The effect of converted buildings on the management of records and archives: A case study of Eastern Cape Provincial Archives, South Africa.

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the effect of converted archives buildings on the management of records and archives in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Provincial archives. The objectives of the study were to: find out the nature of archives buildings in the Eastern Cape Province; find out if the archives buildings comply with the legal and regulatory framework of records and archives management; evaluate if the archive buildings have space for extension; establish if there is appropriate space for various archival functions; find out if the archives buildings are accessible to current and potential users; determine if there is an adequate storage accommodation; determine if there are preservation measures in place to safeguard the collection; determine the security of the storage facilities; and identify challenges of the current provincial archives buildings to the management of records and archives. This was a case study which adopted both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The researcher followed a rigorous methodological path that began with a thorough literature review and the careful and thoughtful posing of research questions and objectives. A sample was purposively chosen where Eastern Cape Provincial Archives senior staff members were interviewed using in-depth face-to-face structured interviews. Observations and document analysis were also used as instruments of collecting data for the study. Collected data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 21 (SPSS 21) and Microsoft Excel 2010. The study found that all Eastern Cape Provincial Archives are housed in converted buildings. It also indicated that scholars, historians and general South Africans are disadvantaged because the Eastern Cape Provincial Archives have been less carefully preserved. There is a space crisis, with current space already filled to overflowing. The study also revealed that there is a lack of proper environmental control as a result the records and archives of the Eastern Cape Province are exposed to all elements of destruction. From the findings, it is recommended that: The national archives should commit resources into the provincial management of records and archive, archives practitioners to be educated on how the building could assist in making the management of records and archives a possibility, for the revision of legal framework to include specification for housing of archives.