Purpose

This paper aims to assess the appraisal, disposal and transfer of records of the Kruger National Park (KNP) rangers’ diaries processes from 1926 to 1930 with a view to recommend best practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applied a qualitative methodology through document analysis, interviews and observations as data collection instruments to analyse contents of rangers’ diaries. The population of the study comprised rangers, a records manager and a representative from the National Archives of South Africa (NARSSA), a member of South Africa National Parks’ management and a scientist from South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Findings

The key findings revealed that rangers’ diaries contain historical, scientific and cultural information. However, such information is not disseminated to society. Lack of systematic appraisal, arrangement of records led to a loss of institutional memories. The role of National Archives and Records Service of South Africa is not visible to provide guidelines on the preservation of rangers’ records.

Research limitations/implications

This research is limited to KNP ranger’s diaries created from 1926 to 1930 because it is the period of establishment of the national park and introduction of rangers’ programme.

Practical implications

The findings are expected to be instrumental towards the preservation of rangers’ diaries within the park. Rangers’ diaries are also potentially of great biogeographical value in constituting a historical record of the plants and animals in a given area, their distribution and population changes, and the effects of human interventions such as game fences and artificially created waterholes, game culling and tourism, not to forget climate change.

Social implications

Preservation of ranger diaries may lead to documentation of records with historical, scientific and social value. Rangers’ diaries also form part of the national archival heritage of South Africa, as they bridge the gap of undocumented history of the rangers and national parks in South Africa.

Originality/value

This paper appears to be the first to research the assessment of the appraisal, disposal and transfer of rangers’ diaries created from 1926 to 1930.

中文翻译：

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1926年至1930年创建的被忽视的护林员日记的评估，评估，处置和转让：以南非克鲁格国家公园为例

目的

本文旨在评估1926年至1930年间克鲁格国家公园（KNP）护林员日记过程的记录的评估，处置和转移，以期推荐最佳做法。

设计/方法/方法

该论文通过文档分析，访谈和观察等定性方法，将其作为数据收集工具来分析游侠日记的内容。研究的人群包括护林员，记录管理员和南非国家档案馆（NARSSA）的代表，南非国家公园管理层的成员以及南非国家生物多样性研究所的科学家。

发现

主要发现表明，护林员的日记包含历史，科学和文化信息。但是，此类信息并未传播给社会。缺乏系统的评估，记录的安排导致机构记忆的丧失。南非国家档案和记录服务局的作用不明确，无法为护林员的记录提供指导。

研究局限/意义

这项研究仅限于1926年至1930年创建的KNP护林员日记，因为这是国家公园的建立和护林员计划的引入时期。

实际影响

预期这些发现将有助于保护公园内护林员的日记。游骑兵的日记在构成给定区域内动植物的历史记录，它们的分布和种群变化以及人为干预的影响（例如游戏围栏和人工创建的水坑，游戏扑杀和旅游业）方面，也可能具有重要的生物地理价值。 ，不要忘记气候变化。

社会影响

保存护林员日记可能会导致记录具有历史，科学和社会价值的记录。游骑兵的日记也构成了南非国家档案遗产的一部分，因为它们弥合了南非未记录的游骑兵和国家公园历史的空白。

创意/价值

本文似乎是第一个研究对1926年至1930年间创建的护林员日记的评估，处置和转让进行评估的研究。