2C - Responding to Trauma in Records and Archives
Tracks
Jack Ryder Room
| Tuesday, September 5, 2023 |
| 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM |
| Hybrid |
Overview
2C.1 Michelle McNamara
2C.2 Nicola Laurent, Kirsten Wright
2C.3 Dr Martine Hawkes, Associate Professor Joanne Evans and Barbara Reed
2C.2 Nicola Laurent, Kirsten Wright
2C.3 Dr Martine Hawkes, Associate Professor Joanne Evans and Barbara Reed
Speaker
Ms Michelle McNamara
Principal Project Officer
Queensland State Archives
2C.1 Encounters with trauma: a review of the pilot Vicarious Trauma Response at Queensland State Archives
Abstract Details
Increasingly, the exposure to trauma material in archival records is being recognised as a risk for archivists and other staff responsible for appraising, describing, digitising, preserving and facilitating access to these records. As the custodian of almost 200 years of Queensland’s State Government records, Queensland State Archives (QSA) acknowledges that many records held at QSA contain material which may cause distress or trauma responses including police and court files, inquests and coroner’s reports, orphanage and out-of-home care records, as well as records documenting frontier violence and discriminatory government policies of the past. Acknowledging that eliminating this risk is not possible, it presented a challenge which QSA has endeavoured to address through the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based response. In keeping with the conference theme, this paper will outline the QSA’s attempt to ‘rise to the challenge’ of implementing this response across the organisation. Recognising the need for a response to be pro-active and wide-ranging, a multi-faceted strategy was developed. This paper will consider the various elements of this strategy, including raising awareness about vicarious trauma, encouraging an organisational culture which seeks to foster a safe and supportive workplace, staff training which builds capability and skills, and self-care strategies which empower staff to take an active role in promoting personal well-being and recovery. It will also consider consultation and risk assessment undertaken, the development of staff toolkits, and lessons learnt along the way.
Biography
Michelle McNamara is the Manager Access Services at Queensland State Archives. In this role, she is responsible for managing a team of archivists who provide research support for members of the public and facilitate access to the permanent records of Queensland Government. With a background in disability services, sexuality education and child sexual assault prevention in Australia and New Zealand prior to working as an archivist, Michelle has a particular interest in enabling access to records which facilitate awareness and truth-telling, and is committed to supporting staff well-being. Michelle holds a post-graduate qualification in archives and records management from Curtin University, a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from the University of Queensland and a post-graduate teaching qualification.
Co-Author/s
Colleen Sippo
Colleen Sippo is the Principal Collections Advisor at Queensland State Archives, based within the Collections and Discovery Team. She provides strategic collections advice and oversees a number of key projects relating to collections and catalogue management. She currently has responsibility for overseeing the digitisation of at-risk audio-visual and paper records, as well as supporting QSA’s First Nations Path to Treaty Program through leading projects focused on the improved identification and discoverability of truth-telling records. She is passionate advocate for staff wellbeing and building positive workplace cultures. She holds a Masters in Records and Archives from CSU, a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Music from the Melbourne Conservatorium where she studied early music.
Kerry Wilson
Kerry Wilson is a Graduate Archivist within the Access and Engagement Team at Queensland State Archives. In this role, she is responsible for providing high-quality research support to customers by identifying and facilitating access to Queensland government records. She has a particular interest in supporting members of the public who wish to access court, prison and out of home care records. Prior to this role, Kerry worked as a librarian at the Supreme Court Library Queensland overseeing the Caselaw/QSIS Collections, and as a personal injuries lawyer acting on behalf of plaintiffs in workplace accident, motor vehicle accident and general negligence claims. Kerry holds a Masters in Information Studies with a specialisation in Archives and Records Management from Charles Sturt University, a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Griffith University, a Bachelor’s degree in Arts with a specialisation in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law. Kerry was awarded the 2020 Sigrid McCausland Prize by Charles Sturt University, and the 2020 Mander Jones Award in Category 7 by the Australian Society of Archivists.
Kirsten Mitchell
Kirsten Mitchell is the Senior Workforce and Capability Officer at Queensland State Archives. In this role, Kirsten’s responsibilities include supporting managers to meet and manage their human resource needs and creating healthy and safe workplaces within which to achieve business outcomes. She has also previously held positions as Workplace Health and Safety Officer and Workplace Rehabilitation Coordinator within other government agencies in Queensland. She is passionate about reducing workplace risks and building capability for staff across the organisation. Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Business Management, majoring in Human Resources and Marketing, from the University of Queensland.
Co-Author/s
Colleen Sippo
Colleen Sippo is the Principal Collections Advisor at Queensland State Archives, based within the Collections and Discovery Team. She provides strategic collections advice and oversees a number of key projects relating to collections and catalogue management. She currently has responsibility for overseeing the digitisation of at-risk audio-visual and paper records, as well as supporting QSA’s First Nations Path to Treaty Program through leading projects focused on the improved identification and discoverability of truth-telling records. She is passionate advocate for staff wellbeing and building positive workplace cultures. She holds a Masters in Records and Archives from CSU, a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Music from the Melbourne Conservatorium where she studied early music.
Kerry Wilson
Kerry Wilson is a Graduate Archivist within the Access and Engagement Team at Queensland State Archives. In this role, she is responsible for providing high-quality research support to customers by identifying and facilitating access to Queensland government records. She has a particular interest in supporting members of the public who wish to access court, prison and out of home care records. Prior to this role, Kerry worked as a librarian at the Supreme Court Library Queensland overseeing the Caselaw/QSIS Collections, and as a personal injuries lawyer acting on behalf of plaintiffs in workplace accident, motor vehicle accident and general negligence claims. Kerry holds a Masters in Information Studies with a specialisation in Archives and Records Management from Charles Sturt University, a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Griffith University, a Bachelor’s degree in Arts with a specialisation in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law. Kerry was awarded the 2020 Sigrid McCausland Prize by Charles Sturt University, and the 2020 Mander Jones Award in Category 7 by the Australian Society of Archivists.
Kirsten Mitchell
Kirsten Mitchell is the Senior Workforce and Capability Officer at Queensland State Archives. In this role, Kirsten’s responsibilities include supporting managers to meet and manage their human resource needs and creating healthy and safe workplaces within which to achieve business outcomes. She has also previously held positions as Workplace Health and Safety Officer and Workplace Rehabilitation Coordinator within other government agencies in Queensland. She is passionate about reducing workplace risks and building capability for staff across the organisation. Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Business Management, majoring in Human Resources and Marketing, from the University of Queensland.
Nicola Laurent
ASA President
University of Melbourne
2C.2 Trauma in archives: an international challenge
Abstract Details
Archives will always contain traumatic and distressing materials, and they will always be unsafe for some, but as we strive for an open and diverse workforce, and inclusive places and spaces, we must recognise and respond to the trauma inherent within archives. As we move to a person-centred archival profession that respects the value of lived experience in our community, we have a responsibility to address the challenge of making archives safer places for all to engage. The issues we currently face as a profession on this topic are multifaceted, beginning with the need for all to acknowledge the potential for trauma in archives, for individuals to have access to support they require, and for organisations to know what resources and support is needed. The 2022 survey Understanding the international landscape of trauma and archives sought to identify how widespread experiences of trauma in archives were, what support was available and what education, training and resources were needed. The survey received a significant response with over 1100 respondents from 100 countries, highlighting the importance the archival profession places on gaining a stronger understanding of trauma and archives. The results make it clear that a trauma reaction can be experienced in the archives, and that many within our profession, and people accessing our archives, have been exposed to traumatic content without adequate support. This paper will provide an overview of the survey results, highlighting the responses provided by those who identified as living in Australia and New Zealand. It will discuss how aware the Australasian archival community is of trauma in archives, how prevalent experiences are, describe the current support structures people use, and consider what resources and training respondents described as being needed to ensure they are safe and supported in archives.
Biography
Nicola Laurent (she/her) is the Senior Project Archivist on the Find & Connect web resource team at the University of Melbourne. Nicola advocates for trauma-informed archival practice, including the creation of resources and support networks to support its implementation and discusses the impact of vicarious trauma on archivists. Nicola is the International Council on Archives’ New Professionals Programme Coordinator, the President of the Australian Society of Archivists, and co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Archives Community of Practice. She received International Council on Archives’ Programme Commission funding to undertake the Understanding the international landscape of trauma and archives project and subsequent project, Resources to support archivists encountering trauma in archives.
Co-Author/s
Kirsten Wright
Kirsten Wright (she/her) is the Program Manager, Find & Connect web resource, University of Melbourne. Prior to this, she held a number of roles at Victoria University (Australia), including University Archivist, and also worked at the Public Record Office Victoria. She has previously published and presented on topics including archives and power, historical language and archival description, trauma-informed archival practice, and out-of-home care records. She is a co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Archives Community of Practice.
Co-Author/s
Kirsten Wright
Kirsten Wright (she/her) is the Program Manager, Find & Connect web resource, University of Melbourne. Prior to this, she held a number of roles at Victoria University (Australia), including University Archivist, and also worked at the Public Record Office Victoria. She has previously published and presented on topics including archives and power, historical language and archival description, trauma-informed archival practice, and out-of-home care records. She is a co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Archives Community of Practice.
Dr Martine Hawkes
University of South Australia
2C.3 Meeting the challenges of child-centred recordkeeping: Innovations in systems, practice and collaboration
Abstract Details
The implications of poorly captured and processed records of a child’s involvement in the child protection system and the attendant challenges to better governance of children’s data in these systems have been documented extensively. However, despite the integral role quality recordkeeping plays in child safety, well-being and lifelong identity, memory and accountability, how to address the challenges of quality child-centred case recording and participatory recording and recordkeeping practices within child protection systems remains opaque. This presentation will explore the practices, systems, education, and technologies that can meet the challenge of fostering rights-based and child-centred recordkeeping in child protection contexts in Australia through a presentation of the findings of a recent research project. The study found that while practitioners and other stakeholders have a deep appreciation and understanding of the ways in which high quality records support good practice, provide evidence of decision-making, and support the lifelong informational needs of children and young people, the technological and organisational barriers and the multiple competing purposes of records often challenge efforts to capture and keep records in a way that would realise a practice of participatory recordkeeping. The challenges presented by reforming a system that will support child-centred child protection case records are significant. They require collaboration between Social Work professionals and recordkeeping informatics professionals to develop solutions that prioritise the rights and needs of children and families. The presentation will explore these challenges and the opportunities for innovation in child-centred recordkeeping in practice. In this presentation, we will discuss the findings of our collaborative research in the context of the transformation and advocacy work that could be achieved through interdisciplinary collaborations. We will ask how we can advocate for and effect necessary technological, organisational, and policy changes through fostering a recordkeeping practice focused on meeting a child’s current care and the lifelong identity, memory and accountability rights of care-experienced children, young people and adults.
Biography
Dr Martine Hawkes is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia. She is a Research Consultant with the Independent Inquiry into Foster and Kinship Care (SA) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Inquiry (SA Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner). She has worked in the fields of child abuse and neglect, refugee protection, and post-genocide archives. Her book on the role of archives in shaping the narratives of difficult histories is ‘Archiving Loss: Holding Places for Difficult Memories’ and is published by Routledge.
Co-Author/s
Joanne Evans
Associate Professor Joanne Evans is an archival and recordkeeping researcher and educator in the Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University. Through an ARC Future Fellowship (2015-18), she has established the interdisciplinary Archives and the Rights of the Child Research Program to address the lifelong identity, memory and accountability needs of childhood out of home care. This involves the exploration of participatory design and research strategies to develop dynamic evidence and memory management frameworks, processes and systems supportive of multiple rights in records and recordkeeping.
Barbara Reed
Barbara Reed is currently a part time Research Fellow on Monash University’s Rights in Records by Design project. She is also Director of Recordkeeping Innovation and is a consultant in the field of records, archives and information management with more than 25 years industry experience in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Areas of special interest include digital recordkeeping strategies, recordkeeping metadata and standards development for whole of government initiatives.
Co-Author/s
Joanne Evans
Associate Professor Joanne Evans is an archival and recordkeeping researcher and educator in the Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University. Through an ARC Future Fellowship (2015-18), she has established the interdisciplinary Archives and the Rights of the Child Research Program to address the lifelong identity, memory and accountability needs of childhood out of home care. This involves the exploration of participatory design and research strategies to develop dynamic evidence and memory management frameworks, processes and systems supportive of multiple rights in records and recordkeeping.
Barbara Reed
Barbara Reed is currently a part time Research Fellow on Monash University’s Rights in Records by Design project. She is also Director of Recordkeeping Innovation and is a consultant in the field of records, archives and information management with more than 25 years industry experience in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Areas of special interest include digital recordkeeping strategies, recordkeeping metadata and standards development for whole of government initiatives.
Moderator
Moderator Staff
