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In many countries, there is a growing interest in cooperation among archives, libraries and museums. For the sake of the interested user it is important to make it easier to obtain information from the different institutions, and so to make a crossover strategy to give people access to their cultural heritage. The goal is to provide people with the opportunity to search material in archives, libraries and museums simultaneously. Consequently, it is necessary to try to create minimum standards for cataloguing and description with the starting point in the standards already accepted internationally. In Denmark there have been some interesting projects the objective of which has been to make it possible to search for material in several institutions at the same time. NOKS is one of these projects, it is an abbreviation for Nordjyllands Kulturhistoriske Søgebase, which is a database with material about the cultural history of the North of Jutland. The project involved nine institutions. The records from the institutions have been put together in one database, which can be reached via the Internet address www.noks.dk. The database consists of 115,000 records, among them 8,000 photos, including different types of material, printed material, books, leaflets, newspaper clippings, archives, museum items, etc.

The purpose of this study is to develop a sense of urgency and utmost care for careful disaster management to encourage disaster preparedness for museums and archives.x In particular, this study examines the techniques and methods to be used for response and recovery from different disasters to save valuable resources.

A thorough review of literature was done to identify existing plans, strategies, preparedness and management of archives and museums. On the basis of the knowledge and experience gained, it was decided to use a descriptive method for this study. Among the different data collection modes available in the descriptive method, the study framed a structured questionnaire for the collection of data. Thereafter, the questionnaire was tested for loopholes by conducting a pilot study. The questionnaire evolved as such was used to collect data from select archives and museums. The collected data has been tabulated and analyzed in tune with the set objectives. The findings of this study have been correlated with relevant findings and conclusions of previous studies in this domain to provide a better overview and sanctify the revelations further.

From the current study, the authors find that the topological location of most of the institutions is near or on river banks which is the cause of concern at the time of heavy rains, after heavy snow fall and at the time of floods. It was also found that the majority of these institutions are located near highways which is also a serious concern in terms of noise, smoke, dust and vibrations produced by the plying of different types of transports on these highways. These kinds of unwanted disturbances create a negative atmosphere on the holdings, visitors and staff of these institutions.Although all of the institutions have apparently strong looking buildings that are made up of good material, the matter of concern is that only one institution (SPS museum) has a building which was specifically made for the purpose. As the state of Jammu and Kashmir is politically and geographically unstable, it is found that most of the institutions are prone to disasters like floods, earthquake and bomb threats which pose a threat to these valuable institutions and their valuable holdings.The most necessary and important parameter that is the training of the staff for disaster preparedness is not provided in majority of these institutions.Despite the fact that funds for majority of these institutions are provided by the government, the funds provided are insufficient for having fool-proof disaster preparedness and management.

Because of tremendous significance of archives and museums in propagation and preservation of historical and cultural identity of any nation, culture, ethnicity or nation state, the current study sheds light on the status of these important institutions in a very important part of Central Asia. Kashmir in past has been the cradle of knowledge evolution and sharing in the region. As such, it possesses some of the very rare manuscripts and artifacts preserved in her archives and museums.

As this study is limited to select archives and museums of Jammu and Kashmir, the findings of this study may or may not represent the wider region of Central Asia.

Providing access to holdings is central to the work of archives, particularly those institutions which are publicly funded. Recently, questions relating to access have assumed additional importance for archives and other information institutions. To address these concerns, institutions such as the National Archives of Canada have become more aggressive in promoting the use of their holdings. A significant component of this strategy involves the provision, through various means, of copied holdings and information about those holdings. While similar, there are important differences between interlending in libraries and similar activities in archival institutions. These differences stem from the unique nature of archival documents. The National Archives of Canada disseminates information about itself and its holdings, as well as copies of actual holdings, through several programmes. These programmes include inter‐institutional loan of copies, photocopying services, a programme diffusing copies to provincial archives, and a new initiative to provide access to such information at “decentralized access sites” across the country.

The purpose of this paper is to research the approach of memory institutions to collaboration by analysing collaboration patterns in the networks developed in digitisation initiatives.

Qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the comments about partners and contractors made by respondents of the NUMERIC survey on the progress of digitisation in European cultural institutions was performed. Several attributes of collaborative networks of memory institutions were analysed: their size, members by type of organisation, and visibility of collaborators of particular type. Additionally, comparative analysis of collaborative networks of archives, libraries and museums was carried out.

Memory institutions did not approach collaboration strategically. They exhibited a low engagement in collaboration and focused on establishing resource‐sharing networks. Many of them established networks with the institutions of the same type.

The number of archives which provided comments about their networks was much fewer than the number of libraries and museums. It suggests that additional research on archives and their networks is needed to obtain more reliable data.

The results of this research are useful for managers responsible for digitisation initiatives, evaluating and revising collaboration strategies; professional associations, governmental and advisory bodies working with memory institutions for planning, and providing support and advice in digitisation.

The results of this research would be relevant for professional associations, governmental and advisory bodies, working with memory institutions.

This chapter deploys qualitative interviews with employees of rural South Carolina cultural institutions to assess the state of their rural community archives in order to understand both the practices and needs of the institutions within their relationship to larger, traditional archives with the aim to better understand national trends around community archives.

The research uses open-ended qualitative interviews based on snowball sampling focused on cultural institutions in populations defined as “rural” by the state of South Carolina. Using snowball sampling allowed for communities to self-identify other cultural institutions previously overlooked in surveys of rural South Carolina archival holdings.

Findings from the interviews provide new community-defined understandings of both practices and needs of rural community archives. Valuable insights include the following:

• A clear awareness on the part of rural community archives of their relationship to larger practices of archiving

• Notable moments of creativity by rural community archives concerning long-term self-sustenance

• A continued need for low-cost, low-barrier methods of digital outreach for both preservation and communication

• A more direct stream of access to grant funding favoring community archival practitioners over user-based research funding

A clear awareness on the part of rural community archives of their relationship to larger practices of archiving

Notable moments of creativity by rural community archives concerning long-term self-sustenance

A continued need for low-cost, low-barrier methods of digital outreach for both preservation and communication

A more direct stream of access to grant funding favoring community archival practitioners over user-based research funding

While many examples of community-based archival practice exist within British, Australian, and New Zealand research, such studies remain sparse and entity specific within the United States. This continued lack of case studies and models for understanding and aiding rural, community archives within the United States is only amplified when divided by regions and states. By focusing directly on the concerns of practitioners working to preserve and make available localized histories, this research illuminates both the incredible agency of rural community cultural institutions while re-conceptualizing the needs of such groups.

Moving images represent a category of material which has historically received short shrift in most libraries and archives. Film, video, and now digital images form a significant part of many library and archival collections, however, and can be found in many formats and genres. Despite the ubiquity of such media in cultural institutions, the majority of libraries and archives owning collections of moving images have neglected these holdings—with the specific exception of those few archives devoted primarily to the care and preservation of moving images.

The purpose of this paper is to identify challenges related to the management and preservation of audio-visual (AV) records and/or archives in archival institutions in Sub Saharan Africa and suggests strategies for resolving them.

This study is qualitative in nature and used content analysis from desk top review of literature to identify the challenges and suggested solutions.

Among others, the study revealed that budgetary constraints, poor environmental controls, ill-equipped staff and technological obsolescence are the major challenges hampering the efforts of archival institutions in Sub Saharan Africa to manage and preserve AV archives.

The contextual differences due to existing political set ups in archival agencies in Sub Saharan Africa may or may not be receptive to some of the strategies suggested for the improvement of managing and preserving audio visual archives.

The paper provides practical solutions which can inform policy and practice; thus, if adopted by archival agencies, the findings can add to improvements in the management and preservation of AV records.

The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the preservation and management of AV archives in the context of Sub Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to report on research that examined the relationship between, and collaboration of, Croatian archives, libraries and museums.

Online survey and unstructured interviews with archivists from across Croatia were used to investigate collaborative activities in Croatian archives.

Archivists see libraries and museums as their natural partners and believe that collaboration facilitates their mission and leads to better service to patrons. However, they all believe that there is room for more intensive inter‐institutional partnerships. Apart from numerous benefits, they also indicated a number of challenges they face in collaborative activities.

A larger sample for qualitative methodology would greatly serve to clarify and expand upon the findings.

The results of this survey are useful to cultural heritage professionals in planning and organisation of collaborative projects. Also, government and authorised institutions can learn about what kind of support archives would need to embark on a more intensive collaboration.

To the author's knowledge, this is the first work that looks in detail into collaborative activities of archives. As far as the authors are aware, similar investigations have been carried out regarding library and museum collaboration only.

This study aims to assess the role of the National Archives of South Africa (NARSSA) in promoting the preservation and management of private archives.

This study used the qualitative method, and data was collected through unstructured questionnaires and interviews. In addition, purposive sampling was used to collect data from the selected archivist.

The study found that the NARSSA raised awareness on the preservation of private archives and is also in the process of reviewing the National Archives and Records Service Act 43 of 1996 to promote the preservation and management of private archives. The study also revealed that the role of the NARSSA in enforcing compliance with Section 14 of the National Archives and Records Service Act 43 of 1996 for the proper management and coordination of private archives was ineffective because of a lack of coordination, infrastructure, training and development.

The qualitative data was obtained from three participants with the NARSSA and two selected from private archives. The sample is small to generalise results. The public–private cooperation in archives management is limited, and this is proved by the severely limited number of participants in the research. Furthermore, the private archive in this study is limited to the liberation movement archives institutions in South Africa.

This study could work as a stimulus for potential approaches to conduct further research on the possible kinds of cooperation between private–public archival organisations.

The study is innovative, in that there are very few research investigations that focused on the cooperation between private and public archives in the African region and especially in South Africa.

The article makes a significant contribution to the area of private–public archival organisations, especially in South Africa. It will expand the knowledge on private–public archive cooperation and management in South Africa and the rest of the African continent.

In commemoration of the 50 years of archives administration in Nigeria, the purpose of this paper is to look at the establishment of the National Archives of Nigeria, its expansion and development over the years and its role in coordinating records management in Nigeria.

The paper is based on published literature and documentary evidence from records.

The paper discusses the gains of the past, particularly the high hopes of the 1970s and the expansion and consolidation of the 1980s which rolled into the early 1990s. Notes the decadence of the 1990s and highlights the problems that bedevilled the institutions and archives and records management in the country among which are poor funding, lack of appreciation of the importance of archives, obsolete equipment and high staff turn over.

The paper identifies the challenges and sets the agenda for the future.