CARBICA News Vol 1 - Issue 1

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CARBICA News, April 20111

From our President ....

More than ever, CARBICA is thereto be the place for Caribbeanarchivists to work and network

together, but also the place where weopen up to the rest of the world. While

building a strong identity based on ourshared culture and on our shared con-

cerns on the role of archives in our re-gion, we also act as a branch of the Inter-national Council on Archives.Your Executive Council has been busy onboth these levels for these past weeks :

3 Skype meetings since January, to dealwith the agenda that came out of our

General Assembly in Trinidad.

Attending the ICA Executive Council inPanama on March 27-30th. This occasion has been a unique op-

portunity to let others know about ourvision and projects and to get the sup-port from the PCOM, the MCOM and the

other branches and sections of ICA.

Let us, from now on, get prepared for theforthcoming seminars in Curaao (Aug.20-25).Let us also start to plan our part in theInternational Congress of Archives, inBrisbane, Australia in 2012. These will

be great opportunities as well to showwhat CARBICA and Caribbean archivistscan do.

Let us get prepared

Volume 1, Issue 1

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nside this Issue:

From our President

Upcoming Events

CARBICA Curacao August 2011ICA Brisbane, August 2012

Records Management Training

in Suriname

The newly renovated W.I.

Federal Archives Centre

Newspaper Exhibition Dominica

Assistance to Haiti

0: A new Website for CARBICA

About CARBICA:he mission of the International Coun-on Archives (ICA) is to promote the

eservation and use of archives around

e world. In pursuing this mission, ICA

orks for the protection and enhance-

ent of the memory of the world and

improve communication while re-

ecting cultural diversity. The Carib-

ean Regional Branch (CARBICA) is

sponsible for carrying out the policy

nd programmes of ICA in its region,

here these are relevant to CARBICA

embers.

he 2010-2014 Offi cers:

resident: Dominique Taffi n,

National Archivist Martinique)

ice President: Rita Tjien Fooh

Director National Archives Surinam)

ecretary: Cheryl Sylvester (Tech-

cal Services Librarian, St. Georges

niversity Grenada)reasurer: Karla Hayward (Director

ermuda Archives)

The 2011 agenda of the EC:

The agenda of CARBICA executive coun-cil. The CARBICA EC has a busy agenda

for the next four months :

preparation of the strategic plan; preparation of the amendment of ourconstitution; planning the development of the MI-GAN project.

Its next meeting will take place in Marti-nique, in June.Another meeting will be held on the oc-casion of the opening of the new build-ing of the National Archives of Curaaoin August.


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22CARBICA News, April 2011

CARBICA Curaao, August 2011

Just after the IFLA Congress in Puerto Rico, Curaaowill host an important set of activities open to CAR-BICA members. The tentative program is as follows

a 5-day training course on basic level conservationtechniques; a 2 day seminar on training and certification in archi-val studies in the Caribbean. This seminar is designedto be a brainstorming session with archivists, universityrepresentatives and specialists in training to assess the

situation and help define the role CARBICA can take inthe development of a coherent training and certifica-tion system for archivists and records managers in and

from the Caribbean; a 3-day workshop on the implementation of archivalstandards for description and of the ICA AtoM soft-ware; a 1/2day EC meeting.More information and application forms will be re-leased by mid-May.

One must be aware that the MIGAN seminar is dedi-cated to the partners already committed in the project,but will also be open to any CARBICA member whocan manage to come to Curaao.The National Archives of Curaao are in charge of thelogistics of these events and make their best to pro-pose the cheapest accommodation possible.

ICA congress, Brisbane 20-25 August, 2012

Under the main theme of a climate of change,

the 2012 ICA congress will deal with 3 mainstreams : sustainability, trust and identity.

Although it may be challenging for many of us to get toAustralia, I do think we should do our best not only toget there, but also to submit a coherent offer from theCaribbean. As a branch, we should focus on our proj-ects and achievements : the MIGAN and the CARTAS

projects, and the training projects. We should also tryto let others know how we manage with our strengths

and weaknesses. The point of ICA congress is to shareexperience with people from other parts of the world.

You are kindly asked to send suggestions on these top-ics. The earlier we are organized, the better chances wehave to be in the program, and the readier we are to

seek support for Caribbean delegates.

Pre-registrations are already open on the website of theICA congress in Brisbane. From June 2011 on, a call forabstracts will be launched.Check all key dates and information at: www.ica2012.com and get registered to receive new releases on the

congress. Contact : Margaret Kenna, deputy secretarygeneral for the ICA Congress.

ICA and CARBICA : overview of the Executive board

meeting in Panama (March, 27-30, 2011)

Two CARBICA members attended the EB meeting : Nol-da Rmer-Kenepa, as the vice-president of ICA for CITRAand Dominique Taffi n, chair of CARBICA.The main issues discussed were :

the return of ALA, the Latin American branch of ICA; a new format for the CITRA, that will be submitted to

the general assembly in Toledo (Spain); the future development of ICA AtoM, the software thatCARBICA is implementing for our directory; the organization of the Brisbane congress.

The meeting has been a unique opportunity to strength-en relations with the board of ICA, make new contactsto facilitate our activities and to develop partnership

with ALA.Nolda and Dominique would work on the program ofthe three seminars that will take place in Curaao.

We were particularly successful in promoting the MIGANproject, and in identifying resource persons.

The meeting was perfectly organized by the local host,the Registro Publico de Panama. We also visited the Na-tional Archives, which have undertaken a large programof modernization : new storage, new conservation and

restoration facility, new digital equipment, linked to awide set of training for staff.

MIGAN seminar is open to any member


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33 CARBICA News, April 2011

people at all times.

There was no formal training available in the fieldof records management in Suriname; occasionallythere were incidental courses, workshops, modulesgiven but not on a formal structural basis. The ab-sence of formal training had a negative influenceon the Records Management division of the gov-

ernment agencies where the records were not al-ways kept in good order and in compliance withthe Surinamese Archives Law (2006) and the Ar-

chives Regulations (2009).

The training started on March 7th with 40 traineesdivided in two groups and will end in December2011. It consists of seven compulsory modulesnamely, Records Management, Document pro-cessing, ICT, Dutch, English, Public Administration,

Communications.In the context of long term capacity building for Ar-chives and Records Management staff, the NationalArchives of Suriname will also start a Records Man-agement Level 2 training in 2012.

Records Management Training in Suriname

Suriname - Rita Tjien Fooh, Director National Ar-chives

The National Archives of Suriname recently (as ofMarch 2011) started providing Level 1 basic Re-cords Management training for staff responsible

for the various record management divisions of gov-ernment agencies. The aim of the training is to im-

prove the role of Records Management at the variousdepartments.

The training is organized by the National Archives ofSuriname/Ministry of Home Affairs partnering withthe Stichting Opleidingen en Examens voor Docu-mentaire Informatie en Administratieve Organisatie-SOD (Foundation for Training and Examinations fordocumentary information and administrative orga-nization) from the Netherlands. The importance ofthis course can be seen in the fact that public recordsmust be kept in order and made accessible for the

The National Archives of Suriname , Paramaribo


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Preservation Training in Suriname

One of the objectives of the National Ar-chives of Suriname, aside from educatingand training its staff, is to also offer train-

ing to staff members from other organizationsspecialized in the field of cultural heritage suchas museum, archives and libraries. They are giventhe opportunity to learn the basic techniques inpreserving their collections (Capacity BuildingProgram).

Considering the fact that the history of Surinameconsists of various cultures, it is very important tobuild awareness about the preservation of nation-al heritage for the next generation.

On March 14th, the National Archives of Surinamein collaboration with the National Archives of theNetherlands, The Institute Collection Netherlands(ICN) joined their forces, together with the fund-ing of the Embassy of the Netherlands and start-

ed a Preservation course. This will be a one-year

course where the overall aim is to teach conserva-tion techniques to preserve the cultural heritage

of Suriname. In 2012, the National Archives willstart with another group of participants.

During this course Surinamese trainers, whowere selected earlier based on their expertise,will be partnered with a lecturer from the Neth-erlands and Brazil. The purpose of this conceptis that after two years these Surinamese trainerswill be fully qualified to pass on the knowledgeindependently.

The course is designed for pre-qualified (de-

pot) employees who already work in an culturalheritage organization that manage collections,including museums, libraries, archives, auctionhouses, galleries etc.

The main purpose of the course is that in the endthe participants will be able to assist their collec-tions managers or archivists in all the activities inthe field of preventive conservation. The partici-pants should also be able to identify situations

where expert assistance is needed in the field of

conservation or whether restoration is requiredon an object.



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Archives Reading Room

cultural development, education, telecommu-nications, transport and shipping, the militaryand regional security, meteorology and disas-

ter mitigation in the region. The Centre hasbeen providing top quality research services toa number of overseas academics from univer-sities and colleges in North America and theUnited Kingdom as well as those in the CampusCommunity. These researchers have benefitedfrom the upgraded, on-line, searchable Archivesdatabase (WebGencat) before arriving to con-duct research in the newly design ReadingRoom. Complementary sources such as audio-

visual and photographic material enhance theresearch experience.

For further information, visit our website andsearch the archives at www.wifac.org

Expanded Archives Repository


The Newly Renovated W.I. Federal Archives Cen-

tre

Barbados - Cherri-Ann Beckles, Assistant Archivist

The W.I. Federal Archives Centre at The Universityof the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbadoswas renovated in 2010. The newly expanded

Centre includes an automated Reading Room withexhibition area, a Conservation/Digitisation Room,an extended repository with fire detection, security

devices and environmental controls and a GENCAT(Archives software) Administration Offi ce. The workof the Centre has fully resumed and the staff carry

out services that include but are not restricted to ref-erence services to internal and external researchers,basic conservation and preventive preservation, ad-visory services on the care and handling of records,automating the arrangement and description of ar-chival records using an upgraded Archives searchabledatabase with on-line capabilities (-WebGencat) andan outreach programme.

New accessions accrued in the period 2009-2010,including the papers of Sir Sidney Martin, one of the

earliest Principals of The UWI, Cave Hill Campus, nowreferred to as the Martin Papers. In addition to theFederal Archives and the Cave Hill Campus Archives,the Centre has acquired the Ramphal Papers (Sir Shri-dath Ramphal), the Allsopp Papers (Professor RichardAllsopp) and the BWIA Collection. The Archivists-in-charge continued to work in conjunction to the Errol

Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI) andthe Cave Hill Oral History Project on the oral historyproject entitled, Remembering The West Indies Fed-

eration. It is hoped that a broadcast on The West In-dies Federation will be produced to be aired acrossthe region.

The Centre will seek to expand on its outreach pro-gramme in order to attract a new crop of researchers.The records housed therein cover a range of research

themes including regional integration, federalism,decolonisation, constitutional reform, social welfare,


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lection from 1821-1977, was held in the reading

room of the Archives from Monday, October 25to Friday October 29, 2010.

The exhibits included copies, photographs andsome of the original newspapers, opened atpages featuring stories which staff felt would beinteresting dealing with topics such as politics,prevalent diseases, health advisories, noticesregarding runaway slaves and articles in both

French and English. One section depicted sto-ries from the Dread Era and another depictedvarious headlines. There was also a compari-son between two newspapers,The DominicaChronicle one from 1821, and one which wasstarted in 1909 that is still in existence today.

A booklet featuring the publishing history ofnewspapers in Dominica was produced andpresented as part of the exhibition.

The number of people who visited was quite

... stories from the Dread Era ...


Archives Unit Library and Information

Service

Dominica - Magdalene Robin, Chief Librarian

Report on newspaper exhibition held from Oc-tober 25-29, 2010

The Archives Unit of the Library and Infor-mation Service held its first exhibitionduring the month of October 2010. The

exhibition with the theme News from the Past

was aimed at highlighting the newspaper col-lection as well as promoting the Archives, andsensitizing the public to the role of Archives inpreserving and making available the documen-tary heritage of Dominica.

The exhibition, which featured a newspaper col-


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less than expected. However, those who didvisit had high praise for the effort.The following are some excerpts from the com-ments written in the exhibition visitor book:

Very impressed with the lay out and the articlespresented. Hope more Dominicans come toview this exhibition. Very impressive S. Eusebe

This is fine work by obviously competent anddedicated staffif children read some of this,

they will see the consistencies and more so theinconsistencies of those who spanned the polit-ical stage from then to now. It is amazing whatraw history can reveal. I highly recommend thispresentation . Francis O. Severin

Very good. Impress[ed] there are documentsfar back as 1821. Hearts off to those involved in

preserving these documents

Excellent exhibition. A historical treasure whichmust be maintained Anne J. Lewis

Congratulations on this fine exhibition thatshows the wealth of valuable information con-tained at the Archives, (although we know thatthis is just the tip of the iceberg!) I hope it willmake the interested public more aware of thematerial available and its important role as a

part of our heritage . Lennox Honychurch

this is one of the most unique exhibitionsthat I have had the pleasure of attending. Asa media worker I paid special attention to howthe writing styles have evolved over the yearsBrenton Henry

A most impressionable display of the history of

our country as recorded and viewed throughthe eyes of the print media. All students should

avail themselves of the opportunity to viewsuch. The Public Library must be commendedfor its efforts in preserving and protecting such.Great work. Keep it up. Petter Saint-Jean.

The exhibition was advertised in the print andelectronic media, and flyers were placed at nu-merous business places and institutions. Somepeople were also specifically invited. However,

based on the feedback, we will need to direct-ly target the secondary schools if we expect a

good turn out of students.

Newspapers and Booklets

Headlines from the past

... unique exhibition ...



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Assistance to the Archives Nationales d Haiti

Jamaica - John Aarons, University Archivist, TheUniversity of the West Indies

Along with two colleagues - DunstanNewman, (Preservation & ConservationLibrarian) and David Brown (Binder) -

from the UWI Mona Campus, I visited Haiti fromJuly 11 to 17 to provide training in the areas ofpreservation and conservation to members ofthe staffs of the Bibliotheque National dHaitiand the Archives Nationales dHaiti. The mission

was part of the assistance programme The UWI,Mona offered to Haiti following the devastating

earthquake of 12 January 2010.

Although representatives from ICA and BlueShield in Europe had visited Haiti earlier and had

held discussions with government offi cials, wewere the first group of Caribbean archivists/li-brarians to visit Haiti after the earthquake. Ourvisit was very practical in that we conductedtwo (2) workshops, each of two days duration,in basic preservation and conservation tech-niques. These were attended by twenty (20)persons from the institutions noted above.

The Workshops were well received by the partici-

pants and this showed the dire need for trainingin book binding and conservation techniques.

One of the workshops was held at the HistoricalArchives on Puerte Marchand which is the old-

... we were the first Caribbean group(...) after the Earthquake ...

est of the three locations of the Archives Natio-nales. Fortunately, it withstood the earthquakevery well although it suffered some damage,especially to the roof.

However, it faces a massive task in rehabilitatingits collections as thousands of documents arestored in boxes and bags and are awaiting sort-ing and cleaning before they can be placed inacid free folders, boxed and shelved. At the timeof our visit there were overturned shelves with

records beneath them.

The Archives has a conservation laboratorywhich was not in operation at the time of our

visit. However, it has a functioning repair andbinding unit, unlike the National Library whichdoes not have such a facility. Supplies and ma-terials are in short supply and along with theprovision of training this is a possible area inwhich CARBICA members can assist.

One of the great advantages of our visit is thatas we are from a neighbouring Caribbean islandand therefore accustomed to the climatic condi-

tions in Haiti. We were able to interact well withthe staff engaged in their daily work of repairand conservation. We observed the techniquesthey were using and showed them where therewas room for improvement.

We were impressed by the interest they showedin their work and their spirit of determination inspite of diffi cult living and working conditionsin the aftermath of the earthquake.

The international preservation community hasannounced impressive plans to assist Haiti torecover its cultural patrimony but until that canfully materialize, small interventions such as ourscan be beneficial. This is because we were ableto obtain first-hand knowledge of the challeng-

es facing the institution and the kind of practicalassistance required.


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Haiti after the earthquake. Photo: www.ifla.org

The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), founded in 1996, comprises representativesof the five Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in this field:

The International Council on Archives (www.ica.org),The International Council of Museums (www.icom.museum),The International Council on Monuments and Sites (www.icomos.org), andThe International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (www.ifla.org)

The Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (www.ccaaa.org)

National Blue Shield Committees have been founded in a number of countries (18 estab-lished and 18 under construction).

The Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS), founded in December2008, coordinates and strengthens international efforts to protect cultural property at risk of de-

struction in armed conflicts or natural disasters. The ANCBS headquarters are in The Hague.Contact Information: Blue Shield secretariat: [email protected]


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CARBICA News, April 2011 1010

A New Website for CARBICA

The inaugural Communications Committee of the Caribbean Branch ofthe International Council on Archives (CARBICA) is responsible for promot-ing and facilitating communications among and between the Executive

Committee and CARBICA members. The mission of the Committee is toorganize and present timely and accurate information through an offi cialwebsite, newsletters and social networking sites in order to educate andinform members of CARBICA about developments in archival institutionsacross the region as well as to promote CARBICA/ICA activities and events.

In keeping with this mission, the Communications Committee sought theassistance of a web developer (Barbados) to work on the redevelopment ofthe offi cial website of CARBICA based on requirements given by the Execu-tive at its November meeting. The primary aim of the upgraded website is

to allow for the website to grow and adapt meeting the needs of CARBICAin todays Internet environment. One key feature of the new website is thatit would be dynamic and allow for members to log in using the highest

security features, access content and share information.

The desired functionalities and requirements include multiple languages,namely French and English (we hope to include Spanish in the near fu-ture); on-line membership registration; an interactive membership section;the latest CARBICA/ICA news and events; a photo gallery; a secure area formembers that would allow them to view a repository of content; a secure

area for the Executive Committee members and Facebook & Twitter inte-gration.

The website would also enable e-mail notifications, visitor tracking and adynamic map with locations of the archival institutions across the region.The domain name for the website will remain www.carbica.org

From the Editors:

The Communications Committee would like to thank all those who havecontributed to the content of newsletter. The newsletter will be distrib-uted by email and placed on the new CARBICA website and the ICA web-site to keep members abreast of current events and activities in regionalarchival institutions. It is hoped that the newsletter will serve to highlightthe advancement and achievements of CARBICA as a regional body and

its members.

CARBICA News is the Newsletter of the Caribbean Regional Branch of the Interna-tional Council on Archives. It is published two times a year and distributed to CAR-BICA members by mail. Communications Committee Editors : Cherri-Ann Beckles,Avril Belfon, Stanley Griffi n, Susan Laura Lugo, Nolda Rmer Kenepa, Max Scriwan-ek, Cheryl Sylvester, Dominique Taffi n. Please submit your content to: [email protected] Layout : Max Scriwanek.

Membership Fees: Membership Contact:Category A: US$ 150 Karla Hayward, Treasurer (Director Ber-

Category B: US$ 100 muda Archives).Category C: US$ 75 [email protected] D: US$ 50 T: + 441-295-2007

F: + 414-295-8751

http://www carbica org

CARBICA Strives to:

(a) establish, maintain andstrengthen relations betweeninstitutions and individualsconcerned with the custody,organization and administra-tion of archives in the Carib-

bean area;b) foster co-operation be-tween all institutions, profes-sional bodies and personswho are concerned with thecustody, the administration,the organization or the use ofarchives;(c) promote all measures forthe preservation of all materi-al of documentary value and,to this end, to make practical

recommendations to the au-thorities of Caribbean coun-tries;(d) study problems con-cerned with the conservationof archives in tropical coun-tries;(e) encourage the descrip-tion of archival material andto facilitate the exchangeof information relating toarchives and to act in wayswhich make material in Ca-

ribbean archives more widelyknown;(f) encourage in all coun-tries in the Caribbean the es-tablishment of archives andto promote the professionaltraining of archivists in theCaribbean region;(g) promote the more fre-quent use of archives and toencourage greater ease of ac-cess to archival material;

(h) periodically hold a Carib-bean Archives Conference;(i) contribute to a better mu-tual understanding amongthe peoples of the Caribbean;(j) develop or recommendprofessional and institutionalstandards to improve thequality and consistency of Ca-ribbean archives; and

(k) promote the implemen-tation of records manage-ment programs regardless ofmedia format in all Caribbeancountries.

Documents

CARBICA News Vol 1 - Issue 1