Public Record Office Victoria annual report 2009-2010

Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report to the Minister

2009–2010

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Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report to the Minister 2009–2010 September 2010 Š Copyright State of Victoria 2010 This work is copyright.

Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced through any process without prior written permission from the publisher.

Enquiries should be directed to Public Record Office Victoria, PO Box 2100, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051 or email ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au.

Also published on www.prov.vic.gov.au.

ISSN: 1320-8225 Printed on 100% recycled paper.

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Published by Public Record Office Victoria 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 Tel (03) 9348 5600

Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report to the Minister 2009–2010

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A report from the Keeper of Public Records as required under section 21(1) of the Public Records Act 1973

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Peter Batchelor, MP Minister for the Arts

The Hon. Peter Batchelor, MP Minister for the Arts Parliament House Melbourne VIC 3002

Dear Minister

I am pleased to present a report on the carrying out of my functions under section 21(1) of the Public Records Act 1973 for the year ending 30 June 2010.

Yours sincerely

Justine Heazlewood Director and Keeper of Public Records

Contents 5 Public Record Office Victoria 6 Purpose and Objectives 7 Message from the Director 8 Public Records Advisory Council 10 Overview

15 Report on performance 16 Highlights 2009–2010 22 Output measures 2009–2010 23 Increase records usage to enable the community to connect with their history 23 Provide better access to records 32 Provide leadership to community archives and promote recordkeeping to communities 37 Increase government recordkeeping capacity so that a full and accurate record of government is created, captured, maintained and preserved 37 Review and redevelop PROV recordkeeping standards 38 Design and deliver services which will enhance recordkeeping within agencies 44 Develop the right people and provide the right tools to deliver PROV’s strategic objectives 44 Maintain and improve our physical and technical infrastructure 44 Improve our internal and external communications and feedback mechanisms including information management 45 Meet the government’s policy and probity requirements with a focus on financial, risk management and environmental outcomes 46 Manage a review of PROV legislation 46 Build a high performing and motivated organisation

47 Appendices 48 Appendix 1: Assets, financial statement and staff profile 49 Appendix 2: Publications 50 Appendix 3: Standards and advice issued 52 Appendix 4: Approved Public Record Office Victoria Storage Suppliers (APROSS) 52 Appendix 5: Approved Places of Deposit for temporary records 53 Appendix 6: VERS-compliant products 54 Appendix 7: Major VERS consultancy projects completed 55 Glossary

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Public Record Office Victoria

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

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Purpose and Objectives Our purpose To support the effective management and use of the public records of the State of Victoria, in order that the government is accountable to the community and its historical memory is preserved, secure and accessible.

What we do Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is established under section 3 of the Public Records Act 1973, ‘for the better preservation, management and utilisation of the public records of the state’.

The Act provides the legal framework in which PROV operates, and specifies the core functions of PROV and the Keeper of Public Records with respect to government records.

These functions, pursuant to sections 7, 11 and 12 of the Act include: • establish standards for the efficient management of public records including creation, maintenance, security, selection of those worthy of preservation, transfer for archiving, and segregation or disposal of those not worthy of preservation • assist public officers to apply these standards to records under their control • take public records into custody, preserve archives and provide security • classify records and publish indexes and guides to facilitate access • provide facilities for viewing, and make records in custody accessible • duplicate or reproduce and authenticate public records

Our objectives • Increase records usage to enable the community to connect with their history.

• Increase government recordkeeping capacity so that a full and accurate record of government is created, captured, maintained and preserved.

• Develop the right people and provide the right tools to deliver PROV’s strategic objectives.

Our values PROV is an administrative office of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and our stated values are based on those of the department: • Integrity: We work to serve the public good. We uphold the ideals of openness and honesty. We provide equality of access to our products and services.

• Leadership: We lead by example. We strive to create positive and productive working relationships. We support, motivate and develop staff to reach their full potential.

• Collaboration: We consult with our clients and stakeholders. We seek, encourage and value the contribution and skills of the people we work with both within and outside the organisation. We provide customer service that best meets the needs of our clients and stakeholders.

• Innovation: We value creativity. We are open to new ideas and different approaches that will achieve the best results. We celebrate our achievements.

Message from the Director

I would like to begin my report by thanking all of our researchers, staff and volunteers for their patience and support during the disruption and noise of our building works this year.

I am pleased to advise that the Victorian Archives Centre is better than ever as a result.

PROV received $3.4 million in the State Budget to undertake the remedial works, as well as $10.4 million over the next four years to operate and maintain the Victorian Archives Centre and secure the physical surrounds of the public records in our care.

It has been an exciting year, with our project to develop new government recordkeeping standards underway and a partnership with the Old Treasury Building that has opened our records to a whole new audience. The design of this year’s report has a digital theme, reflecting a broad range of activities undertaken in this sphere that combine history with the most modern of technologies. We have been exploring the opportunities offered by the internet to engage with researchers in new ways that can benefit us all. Visitors from around the world or around the corner continue to access PROV’s collection through our website – long-term digitisation and indexing projects continued, and we completed a major project to create an online index to 9,000 maps and plans from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Digital and digitised records were transferred from government agencies, including copies of parish plans covering much of Victoria that are now accessible to all through our website. There also continued to be high demand from across government for PROV’s consultancy services and training, as we support agencies in improving their management of digital records.

As ever, I am grateful to the Public Records Advisory Council for their wise counsel, and particularly for their ongoing commitment to the review of the Public Records Act 1973.

I would like to thank Morris Bellamy, who resigned from Council during the year, for his contribution; and welcome David Brown and Susie Zada, whose experience and expertise in records management and local history have been a valuable addition.

This year we said farewell to Shauna Hicks, long time Assistant Director of Access Services.

Shauna will be remembered for overseeing the establishment of PROV’s digitisation program, and her tremendous knowledge of family history and willingness to share this with researchers. We welcomed Graeme Hairsine as our new Assistant Director of Access Services. Some of the exciting new programs planned by Graeme are mentioned in this report.

Finally, I would like to thank former Minister for the Arts Lynne Kosky for her support since PROV has been in the Arts portfolio, and welcome our new Minister, Peter Batchelor, MP to the role.

Justine Heazlewood Director and Keeper of Public Records

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Public Records Advisory Council Establishment and functions The Public Records Advisory Council is established under section 4(1) of the Public Records Act 1973. Under section 5 of the Act, the Council: (a) in consultation with the Keeper of Public Records, shall promote cooperation between the Public Record Office and public offices; and (b) may report and make recommendations to the Minister on any matter relating to the administration of the Act.

Council membership Pursuant to section 4(1A) of the Public Records Act 1973, the Council shall consist of not more than ten members with knowledge and experience in such areas as public administration, local government, records management, business administration, historical research and genealogical research.

Membership of the Council during 2009–2010 comprised: Mr Peter Harmsworth AO (President), Public administration Mr Morris Bellamy, Local government (to 23 February 2010) Mr Jim Berg, Indigenous heritage Mr David Brown, Records management (from 5 November 2009) Prof. Graeme Davison, History (academic) Mr Garth Lampe, Public administration Prof. Sue McKemmish, Information and records management Ms Sarah Rood, History (professional) Ms Susie Zada, History (from 9 September 2009) Ms Penny Hutchinson (Departmental nominee), Department of Premier and Cabinet Secretary: Ms Diane Brodie During the year Mr Morris Bellamy resigned from his position on Council to move overseas.

Morris was an enthusiastic contributor to Council during almost two years of membership.

Council was pleased to welcome two new members during the year: Mr David Brown, Senior Manager, Document Management Program for KPMG International and Ms Susie Zada, a local historian from the Geelong region.

Summary of activities The Council met on five occasions in 2009–2010: 9 July 2009 18 September 2009 26 November 2009 25 February 2010 6 May 2010

Victorian Archives Centre Horsham Victorian Archives Centre Victorian Archives Centre Whittlesea

Supporting the appointment of Council members, preparing Council papers, providing assistance for Council subcommittees and organising regional visits places a significant administrative responsibility on PROV, which it carries out in a highly professional manner.

The Council would like to record its appreciation of the support provided to it by the Keeper of Public Records, Ms Justine Heazlewood, and her staff and to especially thank the Secretary of the Council, Ms Diane Brodie, for her ongoing support and guidance throughout the year.

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Advice to Minister In January 2010 Lynne Kosky, the Minister responsible for the administration of the Public Records Act 1973, resigned from Parliament and Peter Batchelor, MP was appointed as the responsible Minister. The President of PRAC and the Director of PROV hosted a visit by Minister Batchelor to the Victorian Archives Centre in April and briefed him on current issues.

During the year the Council and individual Council members met with Ms Barbara Reed, Principal Consultant with Recordkeeping Innovation, who was engaged by the Department of Premier and Cabinet to undertake a review of the Public Records Act 1973. The Council believes the review is timely and necessary given the significant changes that have occurred in the areas of records management and archival practices over the past thirty years.

Promoting cooperation with public agencies Council meetings Each year, two Council meetings are held in regional or outer-metropolitan locations, with PROV staff presenting information sessions for researchers and local government records management staff in conjunction with these meetings.

In September 2009, two days of sessions were attended by more than sixty participants in Horsham, while at Whittlesea forty-eight participants attended a half-day session in May 2010.

A new initiative taken by Council this year was for Council, while attending a regional meeting, to meet key stakeholders from the local area, including representatives from community history groups and local government staff, to discuss relevant issues affecting them. The first such meeting was held at Whittlesea, where the focus of discussions was on disaster preparation and recovery in the wake of the tragic Black Saturday bushfires.

Members of the Public Records Advisory Council: (from left) Garth Lampe, Graeme Davison, Susie Zada, Peter Harmsworth, Sarah Rood and Jim Berg.

Disposal Subcommittee The Disposal Subcommittee of Council provides technical advice to PROV and agencies on proposed retention and disposal authorities (RDAs). RDAs are the principal way PROV assists agencies to comply with the standards promulgated by the Keeper of Public Records in relation to the preservation and disposal of public records. The Council sees its involvement with the RDA approval process as an integral component of its legislative charter in promoting cooperation between PROV and public agencies. During the year the Subcommittee reviewed and provided comment on fourteen RDAs from a diversity of departments and public offices.

Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards Since 1998 the Council has hosted the annual Sir Rupert Hamer Awards to recognise excellence and innovation in records management across the Victorian public sector.

The Hon. John Cain and the Hon. Jeff Kennett, previous Victorian premiers and now patrons of the awards, attended as special guests this year.

Support for PROV During the year the Council was able to provide advice and insights to the Keeper of Public Records about significant activities and issues being dealt with by PROV. Council members were also involved on judging panels for both the Local History Grants Program and the Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards.

Peter Harmsworth AO President, Public Records Advisory Council

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Overview Administration Executive Headed by Justine Heazlewood, Director and Keeper of Public Records, the executive unit is located at 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; phone (03) 9348 5600.

Act administered – Public Records Act 1973 PROV’s operations are governed by the Public Records Act 1973, which defines the role of both the Keeper of Public Records and the organisation. The Act is available for inspection on the PROV website, www.prov.vic.gov.au, and at our North Melbourne and Ballarat offices.

Regulations made and administered Regulations are made under section 23 of the Public Records Act 1973 and are known as the Public Records Regulations 2003.

The Regulations prescribe fees for making and supplying copies of public records and set out conditions for the inspection of public records and use of facilities provided by PROV. All Regulations are available for inspection on the PROV website at www.prov.vic.gov.au/ about/corporate.asp and at both of our offices.

Portfolio responsibility The Department of Premier and Cabinet, through Arts Victoria, has portfolio responsibility for PROV. PROV is an administrative office under the Public Administration Act 2004.

Freedom of Information Requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 are handled through the Department of Premier and Cabinet Freedom of Information officer. For information about categories of documents maintained by PROV, refer to the Department of Premier and Cabinet website at www.dpc.vic.gov.au.

Protected disclosure The Whistleblower’s Protection Act 2001 promotes accountability and transparency in the public sector, which will in turn increase public confidence in the workings of government.

The procedures implemented by PROV in relation to protected disclosure can be found in the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s 2009–2010 annual report. In accordance with section 104 of the Act, PROV reports that no disclosures were made to it during the reporting year.

Public Record Office Victoria standards and authorities PROV issues standards for records management and authorities for retention and disposal under section 12 of the Public Records Act 1973. A full list of current PROV standards and authorities is provided on PROV’s website at www.prov.vic.gov.au/records/standards.asp and at both of our offices.

Department of Premier and Cabinet annual report Further information about PROV’s performance during 2009–2010, including financial and staffing data, is included in the annual report of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, available at www.dpc.vic.gov.au.

Contacts As at 30 June 2010, PROV operated two public reading rooms and had 75 staff members working in four operational areas.

Public reading rooms Email: ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au Victorian Archives Centre Harry Nunn Reading Room 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 Australia Phone: (03) 9348 5600 Ballarat Archives Centre State Government Offices Corner of Mair and Doveton Streets Ballarat VIC 3350 Australia Phone: (03) 5333 6611

Government Services Assistant Director: David Brown Phone: (03) 9348 5621 Email: david.brown@prov.vic.gov.au Agency enquiries: prov.agency.queries@prov.vic.gov.au

Access Services Assistant Director: Graeme Hairsine Phone: (03) 9348 5727 Email: graeme.hairsine@prov.vic.gov.au Public enquiries: ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au

Corporate Services Assistant Director: Greg Schinck Phone: (03) 9348 5615 Email: greg.schinck@prov.vic.gov.au

Information Services Chief Information Officer: Lucy Hastewell Phone: (03) 9348 5653 Email: lucy.hastewell@prov.vic.gov.au

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Organisational structure

Minister for the Arts

Secretary Department of Premier and Cabinet

Director Arts Victoria

Director PROV

Public Records Advisory Council

Government Services

Access Services

Corporate Services

Information Services

Standards and Assessment

Online Access

Finance and Risk Management

Communication and Marketing

Government Recordkeeping

Collection Services

Organisational Development

Technology Services

Community Archives

Facilities

Information Management

Government Services Government Services supports best-practice records management across the Victorian public sector. This is done through: • utilising and valuing the knowledge and commitment of PROV staff • developing and supporting the implementation of best-practice records management processes and policies across the whole of Victorian government • building partnerships with stakeholders to raise PROV’s profile • identifying and preserving records of permanent value • making records more visible and accessible through new technology and better-aligned documentation, transfer and disposal practices

Access Services The goal of Access Services is to ensure that our unique collection is widely known and accessible to the people and government of Victoria. This is achieved through: • a program of exhibitions, publications, educational resources and outreach activities • the provision of public reading room services and online access to PROV’s collection and research tools • the preservation of archives within their region of origin, ensuring equality of access for communities in regional Victoria • culturally appropriate services, procedures and tools that enhance access by the Koorie community • the transmission to clients of knowledge about the collection • the issuing of records in a manner that meets government needs and community expectations

Corporate Services Corporate Services supports staff across PROV through provision of the following services: • budgeting and financial management and reporting • risk management • human resource management and organisational development • facilities management • environmental planning and reporting • strategic planning and reporting

Information Services This section enables PROV to more efficiently create, communicate, manage and store information through the following services: • recordkeeping and registry • information management • information communication technology • communications and marketing

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Corporate Plan 2007–2010 PROV’s three-year business planning is based around three goals. In 2009–2010 a number of priorities were identified to achieve these goals:

Increase records usage to enable the community to connect with their history • Provide better access to records • Provide leadership to community archives and promote recordkeeping to communities

Increase government recordkeeping capacity so that a full and accurate record of government is created, captured, maintained and preserved • Review and redevelop PROV recordkeeping standards • Design and deliver services which will enhance recordkeeping within agencies

Develop the right people and provide the right tools to deliver PROV’s strategic objectives • Maintain and improve our physical and technical infrastructure • Improve our internal and external communications and feedback mechanisms including information management • Meet the government’s policy and probity requirements with a focus on financial, risk management and environmental outcomes • Manage a review of PROV legislation • Build a high performing and motivated organisation Detailed information about our activities can be found under these headings in the next section of this report.

Report on performance

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Highlights 2009–2010 Guidance provided on new Evidence Act PROV undertook an extensive project to inform government agencies about records management implications of the Evidence Act 2008, which came into effect during the year.

Six documents were released and a series of information sessions held to provide guidance on a section of the Act that for the first time enables agencies to destroy original hard copy records once they have been scanned. For more details see page 39.

New standards for good recordkeeping in the Victorian government The first stage of a two-year project to review and redevelop PROV’s entire range of recordkeeping standards has been completed. PROV’s standards set out requirements for the creation, maintenance and use of public records and provide guidance to government agencies for meeting these requirements. The project’s key goal is to improve the standard of recordkeeping across the Victorian government. This year saw the establishment of a governance framework, including setting up a project board; extensive consultation with records management professionals from a range of state and local government agencies, as well as with Victoria’s regulatory bodies; and the drafting of the first two new standards.

For more information about the recordkeeping standards project, see page 37.

Landmark agreement to protect Ballarat’s cultural collections PROV led the development of Australia’s first regional disaster management agreement for cultural collections, which was launched in May. Ballarat’s key historical and cultural organisations signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at protecting the region’s priceless collections, and providing assistance to each other in emergencies or disasters.

For details, see page 33.

Community archives coordinator Lauren Bourke (right) points out some Ballarat ‘treasures’ to guests at the launch of the Ballarat Collections Network Memorandum of Understanding.

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An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark A 1951 all-Aboriginal theatre performance is the subject of PROV’s newest travelling exhibition. An Aboriginal Moomba: ‘Out of the Dark’ comprises photographs from PROV’s collection and images reproduced from the personal scrapbook of political activist and film-maker Bill Onus. The theatrical performance, held at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre, was developed in response to the absence of any Indigenous content for the celebrations of the centenary of Victoria and the fiftieth anniversary of Federation in Australia. The performance was enthusiastically received by audiences and highly acclaimed by critics.

The exhibition is available for loan to community groups and organisations and has proved to be very popular.

Comprehensive reference to land records launched After more than a decade of research, Lands Guide: a guide to finding records of Crown land at Public Record Office Victoria was published during the year. The guide aims to make some of PROV’s more complex and popular plans and files easier to find, access and use.

John Tulloch, Surveyor General of Victoria, formally launched the guide in February.

See page 26 for more details about the guide.

New records in the archives Coinciding with the publication of the Lands Guide, digital copies of almost 5,000 parish and township plans covering Crown land across Victoria were transferred to PROV and made publicly available through the website. Other records added to the archives during the year include a large collection of rail and tramway records previously stored at the Department of Transport’s Spotswood facility, and records from the Supreme Court including divorce cause books and criminal record books. Read more about these and other significant transfers of records to PROV on page 23.

Grants awarded for local history projects Eighty-one community groups received funding to help tell their stories, in the latest round of the Local History Grants Program. Minister for the Arts Peter Batchelor, MP announced the recipients of grants totalling $353,871 in May 2010. The program supports projects that record and publicly present stories of Victoria’s history. This year successful projects to receive funding included an illustrated booklet providing an interpretation of how the ancestors of the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Clans used the piece of country now known as Kooyoora State Park, and a history of volunteer fire brigades across Victoria. For more information on the program see page 32.

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North Melbourne reading room refurbished The Harry Nunn Reading Room at the Victorian Archives Centre underwent a facelift in April 2010, with the aim of providing a more effective service for researchers.

Improvements include a wider entrance for better wheelchair access, a new training room, and relocation of the microfiche area.

PROV exhibitions at the Old Treasury Building Some of PROV’s treasures are now on display at the Old Treasury Building in the city, as part of a new program which will provide greater access to the state’s archives.

PROV is developing a series of exhibitions that will showcase key records from Victoria’s history at the Old Treasury Building, together with supporting online educational material.

The first exhibition, Victorian Archival Treasures, was launched in May 2010 at an open day that included talks by leading historians and family activities. The exhibition features original documents from PROV’s collection such as the only known letter in Ned Kelly’s handwriting and Robert Hoddle’s Melbourne street plan and field book.

The Old Treasury Building partnership provides a wonderful opportunity for PROV to showcase the variety of fascinating historic records that are held in Victoria’s state archives.

The exhibition program has been designed to support the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, in particular history and civics and citizenship. School tours conducted by qualified teachers allow students to discover the stories attached to rare and interesting historical documents, maps and photographs. For more information on PROV’s exhibitions, see page 30.

Rectification works project completed within budget A program of major building works was successfully completed at the Victorian Archives Centre to restore the building to a forty year lifespan and ensure that the archival collection of PROV continues to be preserved in state-of-the-art facilities. See page 44 for details.

Excellence in records management recognised The Sir Rupert Hamer Awards for Records Management recognised the efforts of government agencies and community groups in preserving Victoria’s heritage at a ceremony in May 2010. Receiving awards were the Municipal Association of Victoria, Department of Transport, Bellarine Historical Society, Brighton Historical Society, Shire of Campaspe, City of Boroondara and Department of Human Services. Among the 120 guests at the event were former premiers the Hon. Jeff Kennett and the Hon. John Cain, both patrons of the awards, Judy Maddigan, MP and Victorian Auditor-General Des Pearson.

A keynote speech was delivered by Richard Suhr, head of Google Enterprise, Asia Pacific.

For information on the winning projects see page 41.

Achievements of staff Awards The work of PROV staff and volunteers was recognised with several awards in 2009–2010: PROV’s 2008 collaborative publication with the National Archives of Australia, Footprints: The Journey of Lucy and Percy Pepper, was recognised by the Australian Society of Archivists with a 2009 Mander Jones Award. Footprints won in the category: ‘Best publication that uses, features or interprets Australian archives, written by or on behalf of a corporate body’.

PROV’s leadership in the establishment of the Ballarat Collections Network and memorandum of understanding was ‘Highly Commended’ at the Arts Portfolio Leadership Awards 2009 (see page 33 for details of the project).

PROV’s volunteers were also recognised at the awards for outstanding volunteer contribution.

Joan Hunt received an International Women’s Day award from the Shire of Golden Plains in March 2010 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the local community.

She was also made an Honorary Life Member of the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society in November 2009 ‘in recognition of her significant contributions’ to the society.

Asa Letourneau was co-winner of the State Government’s VPS Hack Day, February 2010; and with Abigail Belfrage was part of a small team that won the App My State Hack Day in May 2010. (see page 28)

At the 2009 Mander Jones Awards ceremony (from left), PROV online editor and projects officer Sebastian Gurciullo, and Anne Mclean of National Archives of Australia, who accepted the award for Footprints, with Cassandra Findlay, secretary of the Awards Committee.

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Professional committees Aside from their roles at PROV, a number of staff make a significant contribution to their professions through membership of committees: Tsari Anderson: secretary, Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce; secretary, Victorian Aboriginal Advisory Group Lauren Bourke: member, City of Ballarat Heritage Advisory Committee; secretary, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre Operations Committee David Brown: member, Australian Society of Archivists Melbourne 2010 Conference Committee Diane Gardiner: chair, History Council of Victoria Graeme Hairsine: member, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre Committee of Management, Stolen Generations Victoria Board of Directors Justine Heazlewood: convenor, Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (until 31 Dec 2009, thereafter member); convenor, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; board member, Collections Council of Australia; member, IT-21 Records Management Committee, Standards Australia; chair, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre, Committee of Management; member, Collections Committee of the Board of the State Library of Victoria; member, Advisory Board, Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics, Monash University; member, Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce; member, Victorian Aboriginal Advisory Group; member, Australian Society of Archivists Melbourne 2010 Conference Committee Joan Hunt: council member, Royal Historical Society of Victoria; Victorian delegate, Federation of Australian Historical Societies Allison Hunter: secretary, Records Management Association of Australasia; co-secretary (until March 2010), Australian Society of Archivists Melbourne 2010 Conference Committee Asa Letourneau: Victorian state liaison officer, Australian Memory of the World Committee Tracey Manallack: member, Geelong Heritage Centre Committee of Management; member, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre Operations Committee James McKinnon: minute secretary, Australian Society of Archivists Inc. (Victorian Branch) Kye O’Donnell: business excellence evaluator, Australian Business Excellence Awards Evaluation Panel; member, Australian Society of Archivists Melbourne 2010 Conference Committee Marg Sawyers: member, City of Ballarat Heritage Promotions and Outreach Subcommittee Greg Schinck: chair, Ombudsman Victoria Audit and Risk Committee Daniel Wilksch: president, Museums Australia (Victoria) branch committee

Conference and seminar presentations In addition to PROV’s formal seminar programs, noted in the operations section of this report, staff expertise and knowledge are shared through presentations at various conferences and seminars. In 2009–2010, these included: Australian Society of Archivists Conference, Brisbane 2009 Sebastian Gurciullo and Shauna Hicks: ‘Do more with less: Collaboration is the key!’

Dragon Tails: Re-Interpreting Chinese-Australian Heritage (Monash University conference), Ballarat 2009 Diane Gardiner: ‘Outcomes of the travelling exhibition Forgotten Faces’

Family History Feast (State Library of Victoria), Melbourne 2009 Tara Hossack: ‘PROV online and in person’ Future Perfect: Digital Continuity Conference, Wellington 2010 Andrew Waugh: ‘Digital information management: Standards and compliance in government’ Managing Electronic Information and eDiscovery (ARK Group), Sydney 2009 Adelaide Parr: ‘Establishing a classification scheme to archive your electronic information’ The National Records and Information Officers’ Forum (Liquid Learning), Melbourne 2010 Andrew Waugh: ‘Managing converted records’ Professional Development Seminar (Records Management Association of Australasia Victorian Branch Council), Melbourne 2009 Allison Hunter: ‘Professional status upgrade’ (with Andrew Gipp) Public Sector Digital Preservation (ARK Group), Sydney 2010 Andrew Waugh: ‘Establishing standards’ Records Management Association of Australasia Convention: Striving 4 Balance, Adelaide 2009 Allison Hunter: ‘Walking the IM tightrope: Simple solutions to capturing instant messages as records’; ‘Preserving evidence: Balancing evidential integrity and accessibility in electronic records’ Victorian Family History Conference: The Border and Beyond (Victorian Association of Family History Organisations), Mulwala 2010 Charlie Farrugia: ‘Convicted and neglected: Researching Victorian wards of state 1864–c1960 at PROV’ Victorian Privacy Network, Melbourne 2009 and 2010 Ricky Tuck: ‘Information privacy and recordkeeping systems’ Warrnambool Family History Seminar, Warrnambool 2010 Joan Hunt: ‘Usual and unusual sources of family history research’ The Wills Family History Convention, Collingwood 2010 Daniel Wilksch: ‘Burke and Wills expedition official records’

Published works Kye O’Donnell: An investigation into methods for capturing corporate knowledge: A study in an Australian local government context, VDM Verlag, Saarbrücken, 2009.

Kathy Sinclair: ‘Victoria: The keep-it-all state? The impact on archives of the Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2006 and the Evidence (Document Unavailability) Act 2006’, Archivaria, issue 69 – Archives and The Law Special Issue, April 2010.

Allison Hunter: ‘Walking the IM tightrope: Some simple solutions to capturing instant messages as corporate records’, Information Quarterly (Records Management Association of Australasia Journal), vol. 26, issue 1, February 2010.

Allison Hunter: ‘Book review: Significance 2.0’, Information Quarterly, vol. 26, issue 1, February 2010.

Allison Hunter: ‘Book review: PARBICA Toolkit’, Archives & Manuscripts, vol. 38, no. 1, May 2010.

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Output measures 2009–2010 Output: Records Quantity

Target

Actual

Retention and disposal authorities issued

15

15

Retention and disposal authorities reviewed

68

601

Shelf metres of hard copy records preserved 2

Digital records preserved

88,000

89,575

100,000

68,2743

Participants in records management education and training programs

580

607

VERS departmental consultations2

100

1144

2

105

Additional VERS software products certified Quality % Collection stored to industry standard2 % Client satisfaction

100

100

90

836

90

1007

Timeliness % Agencies notified of retention and disposal authority expiry within specified timeframe

Output: Access Quantity

Target

Actual

Records issued

50,000

50,501

Visitors2

70,000

407,4808

580,000

1,008,1759

15,500

13,15510

5,000

7,24411

90

836

95

95

Online visitors2 Volunteer hours2 Participants in public education, training and outreach programs Quality % Visitors satisfied with visit2 Timeliness % Records issued within specific timeframes2 1

The retention and disposal authority review program was changed to reflect a level that was sustainable with available resources.

2

These outputs are presented in the Department of Treasury and Finance Budget Paper No. 3 – 2009–10 Service Delivery.

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More than 100,000 digital records were transferred from agencies in the required VERS encapsulated format. However, approximately 40,000 were not able to be processed fully due to technical problems that were being resolved.

4

Demand for consultations has been strong and improving generally.

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Increased recognition of the VERS standard, including by the South Australian Government, has encouraged product vendors to apply for certification at greater rates than anticipated.

6

Reduced client response levels primarily attributable to extended reading room closures during the building works.

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Improved processes implemented in 2008–2009 resulted in improved performance. This was consolidated in 2009–2010 to become standard practice.

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Visitors comprised reading rooms 14,859 (target 15,500) and exhibitions 392,621 (target 54,500).

The number and popularity of touring exhibitions, in particular new exhibitions, greatly exceeded expectations.

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Ongoing popularity of new online initiatives, together with site reorganisation, contributed to higher online visitation.

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Numbers were lower throughout the year in reaction to the partial building closures (rectification works).

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Increased numbers due to higher than anticipated requests for PROV public speaking presentations.

Increase records usage to enable the community to connect with their history Provide better access to records Archives created: records transferred to PROV Records of permanent value documenting the activities of some forty-nine past and present Victorian government agencies were transferred to PROV during the year. In addition, records of forty-one Parliamentary committees, some dating from the mid-nineteenth century, were archived.

Transfers of particular significance include: • 5,000 digitised parish and township working plans from the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Bendigo office, which can now be accessed through PROV’s website • The first M2006 Commonwealth Games records (transferred to PROV’s digital archive) • An extensive collection of rail and tramway records from the Department of Transport, including a large volume of railway rolling stock drawings and tracings dating from 1879 to 2006, and consignments of the Secretary’s inward registered correspondence series • Nineteenth and twentieth century records from the Supreme Court, including divorce cause books and an index to these books 1924–1976, criminal record books 1940–1964 and Master in Lunacy maintenance ledgers 1868–1916 • A variety of documents created in the course of conducting funerals, burials and cremations at Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park 1906–1981; records of The Trustees of the Necropolis, Springvale, including subject correspondence files and records of meetings of the trustees; and records of the St Kilda General Cemetery Trust, including subject correspondence files 1881–1967 • Records of the former Timber Promotion Council, established in 1969 to promote the use of timber, including meeting minutes and papers, correspondence, films and photographs covering the life of the council from 1969 to 2005 • Hardcopy correspondence files of the Office of Commonwealth Games Coordination dating from 1996 to 2007 Major transfer projects relating to the winding-up of the Victorian health practitioner registration boards, the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, and the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s historic collection of ‘put-away’ parish and township plans commenced during the year.

In addition, a software tool was implemented at the Department of Human Services to assist with the future transfer of digitised copies of vital records such as those of former wards of state.

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Transfer review In late 2009 PROV commenced a major review of our transfer approach and processes.

Led by an external provider, the review involved staff from both the government and public access sections of PROV, in consultation with staff from various government agencies.

The project reviewed and made recommendations regarding: • the approach taken by PROV to sourcing, prioritising, negotiating and managing the transfer of custody of records of all formats from government agencies • the processes followed by PROV when managing the transfer of custody of records from government agencies, including negotiating with agencies and scheduling transfers; advising agencies on record processing, description requirements and access; identifying record series and provenance; entering descriptive data into PROV’s archival control system; and placing digital records into PROV’s digital archive As a result of the review, an improvement program will begin in 2010–2011, with implementation planned for the next three to five years.

Reading rooms and record retrievals PROV operates two public reading rooms, at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne and at the Ballarat Archives Centre.

The layout of the reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre was redesigned during the year as part of changes made to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of services for researchers. Key improvements to the physical layout include better access for mobilityimpaired visitors, and a new training room that provides better facilities for government recordkeeping training and will enable PROV’s public seminar program to be expanded.

To complement the physical changes, new resources have been developed, including audio and video tutorials that introduce the archives and explain how to undertake research.

The Ballarat Archives Centre reading room will also undergo a refurbishment, in early 2010–2011.

A total of 14,859 people visited the two reading rooms and were issued 37,007 records.

An additional 13,494 records were issued to government agencies outside the reading rooms and for internal PROV use. The numbers of both visitors and records issued were lower than the previous year.

At a celebration marking the completion of a project to index medical ward books from the former Melbourne Hospital were (from left): PROV records and archives analyst Indrani Henderson, Mrs de Kretser, Susan Sherson of Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victorian Governor Professor David de Kretser, AC, and Clive Luckman of the Genealogical Society of Victoria.

One of the most significant transfers to PROV in 2008–2009 was a collection of medical ward books from the Melbourne Hospital, dating from 1856 to 1905. This year saw the completion of a very successful collaborative project between the Genealogical Society of Victoria, Royal Melbourne Hospital and PROV to index these records. The ward books provide a fascinating record of medical treatment and life in nineteenth century Melbourne and are accessible at the Victorian Archives Centre reading room.

Among the most interesting enquiries PROV received this year was a request to assist the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in piecing together the story of Ned Kelly’s skull.

A skull believed to be Kelly’s was stolen from Old Melbourne Gaol in the 1970s and apparently resurfaced several years ago. Investigators from the institute have been trying to establish whether the skull is Kelly’s and spent some time looking at public records, including Kelly’s inquest file and records around the transfer of remains from the Old Melbourne Gaol cemetery to Pentridge Prison in 1929. A conclusion has not been reached to date.

Records issued number of records 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0

Government agencies Public users 2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

year

Visitors to reading rooms number of visitors 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000

Ballarat Archives Centre

0

Victorian Archives Centre 2005/06 year

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

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Improving access to the collection through PROV’s website Increasing the number of records and indexes that can be searched and viewed online is an important way that PROV can improve access to the archives, and will be a focus throughout the next few years.

During 2009–2010, PROV set about establishing a framework that will support this growing emphasis on digitisation of records. A policy was developed that sets out the principles by which PROV will digitise records and enter into partnerships with other organisations to digitise our records; a pilot project testing PROV’s digitisation procedures and technology was carried out to identify how digitising of records and the transfer of digitised records could be improved; and we sought to develop partnerships with community and commercial organisations to undertake digitisation projects.

One such partnership has been in place since 2004 with FamilySearch (the Genealogical Society of Utah), whose volunteers have been working on digitising wills and probate papers in PROV’s collection dated up to 1925. This project was completed during 2009–2010 and a smaller project commenced to digitise inquest records. Although the project was on hiatus for three months while renovations were undertaken at the Victorian Archives Centre, some 350,000 pages were copied during the year. FamilySearch volunteers also continued work on an index to wills and probate files that allows researchers to search on PROV’s website and view digital copies of the records. Around 60,000 additional wills and probate files were made available on the website this year.

A year-long project to improve access to maps and plans at the Victorian Archives Centre was completed in March 2010. Volunteers and staff prepared description lists for some 9,000 plans from the Surveyor General’s Historic Plan Collection, which contains documents dating from the 1830s to the 1980s. Data from these plans can now be searched via an online index, allowing researchers to identify and download information including the title of the plan, the name of the surveyor, geographical areas covered, and elements in the plan such as topography and vegetation. The project also involved conservation of records and the building of purpose-made containers to hold the plans.

A further five-year instalment (1897–1901) of the popular Index of Outward Passenger Lists was completed and published online during the year. This major project, begun in 2006, allows anyone to search on our website for the names of passengers who left Victoria by ship. For the latest instalment, PROV’s volunteers compiled more than a quarter of a million names, including Mr Banjo Paterson who was recorded travelling to New Zealand in 1901.

The Uhl index – a collection of thousands of cards providing details of individual criminal trial briefs from 1841 to 1861 – was transcribed during the year. A spreadsheet of the index will be placed on the PROV wiki early in 2010–2011, enabling researchers to extract information that can be used to order the relevant criminal trial brief. The spreadsheet will eventually be turned into a searchable online database.

Launch of PROV’s Lands Guide PROV’s much-anticipated reference resource for accessing records of Crown land in Victoria dating back to the early 1800s was released in February. Lands Guide: a guide to finding records of Crown land at Public Record Office Victoria was the culmination of more than a decade of research by PROV historians and archivists.

The publication caters to a wide range of research interests and covers topics such as: information about the history of land in a particular location; environment, industry and infrastructure; residential and soldier settlements; and research into ancestors and land ownership in Victoria. It can be purchased as a book, CD-ROM or downloadable PDF. Assistance from the Department of Sustainability and Environment was instrumental in producing the guide, which addresses a high demand from professional historians, students and the general public for information on how best to research Crown land records.

Coinciding with the publication of the Lands Guide, digital copies of more than 4,500 parish plans were made available on the PROV website.

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Guests at the launch of PROV’s Lands Guide were treated to a rare viewing of the giant 1862 Land Act Map of Victoria, which was brought out for the event.

Records newly accessible to the public Each year a selection of records that have previously been closed to the public for privacy reasons become available. In 2010 these included: • records of employment history, such as teacher record books and registration files from the 1950s and 1960s, and employee history sheets for Victorian railway workers from 1886 to 1954 • documents from the early 1930s on prisoners facing the death penalty and medical journals, registers and admission warrants of patients from Sunbury and Kew asylums • Children’s Court registers covering Caulfield, Richmond and Ballarat courts from 1910 PROV’s collection includes a large number of records that were transferred to our custody decades ago with little supporting information, and that were never entered into the online catalogue. For several years, PROV has been progressively locating information on these records and entering this into the catalogue, to enable the records to be searched and ordered. This year seventy-eight such ‘legacy series’ were added to the PROV online catalogue.

Undocumented Victoria Police records relating to Ned Kelly were discovered in the archives; these have now been listed in the online catalogue, digitised, and will be available on PROV’s website in July 2010. In addition, plans created for the 1956 Olympic Games, including drawings of venues, routes and buildings, were documented for the first time and details placed in the online catalogue.

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Online engagement Internet technology offers exciting opportunities to change the relationship between an archive and its users and give researchers greater input into how records are used and described. PROV has been exploring how online tools can improve access to the archives, promote a better understanding of the collection through shared knowledge, and improve communication among PROV and our researchers.

PROVcommunity, an online news and discussion forum, was established during the year.

The site provides a virtual meeting place where researchers can share ideas, discuss their research and ask questions about the Victorian state archives. Members can add photographs and videos, view the latest news in the archives world, form groups, and meet like-minded people. PROVcommunity can be found at provcommunity.ning.com.

In May 2010 two PROV staff were part of a team that won the App My State Hack Day, a competition to create an internet or mobile phone application within twenty-four hours.

Their entry was ‘Journeys’, a website that layers maps, photographs and other digitised images from PROV’s collection onto a Google map, using a ‘mash up’ approach. Users can virtually fly over landscapes populated with images or maps relating to that landscape.

Although ‘Journeys’ was conducted by staff members as a private venture, PROV is now looking at how the skills and knowledge they acquired can be used to develop similar projects. The website can be accessed at www.vicjourneys.com.

The PROV wiki, established in 2008, aims to enrich the information available about records held at PROV, by enabling members of the public and staff to share stories and contribute their knowledge. Similar to the website ‘wikipedia’, anyone can log on and add content to the wiki. Users provide extra details around particular records or images of historical events, offer guidance and advice on accessing records, share information discovered during research, and collaborate with others online in group projects. The wiki was visited some 30,000 times during the year, with the 1956 Melbourne Olympic photos, the Women’s Suffrage Petition 1891, and the Ned Kelly sites the most visited. The PROV wiki is located at http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au.

This year, the PROVchannel was launched on YouTube, enabling PROV seminars and instructional videos to be made available to a wider audience; and we also began using Twitter to provide brief updates to interested users.

A webpage was created to help people from non-English speaking backgrounds use the archives, and to highlight stories in the archives that reflect our multicultural society. This will be expanded during 2010–2011 and can be found at www.prov.vic.gov.au/about/CALD.asp.

The website also saw the addition of the PROV Shop, enabling our publications to be ordered online. Products can be paid for online using a credit card, or by cheque or money order through the mail. The PROV Shop can be visited at www.prov.vic.gov.au/provshop.

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Seminars, events and tours The annual ‘Shake Your Family Tree’ event was again hosted at the Victorian Archives Centre in February, with 280 family history enthusiasts attending talks, workshops and tours.

PROV staff presented a range of public seminars throughout the year at the Victorian Archives Centre, as well as in Ballarat, Horsham, Geelong and various locations in Melbourne, including as part of Women’s History Month and the Victorian Seniors Week Festival. Staff also spoke at a number of indigenous seminars, including the AlburyWodonga Aboriginal Health Service Family History Information Day. In addition, staff gave talks by invitation to a range of organisations and to student groups from La Trobe, Swinburne, Melbourne, Ballarat, Charles Sturt, Deakin and Victoria universities.

Recordings of several PROV seminars and events are available as podcasts on PROV’s website at www.prov.vic.gov.au/provcasts.

Copyright The past ten years have seen many changes to copyright law. These have included the introduction of the new ‘flexible exception’ allowing archives and libraries to make novel uses of copyrighted material in their collections; and formal recognition of moral rights as a category of copyright. At the same time, PROV began to expand the ways in which we make our holdings available, including via online access, partnership projects, and user-driven digitisation.

In 2009–2010, PROV examined how moral rights should be understood in the context of our work and implemented in publication and digitisation programs. A thorough audit of the current copyright questions posed by our holdings was performed and expert opinions sought. This process is expected to lead to a comprehensive PROV copyright manual which will guide both staff and researchers in their work.

PROV is also involved in sector-wide dialogue about copyright management in an archival context and is taking a ground-breaking approach to managing copyright issues in partnerships, in a model which will serve the entire national archival community.

Members of the public can add information to PROV’s wiki about the 30,000 women who signed the 1891 Women’s Suffrage Petition.

Pages on individual women are linked to the digital copy of the petition on the Parliament of Victoria’s website.

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Exhibitions PROV has partnered with the Old Treasury Building to develop a series of exhibitions for display at their site. The exhibition program is designed to complement the historic nature of the building and provide material of interest to tourists and other visitors on relevant topics such as early Melbourne, development of democratic government, Indigenous Victorians, and other key historical milestones in the evolution of government in Victoria. Most topics chosen are relevant to the history and civics and citizenship areas of the primary and secondary schools curriculum, and PROV has developed online educational material to accompany the exhibitions.

The first exhibition in the series, Victorian Archival Treasures, opened in June 2010 and features original documents, maps and photographs from PROV’s collection, as well as multimedia displays.

For more information and education resources visit www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au.

A new online exhibition, Water Stories, forms part of our efforts to draw the public’s attention to current environmental concerns, and was developed at the same time as PROV began collecting rainwater from the roof of the Victorian Archives Centre (see page 45 for details of this project). The exhibition explores Victoria’s changing economic, environmental and cultural relationship with water, telling the history of Melbourne’s water supplies, waterways, and drainage and sewerage systems through plans, drawings, photographs and letters.

It includes an education kit with teacher notes and student activities.

Australian fashion of the 1960s and 1970s took centre stage at the Victorian Archives Centre when PROV hosted Strike a Pose...with Lee Lin Chin from September to November 2009. The National Archives of Australia touring exhibition included eighty-nine images taken

by Australian Government photographers of the time to promote the burgeoning fashion industry to local and overseas markets. Fashion icon and SBS World News presenter Lee Lin Chin was guest curator for the exhibition.

PROV’s newest travelling exhibition, An Aboriginal Moomba: ‘Out of the Dark’, is a collection of photographs taken at an all-Indigenous theatrical display in Melbourne in 1951. Almost 1,200 visitors saw the exhibition at the Victorian Archives Centre during July and August 2009, before it joined PROV’s suite of travelling exhibitions that are available for loan to community groups and organisations. Since its launch as a touring exhibition in September 2009, An Aboriginal Moomba has visited twelve venues throughout Victoria and has back-to-back bookings until 2011. The new exhibition is based on a 2008 exhibition, Making a Show of It, Indigenous Entertainers and Entrepreneurs in 1950s Melbourne, which was developed by the City Gallery in partnership with PROV. During the year the Victorian Archives Centre also hosted the travelling exhibition Ned Kelly: Fact and Fiction (National Museum of Australia) and the Ballarat Gold Museum’s Objects, Faces, Places: Community Museums, celebrating the community museums of the Victorian Goldfields.

PROV records were also on loan to several significant exhibitions, including: • A Building with a Soul – the History of the Shrine of Remembrance at the Shrine of Remembrance, November 2009 – May 2010 • The New South Wales Historic Houses Trust’s Convict Hulks: Life on the Prison Ships at Hyde Park Barracks, August 2009 – August 2010 • The Melbourne Story at The Melbourne Museum, October 2008 – October 2009 • Australia’s Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland, 1860s–1930s at the Immigration Museum, January – October 2010

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Volunteers program PROV’s dedicated volunteers undertake a range of activities that improve access to records in the collection, support staff, and allow us to offer additional resources and services for researchers.

This year 109 volunteers contributed a total of 13,155 hours. Projects included processing the historic plan collection (page 26) and land selection files, editing annotations in the Lands Guide (page 26), indexing outward passenger lists (page 26) and prison registers, working on the Koorie Index of Names project (page 35), and creating and editing record description lists. Volunteers also conducted ‘behind the scenes’ tours of the Victorian Archives Centre for members of the public and maintained PROV’s technical library.

We are indebted to our volunteers for their efforts during the year: Andrew Thompson Anh Dinh Anyah Chuah April Kitchenham Barbara Minchinton Bernadette Griffiths Beryl Mainon Beth Codling Betty Keay Brian Dixon Carole Field Celena Hobbins Claudia Gulli Constance Eastwood Dawn Riddel Dawn Walduck Diane McCall Dianne Carmody Dianne Hughes Dot Skewes Edna Lowe Eileen Porter Elizabeth Brown Elizabeth Buckle Fiona Swift Flora Walker Gail Thornthwaite

Gavin Faichney Geoff Currey Gordon Dadswell Graeme Cardillo Graeme Dawson Graham Bence Grazina Ramanauskas Gregory Hall Halina Porecki Helen Lunt Helen Rowe Ian Braybrook Ingrid Hood Irene Kearsey Jean Smith John Bolt John Killian John MacKinnon Jon Rennison Judith Mason Judith Vardy Judy Johnston Julie Chippindale Kathleen Goodman Katrina Hodgson Keith Thomas Ken MacKenzie

Ken Walduck Keng Chong Kim Clayton-Greene Laurice Cross Leanne Goss Leonie Marshall Les Sharf Levina Mbugua Lisa Nyugen Liz Grant Liz Raven Louise Jesson Maggie Robinson Marcel Gerner Margaret Wright Maria Baker Marie Rogers Marjory Knight Marlene Gray Mary Maxwell Maureen McAuley Maureen Molloy Millie Marsh Neil Morris Neil Robinson Noel Logan Nugul Ozsoy

Nuwan Ramawicarama Pamela Weller Patricia Porigneaux Rosalie Palmer Rosalind Faichney Rosemary Simpson Sara Hardy Sharmila Suthakaran Shirley Krumnow Steven McMillan Stevie Brownsea Sue Dawson Sue Rickard Susan Minetti Thuc Nguyen Thuraya Alamassi Tim Marriott Uma Rengarasu Uma Sambandam Val Connors Val Latimer Vicki Montgomery Yvonne Pratt Wen Zhang Will de Vere

The work of our volunteers was recognised with a 2009 Arts Portfolio Award. From left, volunteers John Bolt and Keng Chong are pictured with PROV’s Access Services Assistant Director, Graeme Hairsine.

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Provide leadership to community archives and promote recordkeeping to communities Grants programs for community archives The Local History Grants Program recognises that Victoria has a wealth of local historical information, which is often only made available through the work of community groups and individuals. The program of small grants supports projects that gather and preserve the materials and memories of Victoria’s past.

This year, $353,871 was distributed for eighty-one such projects. At a presentation ceremony in Glen Waverley, Minister for the Arts Peter Batchelor, MP said: ‘Whether they are generated by sporting groups, volunteer fire brigades, child care centres or historical societies, each of these projects represents a small but important piece of Victoria’s history.

Collectively they create the rich cultural fabric of our state.’

Almost 300 applications were received for the grants.

The Local History Grants Program is funded through the government’s Community Support Fund. The program began in 2000 and since that time has distributed $2.39 million in 625 grants over eight funding rounds.

In addition to the Local History Grants Program, in 2010 PROV is administering the Victoria 175 History Grants program on behalf of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

This one-off program marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of Melbourne and the first European settlement in what became the State of Victoria. The program will provide grants of up to $12,000 to community organisations for projects that preserve, record or publish stories of pre-settlement Aboriginal communities, the history of Victorian settlement, and the stories behind individuals or organisations that have contributed to Victoria’s development.

The program was announced by the Premier in May 2010 and the grants will be awarded in September.

Minister for the Arts Peter Batchelor, MP (centre) and Minister for Women’s Affairs Maxine Morand, MP (second from right) with representatives of Bestchance Child Family Care, one of the recipients of this year’s Local History Grants.

Bendigo Regional Archives Centre The Bendigo Regional Archives Centre (BRAC) provides a new model for regional archives in Victoria. A partnership between PROV, the City of Greater Bendigo and Goldfields Library Corporation, the centre holds permanent-value local and regional government records that would normally be kept within PROV’s collection.

The BRAC reading room opened to the public in June 2009 and since that time has provided researchers in the region with access to local government records of the City of Greater Bendigo and the former shires and municipalities of the area. Work continues on making further records of local agencies, including courts, accessible to the community and eventually the collection will include non-government records that tell the history and stories of the Goldfields region.

In March 2010 work began on stage two of the centre, a purpose-built repository in Nolan Street, North Bendigo. The repository, scheduled to be completed in 2011, will enable BRAC to expand its collection and ensure that the records of local government agencies, as well as those created by local organisations and individuals, will be housed in ideal conditions for their long-term preservation.

Ballarat Collections Network MoU PROV is taking a leadership role in supporting regional communities to better care for the valuable heritage collections in their custody. Early in 2008 we led the establishment of the Ballarat Collections Network, consisting of fifteen institutions and volunteer organisations, from regional museums, the art gallery and the library, to the mechanic’s institute, heritage groups and historical societies.

Over the past year the network finalised and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) designed to provide training opportunities in disaster management, and seamless mutual support in the event that any member faces a disaster requiring outside assistance.

The MoU was informed by the DISACT agreement between collecting organisations in Canberra and another MoU used by state institutions in Melbourne. It provides protection for the district’s significant collections of artworks and cultural items, which include the original Eureka flag and nineteenth century maps and plans of Ballarat.

Formal signatories of the MoU include PROV’s Ballarat Archives Centre, The Sovereign Hill Museums Association and Gold Museum, Ballarat Historical Society, Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation, City of Ballarat, Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, University of Ballarat, The Eureka Centre, and Art Gallery of Ballarat.

In developing the MoU members have benefited from the opportunity to share information, creating greater awareness of the importance of disaster planning in their collections, and resources available in the region. As a result, all MoU signatories have now developed their own disaster plans, utilising help from others as needed.

The Ballarat MoU is recognised by Blue Shield Australia (the ‘cultural equivalent of the Red Cross’) as being the first regionally-based disaster management collections agreement, and the project is being promoted as a good example of a community network to other regional areas in Australasia. In May this year the network was featured in a presentation at a symposium held by Blue Shield Australia and PROV’s work on the MoU was recognised at the Arts Portfolio Leadership Awards in December 2009.

The real benefits of the network extend beyond the MoU itself and include the broader collecting community. These are being realised through shared involvement in training, workshops, sharing of data on emergency services and support, and combined approaches to minimising risk in the diverse operations of members.

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Places of Deposit Only a small proportion of records created by government become part of the state archival collection; the majority may be destroyed once they are no longer required by agencies.

PROV’s Places of Deposit (POD) program recognises that many of these records, while not considered historically significant for the State of Victoria, will have historical value for local communities. The program enables historical societies and community museums appointed as PODs to hold government records such as Water Board rate books, animal pound registers and draft council minute books. In 2010 three PODs received transfers of records from the Shire of Campaspe, Frankston City Council and Warrnamabool City Council.

Organisations that meet much more stringent standards, including the Bendigo Regional Archives Centre, are also able to hold part of PROV’s collection of permanent records.

PODs are appointed by the Minister for the Arts and public records stored by them remain under the custody of the Keeper of Public Records.

This year ten PODs were appointed, bringing the total network across Victoria to 136.

(See Appendix 5 for a list of those appointed during 2009–2010.)

Projects undertaken by two PODs were recognised in the community archives categories of the Sir Rupert Hamer Awards for Records Management (see page 42 for details).

Community archives team leader Margaret Sawyers presents a certificate of appointment as a Place of Deposit to Bruce Manson, president of the Shepparton Family History Group.

Archival Support Program PROV’s Archival Support Program provides training to assist community organisations and individuals to care for their cultural collections. Through archival training and workshops, the program aims to increase the skills and knowledge of volunteer and community-based groups to enable them to better manage their valuable historical collections. This year more than one hundred participants took part in two one-day workshops in Geelong and Melbourne to learn about digitising historical collections and preservation and conservation of paper and photographic materials.

Implementation of the wilam naling report wilam naling… knowing who you are… was a 2006 report that provided a framework for improving access to records of the Stolen Generations. The report was developed in a partnership between PROV, Aboriginal Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce, to address recommendations relating to archives and records in the 1997 Bringing Them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

Through its Koorie Records Unit and supported by funding from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria, PROV has been implementing many of the wilam naling recommendations since 2007. For further information on the Koorie Records Unit, see www.prov.vic.gov.au/about/kru/default.asp.

Koorie Index of Names The Koorie Index of Names is an ongoing project to provide better access to Aboriginal records within PROV’s collection and assist members of the Koorie community to find information about themselves, their families and country. Particular attention is given to improving access to records that have potential personal value and cultural significance to members of the Stolen Generations.

The project involves the creation of an index of all names mentioned in records in PROV’s collection that contain information relevant to Aboriginal people. The index does not contain personal information about the people named in it, but assists researchers to locate records relating to people in the index.

During 2009–2010 PROV volunteers finished indexing the main correspondence series of the Board for Protection of Aborigines, which dates from 1860–1945, and began indexing correspondence relating to the earliest period of non-Aboriginal settlement in Victoria.

Volunteers have been provided with training in the indexing process and cultural awareness, and given a broad understanding of the records being indexed.

The Koorie Index of Names database can be searched by names, places or date ranges and is available to researchers in the Victorian Archives Centre reading room.

Common Access Guidelines PROV continues to work closely with other government and non-government organisations to develop and formalise common principles aimed at improving access for members of the Stolen Generations to records about themselves. The project addresses a number of issues highlighted in the wilam naling report, including: the dispersal of records among multiple agencies; inconsistent access policies between agencies; and a lack of awareness within the Stolen Generations community about the existence of records, their whereabouts, and the support services available to those accessing these records.

Currently individuals are required to approach each relevant organisation separately in order to gain access to their information. A common access guidelines framework would provide a single entry point for access to records in Victoria, streamlining access procedures and coordinating provision of support services. Ultimately it would assist those affected by removal policies to gain access to vital records that could help reunite them with family, community and culture.

PROV’s Koorie Records Unit is undertaking the project on behalf of Connecting Home Ltd, which will become the central advice and referral agency for Stolen Generations clients seeking access to records under the common access guidelines framework.

During the year a working group was established made up of representatives from Indigenous service providers, as well as government and non-government organisations holding records relevant to Aboriginal people. The group is working on the development of a best practice memorandum of understanding to be signed by participating organisations in 2010–2011.

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New advisory group established The Victorian Aboriginal Advisory Group has been established to provide specific cultural advice and guidance about the collections relating to Aboriginal Victorians held by PROV, the Victorian office of the National Archives of Australia and the State Library of Victoria.

The group’s role is to advise on projects that incorporate records or manuscripts by or about Aboriginal people, and to provide advice for the development of access protocols for specific collections.

The group is chaired by respected Koorie elder and Public Records Advisory Council member Jim Berg, with membership comprising Professor Lynette Russell, Director of Monash University’s Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, and representatives of Connecting Home, the Koorie Heritage Trust and Link-Up Victoria.

Projects in development During the year Aboriginal Affairs Victoria committed funds to a number of new projects that will be implemented in 2010–2011. Work began on the first two of these projects: the provision of recordkeeping training and resources for Indigenous community groups and non-government organisations with Aboriginal collections, through the Koorie Archival Support Program; and the development of a travelling exhibition based on the successful publication Footprints: The Journey of Lucy and Percy Pepper, telling the story of an Aboriginal family and their struggles for survival in early twentieth century Victoria.

PROV’s Koorie Records Unit staff Tsari Anderson and Grace Baliviera offer information and advice at the Albury-Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service’s ‘Who’s Ya Mob’ Family History Information Day in March.

Increase government recordkeeping capacity so that a full and accurate record of government is created, captured, maintained and preserved Review and redevelop PROV recordkeeping standards In 2008–2009 PROV received additional government funding to develop a comprehensive suite of recordkeeping standards, specifications and guidelines, to replace existing standards issued in 1997. The first stage of this project has now been completed.

The project began in 2009–2010, with planning undertaken following the PRINCE 2 project management methodology. A project board comprising representatives from various Victorian public sector agencies was established to oversee the establishment of the new standards. The board approved the project schedule, quality process and communications approach, and continues to meet bi-monthly to review progress.

Extensive consultation is crucial to the success of the project. For each standard, an advisory group is formed comprising subject matter experts drawn from across Victoria and representing a range of government departments, agencies, municipalities, educational institutions and other stakeholders.

Records management staff from across government are invited to provide feedback on draft documents, to ensure the final standards are relevant and able to be implemented by agencies. In addition, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Ombudsman Victoria, Privacy Victoria and the Office of the Health Services Commissioner have agreed to review relevant documents from the regulatory perspective.

During the year two standards on strategic management and disposal were drafted, together with associated specifications, guidelines and fact sheets. Seventeen consultative forums, attracting eighty-one participants, were held across Victoria to seek comment on the draft documents. Both standards will be issued in early 2010–2011.

A key component of the project is to conduct an extensive training program to assist government agencies to implement the new standards. The first training module, supporting the strategic management standard, has been developed and courses will be held in metropolitan and regional locations during July and August.

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Design and deliver services which will enhance recordkeeping within agencies Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) VERS is a successful program led by PROV to improve the capability of Victorian government agencies to manage their electronic records. VERS has a standards-based approach to managing digital records, involving a multi-year program with measurable stages of implementation, and is based upon shared responsibilities between agencies and PROV. The strategy and the accompanying VERS standard – which sets out criteria against which electronic records management systems are tested – have been important in setting benchmarks of acceptable practice in electronic recordkeeping.

Implementation of VERS has now moved beyond the first stage, with agencies capable of creating and transferring long-term archival digital records (known as VEOs). Agencies are now progressing towards extending electronic records management into their line of business and whole-of-business applications and processes (identified in the original strategy as the second and third stages). In 2009–2010 the VERS Steering Committee identified that to achieve these outcomes, the implementation strategy will require further refinement, and as such will be refreshed. The VERS Steering Committee, which oversees the implementation of VERS, met three times in 2009–2010.

During the year, ten electronic recordkeeping products were certified as meeting the VERS standard and specifications (a full list is provided at Appendix 6).

Records management consultancy PROV assists Victorian government agencies to implement VERS by providing a range of consultancy services. The purpose of this is to help government agencies to become capable of transferring permanent value digital records to PROV’s digital archive for long term preservation and public access.

General consultancies During the year PROV provided 114 general VERS consultancies to government agencies and system vendors. These included: • advice to system developers on achieving compliance against the five VERS specifications • assistance to agencies in configuring systems and preparing digital records for transfer to PROV as VERS Encapsulated Objects (VEOs) • advice to agencies on developing and improving processes for digital records management Major consultancy projects PROV also completed fourteen major VERS consultancy projects, providing detailed advice and recommendations to agencies on a range of digital records management topics.

It was estimated at the beginning of the year that eight such projects would be completed but demand for this service proved much higher than expected. All eleven Victorian government departments engaged PROV for major consultancy projects. This work was undertaken by four companies that were successful in a tender run by PROV in 2009 – Enterprise Knowledge Pty Ltd, Landell Consulting, Utility Services Ltd (trading as Opticon) and Votar Partners – with specialised assistance and advice from PROV staff.

For a list of major consultancy projects see Appendix 7.

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Authorising disposal of records PROV issues standards that specify mandatory retention periods for Victorian public records, identify records to be preserved permanently as part of the state archives, and permit the lawful disposal of public records. PROV staff work with government agencies to prepare these retention and disposal authorities, which are submitted to the Public Records Advisory Council for endorsement. This year fifteen authorities were issued.

A two-year project culminated in the issuing of a new general authority for records of local government in August 2009. Development of the authority involved extensive consultation with regional, rural and metropolitan councils and other stakeholders.

Other authorities issued this year also covered functions of government that generate a large volume of records, including two authorities for VicRoads covering the vehicle registration, driver licensing and road management functions; two authorities for the Department of Health covering aged care and the mental health, alcohol and drugs service functions; and an authority for the functions of Worksafe Victoria.

The process for developing authorities has been improved, with the introduction of a requirement for agencies to gather input from external stakeholders to ensure their needs are taken into account.

David Wolf, Chief Municipal Inspector, Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate, who officially launched the Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Local Government Functions in December 2009, and PROV Director Justine Heazlewood.

Recordkeeping implications of the Evidence Act 2008 The introduction of the Evidence Act 2008, which came into effect in January 2010, has ramifications for the management of public records. Previously, original documents were considered superior to copies when tendered as evidence in court. The new Act abolished this rule, giving copies – including scanned versions of records – the same legal weight as originals. This opens the way for agencies to destroy paper records once they have been scanned and to retain only the electronic versions.

PROV issued standards and guidance for Victorian agencies based around the new Act. These documents had two goals. The first was to allow agencies to take advantage of the Act and new technologies to streamline their business and provide better service to Victorians. The second was to ensure that in doing so, agencies continued to hold records that would satisfy evidential requirements and that Victoria’s public records continued to be protected.

The documents released were Advice on Evidence and Electronic Public Records, General Retention and Disposal Authority for converted Source Records, Specification on Digitisation Requirements, and Specification on Digitisation Image Requirements, together with two guidelines to assist with implementing the new documents.

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To support agencies in using the documents, an online training module was developed and information sessions were held in Melbourne, Horsham, Mildura, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Sale, with almost 1,000 participants attending.

Some training sessions were conducted in collaboration with the Office of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner. Throughout the project, PROV also established strong relationships with a number of private sector organisations, including The Law Institute of Victoria, The Leo Cussen Institute, Chartered Secretaries Australia and the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce. This enabled us to raise awareness about best practice in recordkeeping and document management among a broader audience.

Supporting a records management community PROV assists government records management staff in their professional development by supporting ‘communities of practice’ where information can be shared and issues discussed.

Records Management Network The Records Management Network provides an opportunity for government staff to discuss issues of interest and relevance to records management. Two meetings were held during 2009–2010.

At an event in December 2009, representatives from Yarra Ranges Shire Council and the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office gave presentations on the implementation of the Evidence Act 2008, prior to the Act coming into force in January 2010. PROV’s new advice to agencies on Evidence and Public Records was also launched.

The second meeting in May 2010 looked at management of confidential client records.

A speaker from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office presented on a report examining how personal information was stored, processed and communicated by the public sector, and evaluating whether confidentiality and integrity were maintained. Guests from the Department of Human Services and the Koorie Heritage Trust provided examples of how agencies managed their records to ensure personal information was protected.

Records Managers Forum This quarterly forum for government records management staff continues to be a useful means for agencies to share expertise and build their records management capacity and knowledge, as well as giving PROV insight into agency experience and requirements.

Records Management Educators Forum This forum gives public sector employees involved in records management training and education a chance to discuss training issues, share knowledge and resources, and explore possible universal approaches to training. Two meetings were convened this year.

2009 Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards The annual Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards focus on two key areas within the Victorian public sector: preservation of records of permanent value and innovations in records management practices. Categories also recognise the work of Places of Deposit (community archives approved by PROV to hold non-permanent public records of local significance).

The awards are an initiative of the Public Records Advisory Council and are judged by a panel comprising representatives from Council, the Records Management Association of Australasia and the Australian Society of Archivists Inc. Sir Rupert Hamer had a longstanding interest in records management and government accountability and was Victorian Premier when the Public Records Act 1973 was passed and when PROV opened its first office and repository in 1975.

PROV would like to thank the sponsors who made this year’s event possible: Records Management Association of Australasia, Australian Society of Archivists Inc., Archival Survival, Archive Security, Bluepoint, Commando Storage Systems, Doc-U-Store, Fort Knox Records Management, Iron Mountain Australia, Objective Corporation Ltd, Recall Information Management, Records Solutions, Secure-It Self Storage, Steamatic, Synercon Management Consulting, Victorian Association of Family History Organisations and Votar Partners.

Winners of the 2009 Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards: (back row, from left) David Platt, Municipal Association of Victoria; David Ali, Department of Human Services; John Hennessy, Municipal Association of Victoria; Peter Harmsworth, President of the Public Records Advisory Council; Di Reidie, Brighton Historical Society; Kerri Townsend, Shire of Campaspe; (front row) Sandra Papashalis, Department of Human Services; Liz Gay, Brighton Historical Society; Pam Jennings and Susie Zada, Bellarine Historical Society; Julie-Ann Mains and Lesley Milburn, City of Boroondara; and PROV Director Justine Heazlewood.

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Victorian Government Agency Awards Small agency category Winner: Municipal Association of Victoria’s Enterprise Content Management Steering Committee, ‘The Better Practice Guide’ This ‘how to’ manual was developed for staff working in local government who have recordkeeping responsibilities, and was circulated to all seventy-nine Victorian councils.

Medium agency category Certificate of Commendation: City of Boroondara, ‘Operation Accountability’ An electronic document registration tool, ‘Smart Reg’, was designed, developed and implemented at City of Boroondara to improve their ability to capture and store records.

Large agency category Winner: Department of Transport, ‘The Spotswood Exit Project’ The project sought to address the undesirable conditions in which 15,000 linear metres of records were kept at the department’s Spotswood storage facility. By January 2010, sixty per cent of the permanent records had been transferred to PROV. Certificate of Commendation: Department of Human Services, ‘Linking Vulnerable Victorians to the Records of their Past’ The legacy records of child protection clients, former wards, child immigrants and youth justice clients were migrated into the department’s search engine for records of children placed in out-of-home care. A further key initiative was the completion of the Ward Capture Project which added more than 50,000 former child client files into the system.

Regional/Rural Agency category No award was made.

Community Archives Awards Preservation of records of significance to the local community and the state Winner: Bellarine Historical Society, ‘Digitising and Indexing Original School Registers for PROV’s Collection’ The project began after a committee member retrieved from the rubbish original school registers from two Bellarine Peninsula schools that no longer existed. The Bellarine Historical Society digitised and indexed the registers and transferred them and a brief history of each school into PROV’s custody.

Projects or programs that provide greater understanding of and accessibility to the community archive’s archival collection Winner: Brighton Historical Society, ‘Cataloguing the Map and Plan Collection’ Volunteers contributed more than 500 hours of work to digitise the society’s collection, preserving the original records and making copies available for the public to use.

Innovative programs that ensure local records of significance are accessible and that support community archives in operating, expanding and maintaining their collections Winner: Shire of Campaspe, ‘Recognising Area Significant Records’ The shire was awarded for their work supporting community groups to become approved Places of Deposit, and for classifying and transferring large volumes of records of local significance to these groups.

Providing records access in the local community No award was made.

Government education and training In 2009–2010, 607 Victorian public sector staff and contractors attended the following courses conducted by PROV: Good Records – Good Business – Good Governance aims to raise awareness of the importance of good recordkeeping among public sector employees. The program is offered to agencies as a ‘do-it-yourself’ package or can be presented by PROV trainers. It runs for up to two hours, and was held twenty-four times during the year.

Records Management Concepts – Records is a three-hour introductory course designed for staff new to records management. It covers the regulatory environment for public recordkeeping, technological issues, characteristics of a record and a recordkeeping system, and registration and classification of records. It was held on four occasions.

Records Management Concepts – Systems, Storage and Disposal is a three-hour course that was run on five occasions to introduce further key concepts to staff new to records management. It covers the characteristics of a recordkeeping system, development of business classification schemes, and implementation of records disposal programs.

Both Records Management Concepts courses are being substantially revised for 2010–2011.

Getting Ready for VERS looks at digital records management and how it can be implemented within agencies. This one-day course was run four times.

Takeaway Concepts includes core aspects of the above programs, with material tailored to reflect the agency’s recordkeeping processes. It can be run as a half- or one-day course, depending on the needs of the client, and was held five times.

VERS Technical, a seven-hour workshop that was run twice this year, gives participants practical experience in creating and using digital records.

One-hour presentations on Recordkeeping Systems and Information Privacy were run on three occasions to guide agencies on how to incorporate information privacy principles into everyday recordkeeping. The presentations were run in collaboration with the Office of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner.

A median of 93.8 per cent of participants agreed that the courses were clear and relevant.

In addition, an online audio-visual program, Evidence Act 2008 and Digitisation, was developed and posted on PROV’s website to raise awareness of the new Act’s implications for government recordkeeping.

A series of information sessions was also conducted around the Evidence Act 2008.

See page 39.

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Develop the right people and provide the right tools to deliver PROV’s strategic objectives Maintain and improve our physical and technical infrastructure Victorian Archives Centre building works project A major program of building rectification works was undertaken at the Victorian Archives Centre during the year to repair a number of defects that had arisen since the building was constructed in 1999. There were three types of defects requiring rectification: Structural – various parts of the building did not have sufficient capacity to resist the required design loads and additional strengthening was required.

Building fabric – movement of the floor structure had caused defects in the fabric of the building, including cracks in stud walls and partitions, opening of expansion joints in the floor, jamming of doors, and movement of ceiling framing away from supports.

Sprinkler pipe work misalignment – movement in the building had caused non-compliance in the alignment of sprinkler pipe work; reconfiguration of the sprinkler system was required to re-establish its original design intent.

Following the completion of these works the life of the building has been restored for a further forty years.

Technical infrastructure PROV’s technical infrastructure, including the website, was upgraded to support our new online services and other initiatives introduced during the year.

Improve our internal and external communications and feedback mechanisms including information management Communication with stakeholders was enhanced during the year with several process reviews conducted and government agencies regularly surveyed to identify service levels and performance. The results from these reviews and surveys will form part of a more extensive PROV-wide stakeholder review to be undertaken in 2010–2011.

A marketing and communications strategy will also be developed in 2010–2011.

PROV commenced preparation for implementation of the new recordkeeping standards by employing a business classification system across the organisation, and developing an internal records management policy to support this. A PROV-specific retention and disposal authority was developed and will be implemented across PROV in 2010–2011.

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Meet the government’s policy and probity requirements with a focus on financial, risk management and environmental outcomes Environmental sustainability program Victorian government policy states that agencies will lead by example and make the environment central to planning, operations and policy decisions. In keeping with this, PROV began a program in 2008 that aims to improve sustainability in every aspect of the organisation.

In 2009–2010, we began implementing a comprehensive two-year action plan to reduce the environmental impacts of our facilities, office processes and core business, and raise awareness among staff and visitors. Sustainability Victoria has used PROV’s strategy as an example for other agencies.

Sustainability was identified as a priority area in PROV’s strategic planning, ensuring that it will be integrated into business planning and operations for the long term. It was also included in performance measures for senior managers and staff.

Four tanks installed in 2008–2009 began collecting water from the roof of the Victorian Archives Centre this year. Most of the water is used by the City of Melbourne to irrigate street trees in the area, with more than one million litres taken during the year. The Victorian Archives Centre’s public toilets were also connected to the tanks in June 2010.

Other key achievements during the year include the development of a green IT plan; increasing online provision of PROV’s services; changes made to recommendations on records disposal to reflect environmental considerations; introduction of organic waste collection at the Victorian Archives Centre; and an audit of water use and replacement of inefficient plumbing.

2007–2008 2008–2009 2

Energy (megajoules per m )

2009–2010

999

782

701

Water (kilolitres per FTE)

1851

2416

1915

Paper (reams per FTE)

15.5

13.7

10.29

0.98

0.91

0.97

5624

4005

3819

Waste (tonnes per FTE) 2

Greenhouse gas emissions (tonnes CO )

Note: Figures have been amended from previous year. Waste is estimate only.

PROV’s senior management join members of the environment team to conduct an audit of waste at the Victorian Archives Centre.

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Finance and risk management PROV must meet public sector financial management and procurement legislative and regulatory requirements. A review of PROV’s financial management processes, procedures and reporting was undertaken during the year and new, streamlined approaches introduced.

PROV also attested to complying with all formal financial management and procurement requirements, and actively managed resulting contractual arrangements.

PROV has a risk management framework based on the Australian Standard for Risk Management. The implementation of this framework was commenced, with the introduction of risk management activities in all strategic planning and reporting. Integration of existing risk management practices will occur in 2011.

Manage a review of PROV legislation In October 2007 then Minister for the Arts Lynne Kosky agreed to a review of the Public Records Act 1973. Planning for the review was suspended until after the Victorian Auditor General’s Office released its report on records management in the Victorian public sector (tabled in March 2009). Subsequent to the publication of the report and the government’s response, consulting firm Recordkeeping Innovation was appointed to undertake an initial project to identify gaps in the Act and ways in which these could be addressed.

During this project Recordkeeping Innovation met with key stakeholders and also benchmarked Victorian legislation against other Australasian jurisdictions. The consultant’s recommendations will form the basis for changes to the Act. The revision of the Act is proposed for 2011, with approval-in-principle proposed no later than Autumn 2011.

Build a high performing and motivated organisation Developing organisational culture A number of activities were conducted in 2009–2010 to gain further understanding of PROV’s organisational culture. These included a health and wellbeing survey, a mini cultural assessment, cultural focus groups and participation in the People Matter Survey run across the Victorian public sector. As a result of these surveys a new themed health and wellbeing program was developed and implemented, with staff participating in activities including personal training, meditation, and information sessions on resilience and mental health.

The cultural assessment indicated that staff particularly enjoy the working relationships they have with their colleagues and the flexible working arrangements offered. Further work will be done to address issues raised in the cultural assessment, with a particular focus on communication and leadership.

In the past year PROV has researched and created a succession management program with the aim of increasing skills to support the organisation into the future and offering greater development opportunities for staff. This is a key step in the establishment of a comprehensive framework to support learning and skill development across the organisation. A pilot of the succession program will be run in 2010–2011, with an opportunity for all staff to apply. For each individual in the program, areas will be identified for development and this will occur through a range of avenues including training, coaching, mentoring, secondments, projects and higher duties opportunities.

geeks@prov To complement PROV’s initiatives in the area of online innovation and engagement, a number of staff developed a program of informal presentations as a way of bringing staff together to share knowledge and explore key areas of ‘Web 2.0’. The ‘geeks@prov’ program has proved to be very successful, providing a learning opportunity for participants ranging from those new to web applications, through to aficionados.

Appendices

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

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Appendix 1: Assets, financial statement and staff profile Assets The assets include both community and operating assets in the following four categories:

Community assets These assets are the state’s archival collection. The collection is currently valued at $189,300,000.

Building assets Records repositories for storage of the state archives and the state government’s non-current records are located at North Melbourne and Ballarat. The Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne is currently valued at $42,000,000.

Motor vehicles Public Record Office Victoria operates two vehicles: a sedan and a station wagon.

Plant and operating equipment Operating assets are used for the upkeep of the physical and digital repositories so public records can be stored safely and made available for public inspection.

Financial statement 2008–2009

2009–2010

Operating

$3,377,119

$3,041,104

Salary and on-costs

$5,431,670

$5,312,296

Sub-total

$8,808,789

$8,353,400

1

Capital

Total expenditure

$723,000

$4,565,156

$9,531,789

$12,918,556

1 Capital investment includes payments for the building rectification works at the Victorian Archives Centre and investment against the PROV asset management plan.

Note: PROV is an administrative unit of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and its financial information is consolidated within the audited financial statements of the department.

Staff profile The following information relates to substantive roles at PROV only. The information does not include fixed-term roles that are fully funded from temporary external funding sources such as grants.

Total

Female

Male

Number of employees At 30 June 2009 At 30 June 2010

76 75

49 44

27 31

Number of staff members, by position type Executive Professional Administration

1 70 4

1 40 3

0 30 1

Number of staff members, by employment type Permanent full-time Permanent part-time Fixed term

58 12 5

34 8 2

24 4 3

1 4

1 1

0 3

Number of male and female directors and managers Director Managers

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Appendix 2: Publications A full list of current PROV publications is available on the PROV website at www.prov.vic.gov.au/publications.

Publications are available from:

PROV online shop www.prov.vic.gov.au/provshop

Publication Sales Public Record Office Victoria PO Box 2100 North Melbourne VIC 3051

Publications 2009–2010 PROV produced the following publications during 2009–2010:

Books Lands Guide: a guide to finding records of Crown land at Public Record Office Victoria Published in partnership with Gould Genealogy and History in three different formats.

ISBN 9780875106877 (Paperback) ISBN 9780875106884 (CD-ROM) ISBN 9780875106891 (PDF downloadable from PROV website)

Newsletters and journals rEsearch A bi-monthly newsletter published on the PROV website.

August/September 2009, No. 36 October/November 2009, No. 37 December 2009/January 2010, No. 38 February/March 2010, No. 39 April/May 2010, No. 40 ISSN 1499-0331

Provenance: the Journal of Public Record Office Victoria September 2009, Issue 8 ISSN 1832-2522 An annual online journal presenting research from the records held at PROV. POD Newsletter A newsletter for the Places of Deposit (POD) network published on an ‘as needed’ basis simultaneously by email to subscribers and on the PROV website.

September 2009, No. 11 December 2009, No. 12

Koorie Records Unit Newsletter A bi-annual newsletter from PROV’s Koorie Records Unit published simultaneously by email to subscribers and on the PROV website.

June 2010, No. 5

Shaping Up! A monthly online newsletter providing updates on the PROV Recordkeeping Standards Project.

July 2009, Issue 5 September/October 2009, Issue 6 December 2009, Issue 7 January 2010, Issue 8 February 2010, Issue 9 March 2010, Issue 10 April 2010, Issue 11 May 2010, Issue 12 June 2010, Issue 13

Webcasts Audio and video recordings of PROV seminars and other events of interest to the Victorian community, published on www.prov.vic.gov.au/provcasts: ‘Introduction to Max Dupain on Assignment’, Susan van Wyk, November 2009 ‘Ireland’s west coast and Connemara – 7,000 years of landscape and culture’, Michael Gibbons, November 2009 ‘On the land: Records about Victorians selecting land’, Dr Charles Fahey, December 2009 ‘The story of The Kelly Gang film poster’, Nick Selenitsch, December 2009 ‘Records Management Network meeting’ – presentations on implementation of the Evidence Act 2008, Julie Savoie, Andrew Waugh, Kye O’Donnell, David Fowler and Isabel Parsons, December 2009 ‘Exploring PROV’s online catalogue: A guide for beginners’ – a series of video tutorials explaining how to do some of the most popular searches and other tasks using PROV’s online catalogue, May 2010

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Appendix 3: Standards and advice issued Section 12 of the Public Records Act 1973 requires the Keeper of Public Records to establish standards for the efficient management of public records and to assist public offices in the application of those standards to records under their control. The Act requires public offices to implement records management programs in accordance with the standards established by the Keeper.

For a complete list of standards see www.prov.vic.gov.au/records/standards.

Standards PROV’s standards and specifications establish requirements for the creation, management and use of Victorian public records.

Standards issued in 2009–2010 PROS

Title of standard

Issue date

Expiry date

PROS 10/02/S1

Specification 1: Digitisation Requirements

01/01/2010

01/01/2020

PROS 10/02/S2

Specification 2: Digitisation Image Requirements

01/01/2010

01/01/2020

Advices These assist Victorian government agencies with applying the standards and provide guidance on specific issues.

Advices issued in 2009–2010 Number

Title of advice

Issue date

Expiry date

PROA 10/21

Evidence and Electronic Public Records

01/01/2010

N/A

Retention and Disposal Authorities Retention and Disposal Authorities specify mandatory retention periods for Victorian public records.

Authorities issued in 2009–2010 PROS

Title of authority

Issue date

Expiry date

PROS 09/04

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Children’s Court

26/08/2009

26/08/2019

PROS 09/05

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Local Government Functions

21/08/2009

21/08/2019

PROS 09/06

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of WorkSafe Victoria

27/10/2009

27/10/2019

PROS 09/07

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

19/01/2010

19/01/2020

PROS 09/08

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Vehicle Registration and Driver Licensing

23/12/2009

23/12/2019

PROS 09/09

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Mental Health, Alcohol and Drugs Service Functions

17/06/2010

17/06/2020

PROS 09/10

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Aged Care Function

17/06/2010

17/06/2020

PROS 10/01

General Retention and Disposal Authority for Converted Source Records

01/01/2010

01/01/2020

PROS 10/03

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office

08/04/2010

08/04/2020

PROS 10/04

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Royal Botanic Gardens Board

16/03/2010

16/03/2020

PROS 10/05

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the VicRoads Road Management Functions

07/05/2010

07/05/2020

PROS 10/06

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Taxi, Hire Car and Driving Instructor Regulation Functions

16/04/2010

16/04/2020

PROS 10/07

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victorian Institute of Teaching

21/05/2010

21/05/2020

PROS 10/08

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Ambulance Services Functions

26/05/2010

26/05/2020

PROS 10/09

Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Education and Early Childhood Functions

26/05/2010

26/05/2020

Issue date

Expiry date

Variations to existing authorities issued in 2009–2010 PROS

Title of authority

PROS 92/05 General Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Magistrates’ Court – Post-01/09/1990 – Variation 7

10/07/2009 31/12/2009

PROS 95/05 General Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Magistrates’ Court – Pre-01/09/1990 – Variation 4

10/07/2009 31/12/2009

PROS 96/10 General Retention and Disposal Authority for Prison Records – Variation 6

16/07/2009 22/12/2010

PROS 97/07 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Vehicle Registration and Driver Licensing – Variation 5

01/07/2009 30/10/2009

PROS 97/08 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Building Commission – Variation 4

01/07/2009 30/06/2010

PROS 99/01 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Department of Premier and Cabinet – Variation 2

19/07/2009 29/07/2011

PROS 00/01 General Disposal Schedule Water Authorities Records – Variation 2

11/06/2010 21/12/2012

PROS 01/02 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the 16/06/2010 29/03/2015 Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board – Variation 1 PROS 02/01 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records for Higher and Further Education Institutions – Variation 4

02/10/2009 26/05/2012

PROS 06/05 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victorian Electoral Function – Variation 1

28/06/2010 04/12/2016

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Appendix 4: Approved Public Record Office Victoria Storage Suppliers (APROSS) APROSS sites are commercial facilities that have been inspected by PROV and approved for the storage of temporary and unsentenced public records.

For a complete list of APROSS sites see www.prov.vic.gov.au/records/apross.asp.

APROSS facilities approved in 2009–2010 Compu-Stor 24 Harcourt Rd Altona 3018 Phone 1300 559 778 www.compu-stor.com.au

Appendix 5: Approved Places of Deposit for temporary records Places of Deposit are community facilities that meet the storage standards required by PROV to preserve records of significance to local communities.

For a complete list of Places of Deposit see www.prov.vic.gov.au/about/collection/deposit.asp.

Places of Deposit appointed 2009–2010 Name of organisation

Date appointed

Location

Alexandra Timber Tramway and Museum Inc.

18 August 2009

Station Street Alexandra 3714

Australian Railway Historical Society Victorian Division Inc.

18 August 2009

Transportation Building, Newport Workshop Champion Road Newport 3015

Fawcett Mechanics Institute Reserve Committee of Management

18 August 2009

Fawcett Hall Spring Creek Road Fawcett 3714

Kerang Historical Society Inc.

14 September 2009

Museum Drive Kerang 2579

Maldon Museum and Archives Association Inc.

14 September 2009

Shire Gardens Maldon 3463

Mildura Carnegie Centre(Mildura Historical and Genealogical Societies)

14 September 2009

74 Deakin Avenue Mildura 3125

Millewa Community Pioneer Forest and Historical Society

14 September 2009

Millewa Road Millewa 3496

Robinvale Euston Vintage Machinery Association Inc.

14 September 2009

Bromley Road Robinvale 3549

Swan Hill Genealogical and Historical Society Inc.

14 September 2009

53-67 Campbell Street Swan Hill 3585

Yea and District Historical Society

18 August 2009

Yea Shire Hall High Street Yea 3717

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Appendix 6: VERS-compliant products After testing conducted by PROV, the following systems have demonstrated a capability of meeting either all or part of the requirements for long-term electronic records management outlined in PROS 99/007: Standard for the Management of Electronic Records (also known as the VERS standard).

Systems may be certified against some or all of the specifications listed in the standard. Please see the VERS compliance pages on the PROV website for more information (www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/assessment).

Product

Vendor

Standard Spec 1 version

Spec 2

Spec 3

Spec 4

Spec 5

Open Text eDOCS RM, VERS VEO Edition (formerly Hummingbird)

Open Text Corp

2

Jan 08

Dec 05

Oct 07

Oct 07

Oct 07

IBM FileNet P8 Records Manager 4.x

IBM

2

Jan 08

Jan 08

Jan 08

Jan 08

Jan 08

Bluepoint Content Manager 7.5

Bluepoint

2

Feb 08

Feb 08

Mar 08

Feb 08

Feb 08

Meridio 4.4

Meridio Ltd

2

Apr 07

Apr 07

Objective 7.3

Objective Corp Ltd

2

Oct 06

Apr 07

Sep 07

Sep 07

Sep 07

Open Text Records Management 4.2 (formerly Livelink)

OpenText Pty Ltd

2

Mar 06*

Mar 06*

Sept 09 Sept 09

Trim Context 6.2

Hewlett Packard

2

Feb 08

Dataworks 3.0.4

TechnologyOne Pty Ltd

2

Jan 06*

Image REAL Document Management

Canon Australia

2

Nov 05*

Win VEO 2.0

VERS Pty Ltd

2

Apr 05*

Documentum Content Server 5.2.5/Document Records Manager 4.1a

EMC Corp

2

Sep 04*

Sept 09

Jan 08

Apr 05

EDMA as installed at the Essential Alphawest Services Commission

1.2#

Sep 05*

Sep 05*

Sep 05

Document WorkBench 2000 Release 6

Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd

1.2#

Feb 05*

Feb 05*

Feb 05

EDMS as installed at the Department of Justice

Alphawest

1.2#

Mar 04*

Mar 04*

Mar 04

Win VEO 1.1.0.13

VERS Pty Ltd

1.2#

Nov 03*

Nov 03

Objective 6i

Objective Corp

1.2#

Aug 02*

VERS Compliant Recordkeeping System as installed at the Department of Infrastructure

Alphawest

1.2#

Jun 02*

Jun 02*

Jun 02

Recordpoint for Microsoft Sharepoint (MOSS 2007)

Uniqueworld

2

Apr 08

Apr 08

Nov 08

Dec 08

Nov 08

i5

OBS

2

Feb 08

Jan 08

Feb 08

Jun 10

Jun 10

RMS 1.3

iGate

2

Jul 08

Jul 08

Recfind 6

KnowledgeOne Corporation

2

Apr 08

Apr 08

May 08

May 08

Jun 08

ELO Professional/ELO Enterprise

ELO Digital

2

Oct 09

Oct 09

Feb 10

Feb 10

Feb 10

Docbureau

E-Vis Pty Ltd

2

Dec 09

May 10

Riskman

Riskman Pty Ltd

2

Apr 10

Apr 10

Apr 10

Oracle Universal Records Manager 10gR3 10.1.3.3.2

Oracle Corporation Inc.

Jun 10

Jun 10

* Denotes conditions associated with certificate. # Standard version 1.2 Specification 3 included VERS Standard Electronic Record Format, VERS Long Term Preservation Formats and Export of Electronic Records to PROV.

54

Appendix 7: Major VERS consultancy projects completed VERS consultancy services support the implementation of effective and integrated records management in the Victorian public sector through a range of programs. During 2009–2010 all Victorian government departments continued with initiatives designed to improve their digital records management capability and achieve VERS compliance. Major consultancies completed were: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development – Web Archiving Strategy Department of Health / Department of Human Services – Guide to Managing the Records of Outsourced Activity Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development – Records Management Strategy Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development – Digitisation Process Development Department of Justice – Records Management Toolkit for Process Management Department of Planning and Community Development – Information Management Strategy Department of Premier and Cabinet / Department of Treasury and Finance – Guideline for Digital Records in Collaborative Workspaces Department of Premier and Cabinet / Department of Treasury and Finance – Human Resource Management Recordkeeping Requirements Department of Premier and Cabinet / Department of Treasury and Finance – Minimum Set of Recordkeeping Requirements for State Authorities and Royal Commissions Department of Primary Industry – BCS and RDA Review Department of Sustainability and the Environment – Records Management Review Department of Transport – Victorian Taxi Directorate Post-Implementation Review Municipal Association of Victoria – Contribution to MAV Digitisation and Storage Business Case Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project – Records Management Plan and BCS

55

Glossary accession

A group of records from the same transferring agency taken into PROV custody at the same time. The records may be formally arranged and described into records series and consignments or they may be unarranged and undescribed. Accessioning refers to the process of formally accepting and recording the receipt of records into custody (Keeping Archives1).

advice

A document issued by PROV providing advice to Victorian agencies on a recordkeeping issue. (Includes formal advice about standards as well as forms and other tools to help Victorian government agencies manage and use public records.)

APROSS

Approved Public Record Office Storage Supplier – the PROV program for the storage of records which the Keeper of Public Records has approved for eventual destruction or which are awaiting a decision as to their archival value.

archive

The whole body of records of continuing value of an organisation or individual.

Sometimes called ‘corporate memory’ (AS 4390.1 -1996).

archives

Records considered to have continuing or permanent value that have been, or will be, transferred to the custody of an archival organisation; also used to refer to the buildings in which archival records are stored and to organisations that have responsibility for archival records (Private lives, public records2).

consignment

A consignment comprises record items belonging to a single record series that has been transferred to the custody of PROV as part of the one accession.

A consignment may comprise the whole or only part of a series. Each consignment is identified by a code (e.g. VPRS 1234/P1).

digital / electronic record

A record produced, housed or transmitted by electronic means rather than physical means. A record expressed in an electronic digital format. A record stored in a form that only a computer can process.

digitised record / digital image

An electronic reproduction of a picture, photograph or physical item (e.g. letter or document) that can be stored on computer or disk, and can be viewed, transmitted, manipulated and/or printed via computer. A subset of digital records (Private lives, public records).

disposal

A range of processes associated with implementing appraisal decisions. These include the retention, deletion or destruction of records in or from recordkeeping systems. They may also include the migration or transmission of records between recordkeeping systems, and the transfer of custody or ownership of records.

Within the Victorian public sector, records are appraised to determine their significance (business, legal or historical) and then judged to be either of temporary or permanent value to the state. Government bodies are guided by standards or schedules issued by PROV to regulate the disposal of records.

1 2

disposal authority

A legal document that defines the retention periods and consequent disposal actions authorised for specific classes of records (AS 4390.1 -1996).

permanent records

Records which have been appraised as being of permanent value to the State of Victoria and which must be kept forever.

place of deposit (POD)

A location approved by the Victorian government minister responsible for PROV for the storage by community groups of temporary records of local value.

provenance

A principle that involves establishing the administrative context in which records were created and used. The provenance of records includes their original creators and users, and the subsequent administrators who were responsible for the recordkeeping system in which the records were kept (Private lives, public records).

public record

A record made or received by any person employed in a public office while carrying out his or her public duties (Public Records Act 1973).

public records

Information or documents created as part of the activities of state government departments, agencies and local government (Private lives, public records).

J. Ellis (ed.), Keeping Archives, 1993, The Australian Society of Archivists Inc., Australia.

B. Fensham et al., Private lives, public records, 2004, Public Record Office Victoria, Australia.

56

reading room

Area set aside at PROV centre for public access to records (Private lives, public records).

record

Something that documents a particular event or decision, or a document and its contents that have some evidentiary value.

A record can take many forms: • a document in writing • a book, map, plan, graph or drawing • a photograph • a label marking or other writing which identifies or describes anything of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means whatsoever • a disc, tape, soundtrack or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom • a film, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual images is embodied so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of being reproduced therefrom • anything whatsoever on which is marked any words, figures, letters or symbols which are capable of carrying a definite meaning to persons conversant with them (AS ISO 15489.1).

recordkeeping

Making and maintaining complete, accurate and reliable evidence of business transactions in the form of recorded information.

records management

Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposal of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records (AS ISO 15489.1).

repository

The building (or part of the building) in which the collection/holdings are housed.

series

A group of records which are recorded or maintained by the same agency or agencies and which: • are in the same numerical, alphabetical, chronological or other identifiable sequence; or • result from the same accumulation or filing process, perform the same function or may be of similar physical shape or information content.

standard

A set of criteria that states a level of requirement for Victorian agencies. Standards are established by the Keeper of Public Records under the Public Records Act 1973.

Standards can be compliance-oriented or oriented towards best practice.

temporary records Records which are appraised as being of value for a bounded time span and which may be destroyed once they are older than that time span. transfer

The removal of public records from the offices which have created or inherited them.

Custody, ownership and/or responsibility for the records is changed (e.g. from the office to PROV) (AS ISO 15489.1).

unsentenced records

Records which have not yet been appraised and whose status is therefore not yet determined (Public Records Act 1973).

VERS

The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy, PROV’s strategy for the management and long-term preservation of electronic records.

VPRS

An abbreviation for Victorian Public Record Series. A VPRS number is allocated to each record series when it is transferred to PROV.

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

http://www.provcommunity.ning.com

geotagging

http://www.twitter.com/prov_vic

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au