT University.
They have published collection guidelines as well as their Digital Preservation Strategy 2024-2031 which clearly define the scope of their collection as well as their vision of preserving ‘RMIT’s digital assets of enduring value, safeguarding our corporate and cultural legacy into and for the future’. You can find out more on their website.