Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 39. (1986)
Archive Buildings and the Conservation of Archival Material. An Expert Meeting, held in Vienna, Austria October 30 - November 1, 1985 - STEWART, William J.: Summary of Discussions
Summary of Discussions 255 On the matter of selecting an architect, conditions in Malaysia - and this is the case in most Commonwealth countries - require that we employ an architect from the Public Works Department. It would be helpful if we could identify architects in that department with a capacity and enthusiasm for archival design. Bearing in mind that there will be many more archival buildings constructed in Malaysia over the next decade, it would prove beneficial to have architects who specialize in archives. The other point we missed when planning our ten story structure was provision for audiovisual materials. The present building has stack space for paper records only. We must now devise separate storage arrangements for film and other audiovisual items. Intervention by Mr de Silva: Points of discussion between the archivist and architect have been carefully noted and ably demonstrated by Dr Buchmann. But what I would like to draw particular attention to is the provision for growth, providing for the future enlargement of the prospective building. One of the basic characteristics of archives is their tendency to grow. Enlargement needs will not be consistent throughout the building. Expansion of the stacks, for example, will be much greater than the increase required in the size of the searchroom and laboratories. The architect must plan flexibly and in a way that will make additions inexpensive and easy to carry out. Intervention by Madame Krestovska j a: In the USSR, on the average, several archival repositories are raised each year. Archive construction is under the direction of a centralized agency, the State Committee of Building Construction. I might note that the State Committee of Building Construction employs technicians who specialize in constructing and equipping archives. Additionally, these specialists are responsible for preparing standards requirements for equipment and the use of space. In developing standards we are mindful that any error is serious since it likely will affect several structures of more before it can be corrected, given our very active construction program. In his report Mr Buchmann has not mentioned special repositories for microfilms which are created for the physical protection of valuable documents. Presently in the USSR we are producing microfilm copies of our most valuable holdings. By making the microfilm available to reference use we protect and prolong the life of the original. Similar priority is given to the construction of buildings for audiovisual archives. Conservation is another ongoing concern and we draw attention to that concern by publicizing what we are doing about it in the Main Archives Administration. Recently, we produced and mounted a major exhibition on the reasons for and methods of records preservation. Conservation technology and other archival research projects are a joint venture involving archivists of the Main Archives Administration and members of the scientific research institute of the State Committee for Building Construction. Representatives from both groups are working in concert to improve
