UNIVERSITY OF LIVINGSTONIA

LAWS CAMPUS
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

Course Outline

Introduction to English Grammar

1. Programme : Bachelor of information and

Knowledge management

2. Subject : Archives management

3. Course Title : Archives management
4. Course Code :
5. Year of Study :1
6. Prerequisite :
7. Duration : 16
8. Lecture Hours Per Week :2
9. Tutorial/Seminar Hours Per Week :2
10. Practical Hours Per Week : None
11. Student Independent Learning Hours Per Week :4
12. Total Course Credits : 4.5
13. Assessment Weighting : Continuous Assessment 40%
: Final Examination 60%

14. Course description

This course provides a survey of principles and practices that archivists and records
managers apply, as well as issues that they confront. We will discuss the nature of
documentation and recordkeeping in contemporary society and the different types of
institutions with responsibility for records. We will also examine the archival profession, its
internal diversity and its relationships with allied professions.

15. Aims of the course

The course aims at equipping students with advanced knowledge and skills in
appraisal, retention and disposal of manuscripts and archival materials and establish
best-practice procedures for the management of appraisal, retention and disposal.

16. Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students must be able to:
a. Demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of archival appraisal, retention
and disposal of manuscripts and archival materials.
b. Explain the various approaches related to the appraisal process
c. Assess continuing utility and enduring value of manuscripts and archival
materials.
d. Exhibit knowledge of the Appraisal of Backlogs and choosing a proper
 disposal action
e. Validate the ability to design and implement disposal schedules

17. Topics of the course

a. Archives
i. Concepts of Archives
ii. Types of Archives
iii. History of Archives
iv. Characteristics of projects

b. Archive Management
i. Principles of Archives
ii. Theory of Archive Management
iii. Archival Practice
iv. Arrangement and Description of Archives (Part One)
v. Arrangement and Description of Archives (Part Two)

c. Appraisal, Retention and Disposal of Manuscripts and Archival

Materials
i. General principles of appraisal, retention and disposal
ii. Aim of appraisal, retention and disposal
iii. Preconditions for effective appraisal, retention and disposal
iv. Legislation and policies
v. Service targets

d. Principles of the appraisal process

i. The appraisal process and practice
ii. Life cycle appraisal
iii. Series control

e. Appraising Manuscripts for Enduring Value

i. Retention period
ii. Disposal policy
iii. Functional appraisal
iv. Appraising for Informational and Intrinsic Value

f. The Appraisal of Backlogs

i. Records survey
ii. Records inventory
iii. Sorting records
iv. Appraisal and disposal action

g. Choosing Disposal Action

i. Disposal options
 ii. Transfer of records from public control
iii. Selective archival preservation
iv. File-by-file review
v. Sampling
vi. Choosing specimens

h. Disposal Schedules
i. Concept of a disposal schedule
ii. General disposal schedules
iii. Agency disposal schedules
iv. Roles and responsibilities
v. Content of disposal schedules
vi. Disposal control documentation
vii. Destruction of records
viii. Updating disposal schedules

18. Mode of delivery, teaching and learning methods and materials

a. Mode of delivery: Blended (face to face, and online).

b. Teaching and Learning Methods: Lecture, class discussion, presentations
and group work. Materials will include computers, projectors,
whiteboards, and textbooks

19. Prescribed Texts

Brockmeier, J. (2015). Beyond the archive: Memory, narrative, and the

autobiographical process. Oxford University Press

Lee, C. ed. (2011).Digital: Personal Collections in the Digital Era. Chicago, IL:

Society of American Archivists,

M.G.G.T. (2018). ROSSETA: How to archive more than 10 years of

mission. Planetary and Space Science, 150, 91-103.

Millar, L. (2010). Archives: Principles and Practices. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman.

Mauthner, N.S. & Gárdos, J. (2015). Archival practices and the making

of “Memories”, New Review of Information Networking, 20:1-2,

155-169

20. Recommended Texts

Hohmann, P. (2016). On Impartiality and Interrelatedness: Reactions to

 Jenkinsonian Appraisal in the Twentieth Century. American Archivist, 79(1),

1 4-25

The National Archives (2016). Archive principles and practice: an

introduction to archives for non-archivists

Niu, J. (2015). Original order in the digital world. Archives and

manuscripts, 43(1), 61–72.

SO 15489-1 (2016). Information and Documentation – Records

Management – Part 1; General, International Standards Organization.

https://www.iso.org/standard/62542.html.

Yeo, G. (2012).The Conceptual Fonds and the Physical Collection.

Archivaria 73 43- 80.