International Council of Archives

My name is Katrin Hurlimann-Graham and I have been working in the archival sector for the past 13 years. I’m originally from Switzerland where I studied history at the University of Zurich. While studying I worked part time at the Zurich State Archives undertaking arrangement and description of government records. After completing my Masters degree I started a contract at the Federal Archives in Bern working in an e-government project. In 2003 I made the big move halfway around the world following the sun and my heart to Brisbane.

Digital archives team, front row: Katrin Hurlimann-Graham, Sally McHugh, Marie Walker, Andrew Wilson, Adrian Cunningham, back row: Neal Fitzgerald, Rowena Loo and David Bromage. 

Thanks to the transferability of archival skills I secured a job at Queensland State Archives where I have worked as an Archivist in various units including arrangement and description; public access, and appraisal. I currently work as Senior Research Analyst in the digital archives unit. Since moving to Australia I have also completed a postgraduate degree in Information Services (Archives and Records) at Edith Cowan University.

While at heart I like working with “old stuff” (I specialised in medieval history at Uni), I thoroughly enjoy my new role with the digital archives team as we work to address the challenges that digital records pose to archivists. As the official custodian for Queensland public records and as lead agency for recordkeeping, Queensland State Archives has a key role to play in ensuring that all public records, regardless of format, are created, preserved and remain accessible for as long as they are required. Ensuring long-term access to digital records presents many challenges due to the deterioration of storage media, obsolescence of software, storage media, and hardware, and the complexities associated with authenticity and integrity of digital records. Working in this environment constantly makes me to question my knowledge of and experience in “traditional” archiving – and how to apply this knowledge to digital records.

Another thing that fascinates me about digital archiving is how it takes international collaboration to a new level. For example initiatives like the Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative (ADRI) which was formed by government archives and records institutions in Australia and New Zealand with the primary objective to pool resources and expertise to find better ways to ensure that digital records are preserved and made accessible for the future. Around the world, approaches to digital continuity and digital preservation are not settled, and will continue to evolve as technology evolves. Concepts, tools, services and practices in preservation of digital records are still developing and emerging, and will change over time. As part of my job I monitor developments in digital archiving nationally and internationally and during my recent trip to Europe I was able to visit the Swiss Federal Archives and learn more about their digital archiving solution. I have taken away many learnings from these experiences which I am able to incorporate into my work at Queensland State Archives.

I’m excited to be part of this international digital archives community and I am even more excited about the ICA Congress taking place in beautiful Brisbane this year. I’m looking forward to hearing much more about digital archiving initiatives from other countries and meeting other professionals.

Katrin Hurlimann-Graham.