Abstract
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.
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FG, the main author, conceptualized the paper, and the research was done as part of the learning process for the students enrolled for the 2016 Post Graduate Diploma in Archives and Records Management (PGDARM) course, preservation and conservation module (Archives and Records Management ARM 505). ZM produced the best report on the display and subsequently made a class presentation about the display for the 2016 Post Graduate Diploma in Records and Archives Management (PGDARM) course, preservation and conservation module (Archives and Records Management ARM 505).
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Garaba, F., Mahlasela, Z. The University of Fort Hare’s (UFH) corporate memory in the spotlight: retracing the institution’s centenary history through visual documentation. Arch Sci 18, 241–255 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-018-9294-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-018-9294-7