Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)

3. Session / Séance. Sharing of Experience and Exchange of Staff / Partage d’Expériences et Echange des Personnes - Huyda, Richard: Coordination Research in Archival Sience and Dissemination of Professional Information / Coordination de la recherche en archivistique et diffusion de l’information professionnelle (english 231 - français 251)

3. Session/Séance: Marcoux - Huyda, Coordinating Research in archivai Science

What we call „reflections“ or „findings“, on the other hand, consist in the content of research projects, analysis reports, plans and studies, scholarly articles, essays and papers presented at conferences, theoretical manuals - in fact, any information that is produced by processing raw data, or which is a synthesis of the elements of methodical research.

Professional information, then, includes the recorded facts on which research is based as well as the conclusions of research. And we must consider its dissemination under both of these dimensions. Which, in concrete terms, refers us to information contained in documents that may be published or not.

The consequence of this is to substantially expand the responsibilities of the individuals and bodies whose mandate is to broadcast professional information in archival science. This obligation, moreover, emerges from the very nature of this research. It could not be neglected, in fact, without appreciably handicapping research. Our researchers must have access to any information that they need to complete their projects successfully, and not only the ones made public in published form.

Issues involved in disseminating professional information The socioeconomic imperatives

We’ve outlined what it is that we must disseminate. But what will happen if we fail in this task?

We’re all aware that information has become both a raw material and a product for our economic systems. But listen to the consequences identified recently by a journalist:

Market and Product/Service Research: If information drives the new economy, information brokers are in the driver’s seat. We all know Canadian companies are moving away from manufacturing toward service. But what services are becoming vital? People with money to invest are going to want the answer.

Companies launching new services or discontinuing old products need to assess how these decisions will affect their client base, sales and productivity. Economist Ms. Beck says there’s lots of work for those who know how to gain access to the right data for the right client. Many middle managers can get training to adapt their skills to this field19.

Now as archivists, are we not among the information brokers to whom this journalist alludes? Our reason for existing and our basic mission is surely to preserve and make available to our institutional and other clients the information needed for their decisions, projects and obligations?

This task is certainly not automatic. It calls for a long apprenticeship made up of training, experience and confronting new ideas and trends. And it is also certainly not static. It requires constant adjustment to social and technological change.

19 Harris-Adler, Rosa: A job seekers’ guide for the 90s, in: The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Saturday, June 27, 1992, p. B 22.

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