• Journal of Korean Society of Archives and Records Management
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.69-94
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• 2001

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current status of the records management science education in Japan, and to examine the implications of the rapid growth of this filed while noting some of its significant issues and problems. The goal of records management science education is to improve the quality of information services and to assure an adequate supply of information professionals. Because records management science programs prepare students for a professional career, their curricula must encompass elements of both education and practical training. This is often expressed as a contrast between theory and practice. The confluence of the social, economic and technological realities of the environment where the learning takes place affects both. This paper reviews the historical background and current trends of records management science education in Japan. It also analyzes the various types of curriculum and the teaching staff of these institutions, with focus on the status of the undergraduate program at Surugadai University, the first comprehensive, university level program in Japan. The Faculty of Cultural Information Resources, Surugadai University, a new school toward an integrated information disciplines, was opened in 1994, to explore the theory and practice of the management diverse cultural information resources. Its purpose was to stimulate and promote research in additional fields of information science by offering professional training in archival science, records management, and museum curatorship, as well as librarianship. In 1999, the school introduced a master program, the first in Japan. The Faculty has two departments and each of them has two courses; Department of Sensory Information Resources Management; -Sound and Audiovisual Information Management, -Landscape and Tourism Information Management, Department of Knowledge Information Resources Management; -Library and Information Management, -Records and Archives Management The structure of the entire curriculum is also organized in stages from the time of entrance through basic instruction and onwards. Orientation subjects which a student takes immediately upon entering university is an introduction to specialized education, in which he learns the basic methods of university education and study, During his first and second years, he arranges Basic and Core courses as essential steps towards specialization at university. For this purpose, the courses offer a wide variety of study topics. The number of courses offered, including these, amounts to approximately 150. While from his third year onwards, he begins specific courses that apply to his major field, and in a gradual accumulation of seminar classes and practical training, puts his knowledge grained to practical use. Courses pertaining to these departments are offered to students beginning their second year. However, there is no impenetrable wall between the two departments, and there are only minor differences with regard requirements for graduation. Students may select third or fourth year seminars regardless of the department to which they belong. To be awarded a B.A. in Cultural Information Resources, the student is required to earn 34 credits in Basic Courses(such as, Social History of Cultural Information, Cultural Anthropology, History of Science, Behavioral Sciences, Communication, etc.), 16 credits in Foreign Languages(including 10 in English), 14 credits on Information Processing(including both theory and practice), and 60 credits in the courses for his or her major. Finally, several of the issues and problems currently facing records management science education in Japan are briefly summarized below; -Integration and Incorporation of related areas and similar programs, -Curriculum Improvement, -Insufficient of Textbooks, -Lack of qualified Teachers, -Problems of the employment of Graduates. As we moved toward more sophisticated, integrated, multimedia information services, information professionals will need to work more closely with colleagues in other specialties. It will become essential to the survival of the information professions for librarians to work with archivists, record managers and museum curators. Managing the changes in our increasingly information-intensive society demands strong coalitions among everyone in cultural Institutions. To provide our future colleagues with these competencies will require building and strengthening partnerships within and across the information professions and across national borders.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.45
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• pp.51-82
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• 2015

Maeul-making, which is to restore inherent characteristics of maeul as a living community has been proceeded by local communities themselves since the 1990s when political democracy and local government in Korean society has been progressed in full-scale. Although New Maeul Movement has been done in the 1970s before and after, it is different from maeul-making because it was focused mainly on improving physical environments of rural communities and initiated by government. The development of maeul community archives in Korea has been related closely to such a maeul-making since the 1990s. Maeul-based community archives, maeul community archives had been begun to build as part of maeul-making and grass-root movement by the 2000s. Initiated by self-motivated communities, maeul community archives were carried out through cooperations between civic activists and residents in maeul communities and voluntary professional archivists from outside. Although records about the maeul community has been collected by mainstream cultural institutions such as public archives, museum, local historical association, and local cultural center, it was at this time to collect records of the maeul community by self-motivated local residents. This tendency of 'independent' maeul community archives, however, is currently entering upon a new phase with the city of Seoul's project (2012) to support making a maeul community, that is, the governance phase based on private-government partnership. At this point of time, it is important for maeul community archives to be built on privately-led governance model that guarantees their autonomy and at the same time bring government's knowhow and supports into them, as opposed to the way captured or driven unilaterally by government. This article explores the growth of maeul community archives and collections in Korean society through a range of self-motivated bodies; the interaction with government; and as a result of those interactions, the creation of maeul community archives based on governance. To introduce and explicate the motivations behind maeul archiving endeavors, this article will first sketch something of the historical, social, and political context in which 'maeul' communities have arisen, collapsed, and restored. It will then examine in more detail some specific examples of maeul community archives as grass-root movement of maeul community. The third section will attempt to identify the governance model of maeul community archives under the auspices of the city of Seoul and its limitations. Finally through these activities, it will suggest the ways in which maeul community archives commit themselves to their duty of grass-root movement of community and at the same time, secure sustainability, that is, concrete ways of privately initiated governance model.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.26
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• pp.103-149
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• 2010

Documentation strategy has been experimented in various subject areas and local regions since late 1980's when it was proposed as archival appraisal and selection methods by archival communities in the United States. Though it was criticized to be too ideal, it needs to shed new light on the potentialities of the strategy for documenting local regions in digital environment. The purpose of this study is to analyse the implementation issues of documentation strategy and to suggest the directions for documenting local regions of Korea through the application of the strategy. The documentation strategy which was developed more than twenty years ago in mostly western countries gives us some implications for documenting local regions even in current digital environments. They are as follows; Firstly, documentation strategy can enhance the value of archivists as well as archives in local regions because archivist should be active shaper of history rather than passive receiver of archives according to the strategy. It can also be a solution for overcoming poor conditions of local archives management in Korea. Secondly, the strategy can encourage cooperation between collecting institutions including museums, libraries, archives, cultural centers, history institutions, etc. in each local region. In the networked environment the cooperation can be achieved more effectively than in traditional environment where the heavy workload of cooperative institutions is needed. Thirdly, the strategy can facilitate solidarity of various groups in local region. According to the analysis of the strategy projects, it is essential to collect their knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm of related groups to effectively implement the strategy. It can also provide a methodology for minor groups of society to document their memories. This study suggests the directions of documenting local regions in consideration of current archival infrastructure of Korean as follows; Firstly, very selective and intensive documentation should be pursued rather than comprehensive one for documenting local regions. Though it is a very political problem to decide what subject has priority for documentation, interests of local community members as well as professional groups should be considered in the decision-making process seriously. Secondly, it is effective to plan integrated representation of local history in the distributed custody of local archives. It would be desirable to implement archival gateway for integrated search and representation of local archives regardless of the location of archives. Thirdly, it is necessary to try digital documentation using Web 2.0 technologies. Documentation strategy as the methodology of selecting and acquiring archives can not avoid subjectivity and prejudices of appraiser completely. To mitigate the problems, open documentation system should be prepared for reflecting different interests of different groups. Fourth, it is desirable to apply a conspectus model used in cooperative collection management of libraries to document local regions digitally. Conspectus can show existing documentation strength and future documentation intensity for each participating institution. Using this, documentation level of each subject area can be set up cooperatively and effectively in the local regions.