Expert Group on Archive Buildings & Environments: Workplan 2017
The following activities are underway or proposed:
1. A review of Steering Group membership to be carried out in March 2017; in line with this will be a revamp of the EGABE contributions to the Expert Group website (including photographs of members), an updated work programme, and new Terms of Reference.
2. To publish the review of the 2003 ICA bibliography (to become Volume 3) – Bibliography of books, journal articles, conference papers and other printed sources relating to archival buildings and equipment. We have had a disappointing response from ICA members for contributions and so we need to accept that the current version must be published in July 2017. One EGABE member has responsibility for this with assistance from the Chair; the focus will be to publish via the ICA website well in time for the Mexico conference, so that this resource can be promoted and disseminated.
3. The group has continued to support the Africa Strategy. Initially this was primarily in a guidance and support role, but ICA asked EGABE to act as a conduit with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) who have a long-standing Africa programme – it was obvious that ICA should work with ICCROM on this issue. It is pleasing to report that there is an open line between the two organisations and this has resulted in the sharing of information; ICA is hoping to contribute to a workshop on AV materials in Ghana in 2017. This has proved to be a very useful way of ICA working with other agencies on a shared project, so it certainly has great potential.
4. In addition, the EGABE has assisted the Africa Strategy team by compiling a stripped down/shortened version of the original survey EGABE of archival buildings (2015), and produced a new version, in both English and French. This will be finalised and go live at the end of February 2017, and will be available as an online survey, and additionally in hard copy as many African countries have problems with Internet services (and also electrical supply). This is an exciting development and the returns will be analysed by both the EGABE and the Africa Strategy team.
5. The EGABE is also working with colleagues in Mexico to present another workshop on buildings and to organise a specialist tour of the National Archives. The Chair has compiled and outline table for the Mexican hosts and this should prove to be an exciting project with great potential for co-operation and sharing. It is proposed to cover the following formal subjects in the workshop – Sustainable fire prevention systems, the purpose of monitoring and evaluating data and the impact of the soon to be published European standard on archive buildings and environments.
6. It is hoped to compile a submission for Comma on the EGABE survey of ICA members on archival buildings and environments. This was completed in August 2015 and the chair presented a session at the ICA annual conference in Reykjavík, September 2015. However, this needs significant work and the Chair needs to develop a plan of action to make use of the hoped for new membership of the group.