managing public sector records: a study programme - International ...

themselves is equally tedious, time-consuming and bureaucratic. The same situation
also pertains to the procurement of much of the conservation equipment. There is no
easy solution. Mr Rhys-Lewis gave some thoughts to these problems and ‘suggested
that heavily-used materials are bought in bulk as part of a regional agreement. The
KNA could well be the facilitator of such a scheme which would enable discounts to
be negotiated.’ 21 My experience has clearly shown that this approach will also not
yield satisfactory results at the national or regional level. This is because library and
archives services are not, in almost all cases, well coordinated at national and regional
levels. Very few library and archival institutions in the region have shown
satisfactory commitment in conservation. Despite these serious constraints, there is
growing evidence that the liberalisation of economies in developing countries offers
practical solutions to the problems. The Kenya National Archives and Documentation
Service has been able to directly pay for certain conservation materials from the
United Kingdom recently without much trouble. At last, we can see some light at the
end of a very dark tunnel in this particular area.
Co-ordination of Preservation Activities
As we all know, conservation is just a small component of preservation activities.
There are real benefits if preservation activities are well co-ordinated. However,
experience in the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service has shown
that in many cases, this is easier said than done. The Microfilming and Conservation
Sections have tended to be independent of each other. This is especially so because
each of them needs very specialised skills, and has its own distinct programmes. It is
therefore necessary to place them under one administrative unit or coordinator for
general supervisory purposes. Such arrangements will also facilitate evolution of
better preservation policies and plans. This particular objective can be achieved if the
co-ordinator has sufficient knowledge in both reprography and conservation.
However, care must be taken to ensure that the co-ordinator does not become an
‘arm-chair’ archivist in this process of co-ordination.
One area where we have met a lot of challenges despite the existence of a
co-ordinator is the determination of which documents shall be microfilmed, and
which shall be repaired. Document repair is a very slow and labour intensive process.
And as labour costs are becoming increasingly high, the cost of repairing archival
documents and publications is increasing quickly. In this regard, therefore, the
selection process for documents to be repaired, and those to be microfilmed, must be
thorough and comprehensive. Both activities need very close co-ordination. On a
number of occasions, the Director of the Kenya National Archives and
Documentation Service has been forced to personally intervene in this decision
making process which should normally be done at the lower level. This area of
weakness is now receiving the necessary attention. In other words, a national
archives must have a comprehensive and operational preservation policy. Such a
policy should also try to co-ordinate and balance the reprographic and conservation
programmes and activities.
21 Ibid, p.6.
CASE STUDIES 13: MUSEMBI
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