National Archives of Australia - Annual reports

Following the transfer of the railway functionfrom the Commonwealth to the TasmanianGovernment in October 2010, 3257 shelf metresof Tasmanian railway records were transferred fromthe Archives to the Tasmanian Archive and HeritageOffice. Approximately 30 shelf metres of recordswere retained and relocated to the Archives’Sydney Office.Information relating to the distribution of recordsby state and territory, and by format is available atTable 8 and Table 9, respectively.Preservation of recordsTo facilitate future access to its records, theArchives conducts extensive preservation works.Preservation of paper, photographic, audiovisualand digital media is ongoing.Preservation planThe Archives’ preservation plan prioritises recordsmost at risk of damage. The records may be at riskdue to technological obsolescence, instability of therecord material or high use. The plan’s key prioritiesinclude preservation of:• audiovisual records, including those relianton obsolete technology for playback,and those based on cellulose nitrate andcellulose acetate• digital records, such as emails and websites• photographs with acidic deterioration andcolour fade• paper records, maps and plans whose highuse has resulted in deteriorated condition.Table 8:Record holdings by state and territory offices, 2006–07 to 2010–11 (shelf metres)Location 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11Canberra 103 316 104 592 105 315 102 683 110 548Sydney 145 065 146 269 149 844 155 563 161 262Melbourne 51 639 51 984 51 499 52 407 52 267Brisbane 23 129 23 239 23 262 23 398 24 802Perth 19 324 19 336 19 293 19 620 19 697Adelaide 3 132 3 145 3 139 3 178 3 730Hobart 6 519 6 548 6 556 6 771 3 484Darwin 4 025 4 025 4 028 4 010 2 580Total 356 149 359 138 362 936 367 630 378 370Note: Statistics for 2010–11 include the number of shelf metres allocated to incoming transfers, as well as the growth in shelfmetres for existing holdings as a result of repackaging, rehousing and relocating records for preservation purposes.Table 9:Format of records held, 2006–07 to 2010–11 (shelf metres)Format 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11Audio 588 798 1 803 1 897 2 014Audiovisual 17 070 19 745 23 380 23 448 28 585Bound volume 18 522 18 373 18 361 18 646 19 109Cartographic 19 810 19 866 20 721 21 635 26 754Electronic record 131 97 147 143 187Microform 882 936 936 943 939Paper file or document 298 586 295 975 294 106 297 315 296 270Photographic 2 906 3 074 3 356 3 435 4 358Other format* 257 275 199 201 229* Includes three-dimensional records and textiles.22 Annual Reports 2010–11