- Nat. Archives DG Dr. Nadeera Rupesinghe expounds on preserving the pillars of civilisation including national identity and memory in the form of documentary heritage from the bowels of termites
In a context where historic documents are and have always been instrumental in understanding how a country has evolved, the importance of preserving vital documents for the future cannot be stressed enough. In Sri Lanka’s case, the Department of National Archives has been entrusted with the task of preserving such documents. However, this duty, which has a significant national-level importance, should be expanded beyond that of the said Department. While the general public should and could play a more active role in supporting this duty, as per the Department’s Director General (DG) Dr. Nadeera Rupesinghe, school and university students should be taught about preserving documents in understanding the importance of preservation.
She made these remarks during an interview with The Daily Morning, where she explained the Department’s functions and the overall situation in the country concerning preserving important documents.
Following are excerpts of the interview:
What are the key functions assigned to the Department of National Archives or the National Archives, as popularly known among the public?
Let’s think of our functions on a smaller scale in terms of what we are all familiar with. Take records that you possess that are vital to you, such as your diaries, the national identity card, the birth certificate, the marriage certificate, academic certificates, etc. You know that such records must be preserved carefully, and forever. You would not throw them away, and it is possible that they will be retained in your family for a couple of generations, even after your death. These records, vital as they are while you are alive, are not like the books and publications that you have accumulated over time. Instead, they are records that hold evidential and information value to you and about you. They were created, captured, received or accumulated by you in the course of your day to day activities. These personal records, if they are accrued to an archive, become archives. The Department preserves records with evidential and informational value at a much larger scale, in fact at the national level. Our vision is to preserve the national identity, accountability, and the memory of the nation, which are the three pillars of a civilisation, through the preservation of such documentary heritage. It is essential to understand what archives are. They are records of human activity, created in the course of the business of an organisation or an individual, that are permanently preserved for their evidential and informational value. They can be of any format, for example, paper, palm leaves, audio-visual, or digital. The National Archives has a responsibility to provide access to the archives that are open for public inspection. Therefore, preservation and accessibility are two key terms in relation to the functions of the National Archives. In that way, the key functions of the Department lie in the areas of archives and records management.
What is the process the National Archives follow to fulfill its responsibilities in keeping records, documentation-related work, and the preservation of documents? How does this take place at the Department?
We preserve our archives that amount to approximately 23.5 kilometres, in mostly climate-controlled repositories, and have begun a process of transferring them to acid-free, lignin (a complex, organic polymer that, with cellulose, forms the chief constituent of wood)-free boxes of archival quality. When they are accrued from public authorities or private collectors, they should then be arranged and described in such a way as to make a user-friendly finding aid. The archives are then deposited in a repository, which is a closed stack of archives with 24 hour climate control. Conservators carry out regular checks of the repositories, and a building management system that can also be monitored remotely, records the temperature and relative humidity that is maintained by a state-of-the-art heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system in the extension building in our facility in Colombo. Tight controls are in place to trace the movement of the archives within the premises. Our main building in Colombo is in the process of being renovated to the same standards, and we envisage that we will be able to renovate our branch office in Kandy as well when funds are made available.
What are the most valuable documents available with the Department at present?
Our oldest records go back to the year 1640. It is not impossible for the market to determine a value for archives. But, it is unusual to assign a relative value to any one archive over another. One person’s treasure trove in an archive would not be as valuable to another. What interests you and I, will differ greatly. You might say that there are some archives that are historically more significant than another, but that too would be subjective. Of course, we do have records that we consider to be among the treasures of the archives. These include the thombos (Portuguese for registers) of land and family information in Dutch registers from the 17th and 18th centuries, the land records of the British era, electoral pamphlets, significant private collections etc. Any selection of relative value however, will be highly subjective.
What are the major challenges faced when archiving records?
The major challenge to archiving documents is the lack of awareness about records management. Public authorities are often not aware that they cannot destroy any public record without authorisation through regulations published in the gazette. There is also a severe backlog in terms of the issuing of such regulations authorising the disposal of records. And, there is very limited top level engagement with records management, the subject often being assigned to an office assistant and forgotten for the most part. Subject clerks in any public authority should be able to identify, through an authorised retention schedule, whether the file that they are about to create, is a file that will eventually be transferred to the National Archives or be destroyed. In that way, controls can be maintained from even before the creation of the file.
The lack of trained records managers and archivists is also a severe challenge to archiving records. Other challenges include the tropical climatic conditions, and the high cost involved in climate control in long-term preservation.
What is your opinion about the general public’s interest in preserving documents, and how can they contribute to the functions of the Department?
The general public can contribute to the functions of the Department by assisting in the spreading of awareness about appropriate records management, and how that contributes to access to information. On crucial issues such as access to information, the public can exert pressure on their Parliamentary representatives. They should also assist in the maintenance of a central database of records in private possession, thereby facilitating greater accessibility for evidence-based research.
Do you conduct any programmes to raise awareness among the general public?
Yes. We commemorate the International Archives Day on 9 June, and it is hoped that we would be able to organise the International Archives Week next year in June. As able, considering our staff limitations at present, we also conduct tours of the National Archives. We also engage with the public on our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. By retelling the stories that our collections contain, we are better able to raise awareness. For instance, in this 75th year of Independence from British colonial rule, there was considerable engagement by the public at our exhibition titled ‘Path to Freedom’ that we organised together with the Colombo National Museum. We exhibited for the first time the original Kandyan Convention signed in 1815 ceding the Kandyan Kingdom to the British, and many archives of the struggles against the British colonial Government. We hope to organise more such exhibitions with the archives when the renovation of our main building and exhibition space is completed.
How important would it be, in your opinion, in teaching school and university students about preserving documents and archiving records? How do you suggest doing it?
School and university students should be taught about preserving documents in terms of understanding the importance of preservation. If they understand the need for preservation, and the kind of information that the archives hold, they will never look at an old document in the same way again. They must understand that records are vital to the telling of evidence based stories and for the establishment of fundamental rights. For a start, history teachers can show the archival evidence behind the stories that they tell, whether they are written, photographic or video archives and encourage students to think reflectively on the evidence behind the stories that they hear. In other disciplines as well, including medicine, research is often predicated on the availability of records. The connection of archives to justice and human rights should also be taught to evoke a sense of civic responsibility regarding the preservation of archives.
How is an archive different from a library?
An archive is different from a library in that the material that it protects consists of records that have been created, captured, accumulated or received in the course of carrying out day to day activities by an institution or an individual. They may consist of files, minutes and registers in paper or digital formats, and photographic and video records. It is mostly, but not entirely, unpublished, and consists of records of the decision making process of public authorities or private bodies. It is also not possible to take archives out of the building in which they are housed only for reference, in the way in which library books are borrowed. We have a dedicated reading room, and you cannot as a user browse the stacks of our repositories. All archives are brought to you for reference in the reading room.
To keep the standards up-to-date, is the Department planning to adopt modern technologies, methods or knowledge to improve its activities? Can you elaborate on its plans?
Yes. The Department has received funding from the Consolidated Fund to set up a trusted digital repository. Under it, we will implement an online descriptive software called atom, or access to memory, which is open access. It is the software into which our inventories and digital images can be uploaded. This in turn should be linked to Archivematica, another open source software which will be used for digital preservation activities. Atom will be linked to our website, so that at a minimum, users will be able to search our inventories online. Many archives around the world, including the National Archives of India, have uploaded digital images of their archives online. We hope that we will also be able to do the same soon and so far we have received permission to upload a collection of digital photographs and paper cuttings from the now defunct Times Group. Our digital storage space will be increased up to 500 terabytes under the first stage of this trusted digital repository project, and streamlined systems of backup and digital preservation will be implemented.
How can interested individuals access the archives?
First, a user must visit our public relations division and obtain a complimentary reader’s permit to use our research room. We operate on working days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both our main branch in Colombo and the branch office in Kandy. When you receive your reader’s permit, you may then proceed to the research room. Many people think that you need to make an appointment before arriving at the National Archives. It is not necessary. I explained earlier how records are accrued and deposited in our repositories. You can refer to the finding aids for those collections in the research room. And, when you request a certain archival volume via a requisition slip, the archives are brought to your desk in the research room. If you require extracts of land records or the electoral records, you can apply for the same at the public relations division and our officers will carry out the search for you.
Can you shed some light on the legal situation relating to archives and/or the Department?
The Department receives its mandate from the National Archives Law, No. 48 of 1973, as amended by the National Archives (Amendment) Act, No. 30 of 1981. While it was an advanced law for its time, the field of archives and records management, or ARM, a field that is relatively new to Sri Lanka, has developed considerably since then. Therefore, a committee appointed under Cabinet of Ministers approval is revising the law fully. The origins of the Department can be traced back to 1902, when the post of Archivist and Librarian was held by R.G. Anthonisz for the first time under the Colonial Secretary’s Office. The post was later changed to the Government Archivist, and functioned under the Colonial Secretary’s Office till 1947 when the Department of Government Archivist was created. The post changed to the Director, and the name of the institution to the Department of National Archives in 1966. Thereafter, the post was upgraded to that of the Director General of National Archives in 2016.
Is the Department working with any international bodies? What sort of activities are being conducted in collaboration with like-minded international bodies?
The Department has held institutional membership of the International Council on Archives (ICA) based in Paris, France for many decades now. The National Archives recently adopted the ICA’s Code of Ethics on Archival Services, and signed the Universal Declaration on Archives (UDA) this year (2023). The Sinhala and Tamil translations of the UDA were launched this year on the International Archives Day on June 9. We are also able to apply for special funding programmes executed by the ICA, and we follow guidelines on preservation, description and access issued by it.
What are the common misconceptions about archiving records?
The most common misconception about preserving documents is that they are dusty old documents preserved in boxes never to be taken out. It is important to understand that archives are preserved because the evidence and information that they contain are important for the people, and, more specifically, for the people to use. They are not meant to be locked up in a trunk and forgotten until they end up in the stomachs of millions of termites. Even if they are very well preserved, if they are not made accessible when they are unclassified, the purpose of preservation would be lost. The Director General of National Archives is required to make available for public inspection any archive that is open to the public. In no way can the Department discriminate against users. On the other hand, users with some knowledge of at least the existence of archives often ask the question, given this digital age, when are we going to digitise our collections and make it available online. It is well nigh impossible for any National Archive to digitise its entire collection. If you manage to digitise about 5% of it, that is considered a big achievement. Digitisation is an expensive, energy intensive and time consuming task. It requires large amounts of digital storage to maintain backups, as otherwise, hours of expensive work could be lost within seconds. It is also necessary to carry out digital preservation work, for which there is dedicated software.
It was reported recently that the Department is drafting a national policy on archives. What are the main concerns raised during the consultations?
In the consultations for the draft National Archives and Records Management Policy, some of the main concerns raised were with regard to the decentralisation of the National Archives and the preservation of digital records, Presidential records and private records. In addition, issues of access, such as greater visibility through digital access, and more comprehensive finding aids, in all three languages, were raised. These will be addressed in either the policy or the ensuing full revision of the law.