Documentation profile
A documentation profile (also known as a delivery profile or, in the GDR, a territorial profile ) is the basis for a systematic delivery to depict the local environment of a municipal archive and its archives.
General
definition
A documentation profile serves as the basis for the systematic, effective and efficient formation of official and unofficial records in archives. It serves as a means of information as to where which tradition to document the local environment, for what purpose, in what intensity, by whom, is to be kept.
Use
A benefit of the documentation profiles is to make it easier for the archival evaluation of already existing, accepted or offered documents, since it offers a targeted determination of documents relevant to the delivery. This gives the possibility of comparative research in different archival areas, as well as a topical overview of the sources of the local environment. The profile must be continuously revised and supplemented in order to always be able to depict the "current state" of the local environment.
Emergence
The documentation profiles were developed as early as 1984 in the GDR under the title “Framework documentation profile of the state archives of the GDR for the period 1945–1981”. However, since this was formulated in a very complicated way, it was never used. Hans Booms published an article in the Archivalische Zeitschrift 68 of 1972 on the establishment of documentation plans as an aid to assessing the content and was heavily criticized for this. The documentation goals, plans and profiles have always been up for discussion. It was not until 2008 that the Federal Conference of Local Archives (BKK) approved a working aid for creating a documentation profile for local archives.
Creation
In general, the following is required to create a documentation profile:
- Categorization of the local environment (see below)
- Formulation of documentation goals
- Determination of the degree of documentation
- Determination and compilation of relevant archive holdings and registry creators
- Evaluation of archival documents under qualitative and quantitative aspects
- Transfer to the relevant archive for permanent backup and storage
The following is a working aid to facilitate the implementation of a categorization created by the subcommittee on tradition formation of the BKK:
|
City and space
|
politics
Legal system
administration
|
religion
media
social life
health
Sports
leisure
|
Depending on the archival district, this should be adapted to the respective living environment that is to be depicted.
Documentation goals
Should be drawn up for all categories and sub-items of local life and specified in more detail vertically. The local characteristics must be taken into account when creating the goals. It should be able to answer a specific key question with regard to certain people, institutions, political parties, structures, developments and events in the local environment.
Level of documentation
By determining the desired level of documentation and the resulting source fund, it is decided what should be documented in which areas (categories) and less comprehensively.
| Level of documentation | Source fund | Example of possible sources (types) |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Official and private documents with summarizing character, chronic sources | Statistics, annual reports, press coverage, member lists |
| medium | In addition to low: a selection of official and private registries and collection items | Factual files and mass files in selection, minutes of meetings, websites, posters, pictures, programs, pamphlets |
| High | In addition to low and medium: official and private registries as well as collection items each complete; active documentation | Entire official and departmental files , entire clerk files , bequests, oral history , personnel and process files |
Determination and compilation of relevant archive holdings and registry creators
After the documentation goals have been formulated, a check is made to what extent there are relevant stocks in their own archive or in other archives for the realization of the goals. If the latter is the case, an agreement must be made between the archives as to which archive is responsible for creating the tradition. In addition, potential registrars or unofficial bodies must be identified and important information such as contact persons, addresses, telephone numbers, etc., which are required for extensive records management , must be recorded.
Value analysis of the source fund
The identified and compiled sources are checked for their informational value. It is then evaluated whether the source fund is sufficient to adequately cover the local environment. If there are potential gaps in the delivery, they must be prevented by identifying additional registrars (official and unofficial) or by changing the documentation objectives.
swell
- Working aid "Creation of a documentation profile for municipal archives" - decision of the BKK from 2008-09-15 / 16 Approval by the culture committee of the German Association of Cities on 2009-04-23 / 24, In: Der Archivar. 62 (2009), pp. 122–132 (PDF; 140 kB)
- Working aid "Transfer practice when taking over unofficial audiovisual media, preliminary work for a regional transfer profile of the State Archive of North Rhine-Westphalia" - transfer work within the framework of the training for senior archive service from Dr. Astrid Küntzel (42nd scientific course at the Marburg Archive School) (PDF; 643 kB)
- Norbert Reimann (Ed.): Practical archive studies. A guide for professionals in media and information services - specializing in archives. 2nd Edition. Ardey-Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-87023-255-9 .
- Peter K. Weber: The documentation profile as a control instrument for archival tradition formation: a contribution from a communal perspective Published: Archive in Thüringen 2005 (special issue), pp. 7–12
Individual evidence
- ↑ Weber, Peter K .: The documentation profile as a control instrument for archival tradition formation: a contribution from a communal perspective Published: Archive in Thüringen 2005 (special issue), p. 8
- ↑ Irmgard Christa Becker: Documentation profiles as a basis for municipal archival evaluation - Lecture at the workshop 'Current goals and methods of archival evaluation' of the LA BW on December 1, 2010 (PDF; 104 kB)