PROPAGATING ARCHIVES

OUT REACH PROGRAMME

WHAT DO YOU SAY ?

Yes !

Or

No.

Every one will say .

YES!!!

But

Why .Yes !!!

WHY PROPAGATING ARCHIVES

Archives constitutes the cultural wealth of the nation True history can only be projected with the help of original records People are not aware about the importance of archival records Archival heritage of the country is being lost because of the lack of awareness They are important tools for the Government Administration

AWARENESS PROGRAMME : WORLD SCENARIO

Beligum is Pioneer -1880 { All Heads of the Educational Institutions were asked to visit Exhibitions in Central and State Archives } France is Next one 1912 { A circular providing instructions for the future teachers on the potential use of Archives was issued } In United Kingdom 1950 { Head Masters School s Inspector Report recommended the use of original documents in the history teaching in the schools} 1978 International Council on Archives recommended for the Celebrations of Archives Week all over the world November 2007-ICA decided at its Annual General Meeting to launch the International Archives Day on the 9th of June. The date was obvious: because on 9th June 1948, the International Council on Archives was created under the auspices of the UNESCO.

AWARENESS PROGRAMME: INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Although Exhibitions were integral part of the I.H.R.C. sessions since its inception but it was only for the members of the commission The task of organizing exhibitions was given to the organizers and commission was not much involved in the presentation ,therefore, the glory of the state i.e. venue of the session was usually highlighted in the exhibitions with the help of : Farmans, Qasidas, Weapons, Jewellry, Art objects, Paintings, etc.,

AWARENESS PROGRAMME: INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

February 1973 On the silver Jubilee of Indias Independence an exhibition MARCH TOWARD FREEDOM was organized in the National Archives of India and it was open for the public viewing
1979Dr. S. N. Prasad, Director of Archives, moved a resolution in the 30th meeting of the National Committee of the Archivist, which met at Aurangabad, that Archives Week should be celebrated throughout the country July 1998- An Archives Museum was inaugurated by Shri K.R. Narayanan Honble President of India for general public.

ACCESS TO RECORDS IN INDIA

1939 Bonafide scholars were permitted to consult pre1859 records 1940 Access was liberalized and non current records till 1880 were open for consultation. 1949 Access was allowed till 1901 , subject to scrutiny of excerpts by the concern creating agency. 1954 Scrutiny practice for the records till 1902 was withdrawn by the Ministry of Home Affairs 1956- By a general rule access to 40 years old non current Records of all department was liberalized. 1970- Historical research rules were notified . 1982 - Any adult Indian was allowed to consult non current records 1993- The Public Records Act, 1993 -Paras 3(2) (m) and 12 (1-2) is regulating access to public records 1997- The Public Records Rules , 1997 Paras 10-11 deals with access to private and pubic records respectively

WHO SHOULD TAKE UP THIS JOB

The Custodian of archival holdings has to take the responsibility for creating archival awareness. Archivist being the professional has to connect the past, present and future in a living context Record conscious People should come forward in this campaign Media should assist in this task in positive manner

5Ws & 1H

WHO ARCHIVIST AND RECORD CONSIOUS PEOPLE WHAT :- AWARENESS AMONG THE MASS WHY :- REASONS WHERE :-OUT DOOR/INDOOR WHEN:-REGULARLY AS WELL AS OCCASIONALLY HOW :- VARIOUS MEANS

CHALLENGES
Archival agencies lack marketing skill Nature of Archival material varies in character Reference tools are not friendly to the common people and locating information is a time consuming job Lack of initiative and will power in the professionals People are Ignorant about the importance of archival heritage

HOW IT CAN BE ACHIEVED

Clear defined Aim Archives should be projected in all relevant occasions The challenges can be faced in two ways A- Inside Office B- Outside office

TARGET AUDIENCE
School students College/university Students Record Conscious People Government officials Common man

INSIDE OFFICE
1. Lecture 2. Display 3. Study Projects 4. Summer Training course on Archival Heritage

DISPLAY

Random : Display in the public passages, conference room ,etc. for frequent visitors Thematic : Archival exhibitions on Various theme may be organized on important occasion

LECTURE
As the legitimate part of professional activities Archivist should take some interest in developing archival awareness They may invite Junior and middle classes students and cull out some important documents on the relating to the chapters of their text book

PROJECTS

During the summer holidays school students should be encouraged for the projects based on Archival material

WEEKLY SUMMER TRAINING

Course on paper Heritage may be developed for the students to acquaint with the calligraphy , as well as importance and preservation of the paper heritage

OUTSIDE OFFICE
Thematic Archival Exhibitions Publication Programme Teacher Centre / Work shops

THEMATIC ARCHIVAL EXHIBITIONS

Archival exhibitions out side the office campus can give tremendous results Efforts should be made to put a thematic display during National and International event as people can get insight of the event in the light of archival material

PUBLICATION PROGRAMME

o o o

Single Sheet Documents Selected pages Bound Volumes

SINGLE SHEET DOCUMENTS

Book Mark Post cards Greeting Cards

SELECTED PAGES

Folders Hand out

BOUND VOLUMES

Coffee table Book Photo Album

TEACHER CENTRE/ WORK SHOPS

Teachers are masters of their subject and with the help of Archivists some pilot projects on interesting topics may be developed wherein Archival material should be used

Internet- Website /Blog

e- Abhilekh
QUARTERLY NEWS LETTER Vol -I April June 2013 No. 1

SUGGESTIONS TO MEET THE CHALLENGES

Archival Agencies should actively interact with institutions working for the society and make them understand about the importance and use of Archives Pilot project based on school text book highlighting archival material should be initiated with help of subject expert teachers Visits of the school students should be regularly arranged Lecture before the visit of exhibition may give tremendous result Help of media for the promotion of archival material is the need of the hour Specialized Reference media for the immature user of archives has to be developed for the quick retrieval of information

LET US RESOLVE TO SAVE OUR ARCHIVAL HERITAGE

ANY QUESTIONS?
Rajmani,
Assistant Director of Archives,
National Archives of India,

Janpath,
New Delhi-110001 E mail: rajmani.srivastava@gmail.com