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FROM THE DESK OF THE ARCHIVES ADVISOR
by Michael Gourlie
Patterns in the ANA Database Subject Groupings
The ANA database is comprised of numerous fields, some of which are required elements of RAD and others that are not. One of the non-RAD fields built into the ANA database is the subject groups (SG) field. Allowing for over twenty different responses, this field is intended to identify areas of both abundance and scarcity in the province's archival holdings. At this stage of the database's development, statistics from the SG field suggest themes that archivists might be mindful of in their ongoing acquisition activities.
Before undertaking this preliminary review, it is necessary to qualify the analysis of the numbers. With any evaluation of this type, there are always questions about how to interpret the statistics. In this database, which has had many different people entering information, there may have been different interpretations about the meaning of a particular SG phrase. An institution may have decided to limit the number of SG phrases entered into a database record or only focussed on the major themes found in a fonds or collection. One could also argue that assigning an abstract term, such as "commerce and industry" or "first nations," does not address the content of the records themselves. The fonds or collections included in a subject grouping may present only one perspective of a diverse and complex component of society rather than the balanced representation archivists would prefer. One might even question the validity of choosing specific terms over others. Even allowing for these factors, examining the "hits" or frequency of the use of these terms points to some recurring trends in the province's archival holdings.
The five most often used SG phrases are education, agriculture, art, women, and family and personal life. The popularity of these terms is relatively easy to explain. The term most frequently used, "education," would appear as a result of the holdings of the university archival programs as well as the preponderance of records from small local school districts found in community archives. Agriculture, one of Alberta's dominant economic forces, is clearly represented within the documentary heritage preserved by the province's archives. Family and personal life is almost a default term used for the many family and personal fonds acquired by archival programs. While somewhat surprising, the occurrence of the terms "art" and "women" illustrate that records representing these subjects seem to form an important and sizable component of the fonds and collections preserved by archival repositories.
The five least used SG phrases are labour, science and technology; land, settlement and immigration; cultural pluralism; and environment. There is a partial explanation for why some of these terms appear so infrequently. The term "land, settlement and immigration" is used for materials related to land settlement companies, land surveyors, and organizations that sponsor or support immigrants. It can be argued that these types of records relate to a short period of time in the early twentieth century, and they would naturally comprise only a small volume of archival holdings. Used for individuals, organizations, natural areas and recycling businesses, the subject group "environment" may represent too recent a social trend to have generated a paper trail within our institutions. The term "cultural pluralism" may be defined too narrowly as including only records related to individuals or organizations devoted to the preservation of a particular community, rather than the communities themselves. If archival repositories have used it for records of these communities, this situation may identify a rather large gap in our collective holdings.
The dearth of records representing the two remaining terms is harder to explain. It is surprising that our archives do not have many records representing the individuals, research foundations, schools or organizations whose materials relate to "science and technology." Is it that archivists have not yet reached out to these individuals and organizations, or are they accurately represented within our holdings as a relatively small element of Alberta's society? The most baffling statistic is the scarcity of records using the term "labour," which had the fewest hits of all the subject groupings. Given that the first union locals and labour organizations in Alberta predate 1905, there would seem to be a large quantity of material that either has not survived or remains with the original records creators. It would seem that this is a potential area for archival development in order to balance the existing documentation of the province's mining, construction, printing, transportation, and manufacturing industries.
While these statistics are interesting, their applicability has limits. It is not likely that an archival repository would refuse to acquire a body of records on the basis that they pertain to subject groups that appear over-represented in the statistics. These statistics are a snapshot in time and will change with every update to the database. As more archival institutions process records and add descriptions to the ANA database, these numbers will fluctuate and suggest new patterns and trends in the province's collective archival holdings. By occasionally revisiting the SG statistics, Alberta's archival community can observe how its acquisition activities are affecting the creation of the province's documentary legacy and assess whether we are satisfied with the results.
Submitted by Michael Gourlie
ASA Archives Advisor
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