15b Bringing the future into the present: The City Archives and the next 5 years
Tracks
Collaboration and Advocacy
| Wednesday, October 19, 2022 |
| 11:45 AM - 1:15 PM |
Presentation Type
Traditional Paper -- Moderator: Dani Wickman
>>>
Ms Janet Villata
City Archivist
City Of Sydney
Bringing the future into the present: The City Archives and the next 5 years
>
The City of Sydney Archives has seen considerable change in the last 5 years. A new online system, the Archives & History Resources catalogue, was introduced in 2020 to replace a plethora of older systems. It has been accompanied by massive policy and process review which have effectively changed the nature of our work in the archives. New access directions, risk assessments, a development program for archives staff, and staff and community engagement strategies have supported the changes.
As these changes are gradually being embedded, our thoughts are shifting once again to future plans and innovations. Key goals are to work smarter, connect through our growing networks and continue to target new audiences. This paper will present just a taste of what we are hoping to bring to fruition in the coming years.
We are looking to connect with data experts to explore the possibilities offered by a few of our larger and most used archival series. Drawing on our volunteer workforce and forging networks with other organisations, we plan to create some representative structured data sets using our Assessment Book data and the city streets data from the Sands Suburban and Country Commercial Directory. This first foray into bigger archival data sets may provide us and others with exciting possibilities for data visualisation and new insights into the history and growth of Sydney.
Amid increasing calls to support the needs of the under-represented in archives, we are seeking to highlight archival materials in our collection relevant to diverse groups. Archives staff are gradually identifying archival material with plans to make it more visible. We will be seeking to engage and collaborate with community representatives to ensure the material is handled sensitively and in line with current expectations. Future goals include exploring possibilities for targeted crowdsourcing in order to collect and enhance metadata.
Along with these projects, we are using our new digital tools to full advantage. Opportunities can now be seized to use Power BI and Google Analytics to gain better insights into our users and to analyse our collections, plug gaps and improve offerings.
As these changes are gradually being embedded, our thoughts are shifting once again to future plans and innovations. Key goals are to work smarter, connect through our growing networks and continue to target new audiences. This paper will present just a taste of what we are hoping to bring to fruition in the coming years.
We are looking to connect with data experts to explore the possibilities offered by a few of our larger and most used archival series. Drawing on our volunteer workforce and forging networks with other organisations, we plan to create some representative structured data sets using our Assessment Book data and the city streets data from the Sands Suburban and Country Commercial Directory. This first foray into bigger archival data sets may provide us and others with exciting possibilities for data visualisation and new insights into the history and growth of Sydney.
Amid increasing calls to support the needs of the under-represented in archives, we are seeking to highlight archival materials in our collection relevant to diverse groups. Archives staff are gradually identifying archival material with plans to make it more visible. We will be seeking to engage and collaborate with community representatives to ensure the material is handled sensitively and in line with current expectations. Future goals include exploring possibilities for targeted crowdsourcing in order to collect and enhance metadata.
Along with these projects, we are using our new digital tools to full advantage. Opportunities can now be seized to use Power BI and Google Analytics to gain better insights into our users and to analyse our collections, plug gaps and improve offerings.
