Mixed Material: Investigating the Management of Archives in New Zealand Museums

Abstract

Research problem: With a third of New Zealand archives collections held in museums, this study is concerned with the way in which archives are managed in a museum setting, particularly with regard to the convergence of archival principles and museum practices. The primary research question of the study is; how are archival values maintained in the management of archives in museum collections? In answering this, the study explores the processes or procedures that collection managers employ in order to preserve these values, and the challenges they face in doing so.

Methodology: This study employs a qualitative approach to addressing the research problem. Semi-structured email interviews were conducted with a selection of archivists working in New Zealand museums. Approaches to museum archivists to participate in the research resulted in responses from seven archivists.

Results: An unexpected limitation of the study was the small sample population of museum archivists. With regard to the management of archives collections, the study found that museum archivists face unique challenges and tensions in carrying out arrangement and description within museum-based cataloguing and information systems.

Implications: With very little literature currently addressing these issues, this research makes a valuable contribution to the dialogue around the management of archives in New Zealand. In particular, it provides an understanding of some of the challenges of working with museum archives collections in New Zealand, and the means with which archives collection managers negotiate some of the differences between archival and museum practice. The research also acknowledges that despite these differences, the exchange of knowledge across disciplines can influence the development of new approaches to the means and methods by which New Zealand heritage is preserved and accessed.