University records constitute an integral element of an academic institution’s corporate memory. This business information needs to be well managed throughout its life cycle for the purpose of accountability, transparency, good governance and for reference purposes. This paper reports on a qualitative study that was undertaken at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa by examining an exhibition developed to mark the institution’s centenary. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and trace the provenance of the collections on display to gain an overall assessment of the extent of archival development at the UFH. It cannot be over-emphasized that organizations often struggle to write their centenary history due to lack of supporting documentation as the information is either incomplete, missing or misfiled, rendering it unusable. One of the key findings emanating from this study was that much of the material used for the displays is copyrighted to sister heritage institutions and private individuals, demonstrating the consequences of lack of development and preservation by the UFH of its own archives. Consequently, the need to revamp the institution’s records and archives management systems is mandatory. An encouraging development is that in 2018 there are plans to appoint a records manager, an institutional archivist and a manager of student records. The centenary exhibition has therefore been an opportunity to demonstrate the value of archives to the University of Fort Hare.

中文翻译：

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福特哈尔大学（UFH）的公司记忆成为焦点：通过视觉文档追溯该学院的百年历史

大学记录是学术机构公司记忆的组成部分。为了确保问责制，透明性，良好治理和参考目的，需要在整个生命周期中对这些业务信息进行良好的管理。本文报告了在南非的福特哈尔大学进行的定性研究，方法是考察为纪念该机构成立一百周年而举办的展览。这项研究的目的是评估和追溯所展示藏品的来源，以便对UFH档案发展的程度进行全面评估。不能过分强调组织由于缺乏支持性文档而常常难以书写其百年历史，因为信息要么不完整，丢失或归档错误，使其无法使用。这项研究得出的主要发现之一是，用于展示的许多材料均受姐妹遗产机构和私人的版权保护，这表明UFH缺乏开发和保存其自身档案的后果。因此，必须修改机构的记录和档案管理系统。一个令人鼓舞的发展是，2018年计划任命一名档案管理员，一名机构档案管理员和一名学生档案管理员。因此，百年纪念展览是向哈里斯堡大学展示档案馆价值的机会。展示了UFH缺乏其自己的档案馆的开发和保存的后果。因此，必须修改机构的记录和档案管理系统。一个令人鼓舞的发展是，2018年计划任命一名档案管理员，一名机构档案管理员和一名学生档案管理员。因此，百年纪念展览是向哈尔斯堡大学展示档案馆价值的机会。展示了UFH缺乏其自己的档案馆的开发和保存的后果。因此，必须修改机构的记录和档案管理系统。一个令人鼓舞的发展是，2018年计划任命一名档案管理员，一名机构档案管理员和一名学生档案管理员。因此，百年纪念展览是向哈里斯堡大学展示档案馆价值的机会。