Archiving Resource- finding
a home for your dance archives
The Dance Industry Strategy consultation showed that people are genuinely concerned, and
wish to do something, about preserving their dance heritage.
DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand) and The National Dance Archive of New Zealand
(NDA) are working to raise awareness of the importance of archiving. This resource aims to
provide basic information on what to consider and who to approach regarding your dance
material and history.
NDA aims to encourage all people within the New Zealand dance community to be
responsible for documenting the history of their art by maintaining their own records. It also
aims to encourage the deposit of certain dance materials, in libraries or other locations.
NDA and DANZ can provide advice, but neither organisation collects archives. To be
remembered as part of our dance heritage, it is up to the organisations, companies and
individuals involved in dance to document the history of New Zealand dance.
There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself.
What should I keep?
Archives are the unpublished records of individuals and organisations with historical
significance. Material may include:
- Printed ephemera – posters, programmes, flyers, publicity material
- Digital/analogue recordings – DVD’s, film, video and audio tapes
- Photographs
- Designs – costume and set designs
- Newspaper clippings – advertisements, reviews, articles
- Choreographic notes
- Important correspondence
Dance groups/companies should also keep:
- Financial records
- Administrative files
How should the material be stored?
The National Library has produced a series of booklets giving advice on how to best protect
and preserve your precious items. Subjects covered include photographs, books, artworks on
paper, sound recordings and community archives. These booklets can
be downloaded from
their web site. at
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/services/getadvice/
preservation/preservationhelp
See Appendix below for a list of suppliers of conservation storage materials.
How can I find a home for my archives?
Having collected material on your career, company or organisation, there may come a point
when you wish to hand this material over to a library or museum where it can be catalogued
and made available for research purposes.
Each library or museum will have its own policy on what they collect. Most institutions usually
focus on the region they are situated in, but will also accept collections of national
significance. There are a number of issues you need to consider when depositing your
material.
- How is the collection cared for?
Preservation standards vary widely depending on funding. Ideally you want your material
to be placed in archival boxes to protect them from damage and deterioration, then stored
in secure temperature and humidity controlled areas. Archival libraries and museums
have the best standards of conservation.
- Will the material be kept forever?
It is a good idea to check the deposit agreement to ensure that material is offered back to
the donor or to an archival institution if no longer required.
- Who will have access to the collection?
If your collection contains sensitive material, caveats can be placed around it to control
who can access the material, or when it will be made available.
- Who owns the material?
Donation: Legal ownership of the archives is transferred to the library/museum, who then
take responsibility for the ongoing care and access to the collection.
Deposit: Some organisations will take archives on deposit. The legal ownership remains
with the depositing organisation. Deposits are normally accepted only for ongoing
organisations.
The following is a selection of some of the major library and museum collections. You may
also wish to contact your local library or museum.
Film Archive – Film and Video Collection
http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/
ALL recordings of your dance performances should be regularly deposited with the
Film Archive as a matter of policy. This is an easy way of ensuring a record of your
work is preserved.
Collects: features and short films, newsreels, documentaries, home movies, music videos,
television programmes, commercials, experimental films and video art.
Any item deposited with the Archive remains the property of the depositor and the copyright
for the material remains with the legal rights holders.
If you only posses a single copy of an item then the Film Archive with make a duplicate copy
and return the original to you
Once items are deposited they are stored in secure, climatecontrolled
vaults and catalogued.
Each new item is copied to create a 'master' from which digital files are made. DVD copies
are then made available for viewing for all New Zealanders via the Archive's public access
sites and public events.
Contacts:
Wellington, Geoff Rogers, Manager Acquisition (04) 384 7647
Auckland (09) 379 0688
Alexander Turnbull Library
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/atl
The Alexander Turnbull Library is one of the safest places to deposit material. As it has very
high conservation standards, and ecause it is owned by the Crown, material, once
deposited, cannot be disposed of.
Manuscripts Collection
Collects: records of individuals and organisations of national and international standing.
Oral History Centre
Collects: interviews with people as well as recordings of talks, readings and events.
Printed Ephemera Collection
Collects: posters, programmes, pamphlets.
Concentrates on collecting material for the Wellington region, but also takes material from
professional dance companies outside the Wellington region.
Photographic Archive
Collects: images of New Zealand and the Pacific from the 1850’s to the present day.
Drawings, Paintings and Prints Collection
Collects: watercolours, drawings, sketchbooks, oil paintings and prints, including stage
designs.
Other major libraries and museums
1. Hocken Collection, University of Otago
http://www.library.otago.ac.nz
Collects: archives, ephemera, photographs, drawings and film. It collects widely in relation to
the history and culture of New Zealand and Pacific, with an emphasis on Otago and
Southland regions.
2. Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury
http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/mb/
Collects: archives that reflect a broad cross section of the community, both organisations and
individuals.
3. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library
http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/232/museumlibrary
Collects: a broad range of material, would be interested in material relating to community
dance groups or dance society records.
4. Canterbury Museum, Documentary Research Centre
http://www.canterburymuseum.com/museum_highlights.asp?subcat=102
Collects: photographs documents and records relating to Canterbury people, places and
heritage.
5. Auckland City Libraries, New Zealand Manuscripts Collection
http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com/aboutthelibraries/collections/SpecialCollections/ManuscriptsandarchivesatSpecialCollections.aspx
Collects: material relating to New Zealand and particularly Auckland, concentrating on
performing arts, community groups and Maori.
Contact: Kate De Courcy or Iain Sharp Ph (09) 307 7758
6. Wellington City Archives
http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/archives/
Collects: records relating to Wellington City Council, but also records of other organisations
who have made a significant contribution to the life and development of Wellington.
Other options
If you wish to keep hold of your material yourself, there are a number of new digital initiatives
that can facilitate you to make information about the material you hold more widely available.
Aotearoa Peoples Network, and Kete
http://www.aotearoapeoplesnetwork.og
The Aotearoa People’s Network is part of the government’s digital strategy. The aim of the
project is to provide free access to broadband internet services through public libraries, so
that people can access and create digital content. It is now available in 120 libraries
throughout New Zealand, with a regional focus. Part of the project has been to provide
customers with the ability to gather and digitise the stories of their communities through kete,
a digital archive. This is an opportunity for the dance community to build their own digital
archive of photographs, video recordings, and documents. So far thirteen libraries have joined up to Kete, if your library isn’t part of this you could lobby for them to join.
For an example of what kete looks like see the Hamilton site
http://ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info/
A number of Hamilton’s community dance groups (Scottish Dancing Society, Square Dance)
have input information on the history of their groups and included photos of their activities,
and cultural organisations have input photos and information on community celebrations
(Philippine Independence Day, Diwali).
The Community Archive
http://www.thecommunityarchive.org.nz/about_the_community_archive
Archives New Zealand has developed the Community Archive to enable individuals,
organisations and communities to publish information about their collections. There is a web
based administration module that you can use to enter information about you and your
collection. The information is then made available for viewing through the web site. This is an
opportunity for dance organisations, or individuals with substantial archival collections, to alert
people to the archival material that exists for dance and raise the profile of dance in New
Zealand.
APPENDIX
Suppliers of conservation quality materials, recommended by the National Library.
Conservation Supplies
PO Box 646
Warkworth 0941
Phone: 09 425 7380
Fax: 09 425 7385
Email: info@conservationsupplies.co.nz
Website: www.conservationsupplies.co.nz
Port Nicholson Packaging
PO Box 38133
Wellington Mail Centre
Phone: 04 568 5018
Fax: 09 568 5538
Email: sales@pnp.co.nz
Website: www.pnp.co.nz
Spiral Path Book Studio
Custom made boxes
7 Brussels Place
Birkenhead
Auckland
Phone: 09 480 3185
Fax: 09 480 3186
Email: spiralpath@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.spiralpath.co.nz
Triptych
Custom made boxes
PO Box 16133
Wellington 6242
Phone: 04 970 0228
Fax: 04 939 1228
Email: info@triptychconservation.co.nz
Website: www.triptychconservation.co.nz
See DANZ website resources page for further professional development resources : www.danz.org.nz/resources.php
Thank you Creative New Zealand for supporting the development of professional resources.
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