Conceptual problems posed by electronic records: a RAMP study

3. Archival principles
Respect des fonds and principe de provenance
Notes

3. Archival principles

Respect des fonds and principe de provenance

3.1 The principle of respect des fonds is clearly the one which has defined the archivist's role and
distinguishes the archival profession from other information management professions. Respect des
fonds as defined by Michel Duchein is "to group, without mixing them with others, the archives
(documents of every kind) created by or coming from an administration, establishment, person, or
corporate body. This grouping is called the fonds of the archives of that administration,
establishment or person" (1). Duchein continues, "today it may be said that with few exceptions,
the principle of respect des fond, or principe de provenance, is universally accepted as the basis of
theoretical and practical archival science." The principle, however, is not without problems.
Modem governments and organizations create, change, reorganize on a continuing basis. This rapid
change has led to criticism of the principe de provenance even with respect to the application of
the principle to the ever growing body of hardcopy textual records. The principle, as recognized by
Peter Scott, implies that the fonds is a "stable entity, whereas in reality the group is hardly ever
static but subject to change" (2).

3.2 The context in which records are created provides much of the meaning and value of the
records. To provide such context at the fonds level is, in many cases, a formidable task as the fonds
may consist of series which originate from several administrative bodies resulting from
reorganizations of programs or functions. It is clear that today's organizations, both public and
private, test the fundamental basis on which archival practices are defined.

3.3 The arrival of electronic records adds to this dilemma as the way in which information is
created and used is changing. The ease with which records are created, exchanged, conserved and
deleted both horizontally and vertically within an organization as well as with other organizations
force the archival profession to examine the principles on which the profession is based and adapt
or modify these principles to meet the challenges ahead. It is important to examine the issues
arising from new methods of record creation in relation to the archival functions of appraisal,
arrangement and description, and conservation. Through such an examination, suggested methods
of identifying and resolving issues presented by technology can be identified.

3.4 The debate on the applicability of archival principles to modem records is already underway.
Two views already documented provide opposing sides:

(1) "criticisms of respect des fonds bear only on its applications and not the principle itself " (3);

(2) "Record Group is, from many points of view, an unduly limiting concept in archives
management and.... an unnecessary complication. " (4)

The growing use of electronic records through office automation will ensure that the archival
profession examines the principles fully.

3.5 The predictions of the "paperless office" have yet to materialize and, in fact, the amount of
paper has increased substantially over the past decade. Rather than reduce the amount of paper, the
introduction of computer technology has increased the number of products and copies of such
products. The work of the archivist in the identification of the records of archival value has
increased due to the paper burden. The expansion of responsibilities of governments in general has
increased the number of programs for which they are charged and the number of records created as
a result of these programs; continued pressure from the research community to retain more, rather
than fewer, records is strong.

The complexity of organizations, the often overlapping of authority and sharing of information
makes it important to examine the archival functions of appraisal, arrangement and description,
conservation and public service.

3.6 The following chapters will discuss the issues raised by electronic records, specifically
touching on electronic records created in the office environment, Geographic Information Systems,
and inter-organizational information systems. Problems relating to appraisal, arrangement and
description, conservation and dissemination will be identified through the use of these systems. In
some cases, existing practices for machine readable records will be outlined indicating how new
information creation techniques require archivists to review and revise existing methods of
operation.

Notes
1. Duchein, Michel. "Theoretical Principles and Practical Problems of Respect des fonds in
Archival Science", Archivaria 16, Summer, 1983,p.64.

2. Scott, Peter and G.Finlay. "Archives and Administrative Change:Some Methods and Approaches
(Part I)", Archives and Manuscripts. Volume 7, Number 3, August 1978, p. 115.

3. Duchein, Michel. "Theoretical Principles and Practical Problems of Respect des fonds in
Archival Science", Archivaria 16, Summer, 1983,p.66.

4. Scott, Peter,J.."The Record Group Concept: A Case for Abandonment". The American
Archivist. Volume 29, Number 4, October, 1966,p.502.