About the
National Archives and Records Service
of South Africa

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE

What is the National Archives and Records Service?

"...to provide for a National Archives and Records Service; the proper management and care of the records of governmental bodies; and the preservation and use of a national archival heritage; and to provide for matters connected therewith." Preamble to the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996 as amended).

The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa was established by promulgation of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No 43 of 1996 as amended). This piece of legislation transformed the former State Archives Service into a National Archives and Records Service whose mission, functions and structures reflect the South African democratic political order and imperatives. In essence, the mission of the National Archives and Records Service is to foster a national identity and the protection of rights

Records were originally created for a specific purpose as evidence of transactions. By preserving public records created by governmental bodies as archives, the National Archives and Records Service seeks to preserve the memory of what a governmental body, an organization or an individual did, as well as the circumstances and context connected with the activity. Archival records therefore help us to understand who we are, either as individuals or as organizations, and where we come from. By providing us with information about our past, we are better able to understand the present. This information is as important to a nation as individual memory is to each person. Indeed, archives provide a basis for the proper understanding of the past that is important in South Africa to inform the development of a new democratic society. A public archives such as the National Archives and Records Service is therefore a special resource for dealing with the social memory of our nation and with protecting people's rights in our country. It is a major resource for fostering a national identity. It is also a treasure house of national memory resources that is accessible to all.

Through its statutory regulation of the management of current government records, the National Archives and Records Service promotes efficient, accountable and transparent evidence-based governance. This is because the information in public records constitutes a strategic resource to enable governmental service delivery. Public records also serve as a major channel for accountability, and are a cornerstone of democracy. Through access to public records and archives, transparency is promoted. By regulating systems of classification of public records in all media and their functional management and disposal, the National Archives and Records Service fosters their effective retrieval, use and preservation for functional and archival purposes.

The Act provides for a National Archives Advisory Council to advise the Minister and the Director-General of Arts and Culture on any matter relating to the operation of the Act, and to advise the National Archivist on furthering the objects and functions of the National Archives. The other functions of the National Archives Advisory Council as contained in the Act ar to advise and consult with the South African Heritage Resources Agency on the protection of records forming part of the National Estate; to consult with the Public Protector on investigations into unauthorized destruction of records otherwise protected under the Act; and to submit a business plan annually to the Minister for his approval. The composition of the National Archives Advisory Council is determined by section 6 of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act.

What records does the National Archives and Records Service keep?

The definition of what constitutes "an archival record" has undergone profound changes in tandem with the discourses in the development of the history of ideas. For centuries an archival record was identified with manuscripts, with written records. With time the "archival record" came to mean recorded information, without regard to form or medium. Essential to this definition is the understanding that a record takes on archival quality if the information it contains has enduring value. Archival records can therefore be paper-based textual records, electronic records, audio-visual, photographic or cartographic material. Postmodernist thought has stretched this definition even further, emphasising the phenomenon of the record independent of the traditional concepts and location of custody, viz. the archives as a building for preserving the record, or the agency that is responsible for preserving and managing the record, or the process of archiving itself. Taken together with the idea that a record is essentially recorded information with enduring value without regard to form or medium, this thinking regarding custody and recordness means that rock paintings or heraldic markings on shields as well as the transmission of oral history could constitute archival records.

Against this understanding of archival records, South Africa can boast well-preserved records in the form of rock paintings going back thousands of years. The oral tradition is very rich and highly developed. The markings and symbols on the shields of the indigenous people make the histories of cultures of old come alive today. It was with the advent of colonialism in present day South Africa and the attendant colonial administration in the second half of the seventeenth century, that traditional written records, evidence of governance, started being generated in what is today the Republic of South Africa.

The holdings of the National Archives and Records Service exceed 140 kilometres of shelving space, comprising records in a variety of media. This includes paper-based textual records, electronic records as well as audio-visual, photographic and cartographic material. As the National Archives and Records Service is a public archives, its records originate in the main from the execution of the business of governmental bodies. These records are transferred to the National Archives and Records Service for custody in terms of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996). The records reflect the activities of governments in South Africa and their impact on the lives of ordinary people since middle of the 17th century. The records are generated at national, provincial and local government level, and include court records, estate papers of deceased, records of property rights and tenure, amongst others.

Governmental bodies produce vast amounts of administrative records. The National Archives and Records Service appraises such records in order to determine which warrant the expense of transfer and permanent archival preservation. It is aimed to preserve 5% of public records on average, although in many cases a higher percentage of records is retained. Records which are essential for the protection of the rights of citizens are preserved in their entirety.

The records are kept in custom-built, access-controlled strongrooms to ensure their safety and optimal preservation. Various systems are used to protect the records from fire, flooding and pests, as well as from degeneration by the regulation of temperature, humidity and lighting and the use of special storage containers.

While the ideological direction of colonial and Apartheid era administrations is reflected in the records generated, the holdings nevertheless constitute a rich and invaluable source of information and knowledge about all South Africa's people during these eras. Official records also reveal people's resistance and acquiescence to colonial rule and Apartheid administrations. A transformation imperative contained in our country's archival legislation requires as one of its foremost functions and objects that the National Archives and Records Service fills these apartheid-shaped gaps in the country's social memory by actively collecting non-public records of national significance with enduring value. The charge is to document all those aspects of the nation's experiences that had been neglected, thereby supplementing the information contained in our public records.

Currently about 5% of the holdings of the National Archives and Records Service are non-public records. These records are of private or non-governmental origin and are of national significance. A big part of the collected material is audio-visual in nature. These records are housed in a controlled environment in the audio-visual section of the National Archives and Records Service, namely the National Film, Sound and Video Archives.

Since a major part of the holdings of the National Archives and Records Service do not adequately reflect the experiences of particularly those South Africans who had been marginalised by Apartheid, the National Archives and Records Service has embarked on a number of programmes that aim to encourage people to bring their stories and experiences into the archives and therefore to actively participate in the process of forming the collective memory of the whole society. Of special significance is the National Oral History Programme, whereby the challenge is converting orality into material custody without compromising the intrinsic archival value of oral sources. Equally important are the endeavours in reaching out to the public, public programming, particularly to members of society who had been marginalised in the Apartheid era, and who consequently suffer structural disadvantage.

Access to and use of archives

The foremost purpose of preserving archives is to ensure that they are made available for use. In terms of South Africa's archival legislation, any member of the public has a right of access to archives that are older than twenty years, free of charge. Archivists perform professional processing of records acquired to promote intellectual control over their contents, so that they may be consulted efficiently by users. During processing, various finding aids are prepared, including indexing of references to records on the National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS). Details about gaining access to and using archives are given in the section Services to the Public (Use of Archives).

Structure of the National Archives and Records Service

The origin of the National Archives and Records Service, previously known by various other names (last known as the State Archives Service), dates back to 1919. Since then the National Archives and Records Service operated on a decentralized provincial basis under central government control. In terms of Schedule 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No 108 of 1996) and the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996), the archival function is to be devolved to provincial legislatures, with the National Archives and Records Service retaining responsibility for records of national government bodies.

Currently the National Archives and Records Service is responsible for archives repositories and record centres in Pretoria, and Cape Town. The archival function of the repositories in Port Elizabeth, Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Bloemfontein has already been devolved to their respective provincial legislatures.

More information about the structure and functions of the National Archives and Records Service is contained in the section Organisation. See also Contact information. The latter contains details on provincial archives services as well.

The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act effects transformation of the National Archives and Records Service structurally as well as in terms of its mandate, functions and objects.

With the restructuring of government and government departments in 1994, the National Archives and Records Service become a programme of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Following the creation of two separate departments in August 2002, the National Archives and Records Service became a programme of the Department of Arts and Culture *.

Mission of the National Archives and Records Service

The foremost mission of the National Archives and Records Service, namely to foster national identity and to ensure the protection of rights, stems from the recognition that the racialised fragmentation of a South African identity and the violation of rights, which had characterised the Apartheid political system, needed to be redressed in order for a post-apartheid democratic social order to become entrenched. Hence the mission of the National Archives and Records Service is translated into two core functions.

The first core function is encapsulated in the mandate to preserve a national archival heritage for use by the government and people of South Africa. This entails acquiring and managing records of national importance, which includes both public and non-public records. It also entails making records available to members of the public who may wish to use them for purposes of research of past events or to document or vindicate their rights.

The function of preserving a national and provincial archival heritage is executed in three activities prescribed by archival legislation: the maintenance of a national automated archival information retrieval system, in which a wide range of governmental and non-governmental bodies participate, and in which all provincial archives are required to participate; the setting of standards for and the assistance of South Africa's provincial archives services and the encouragement of archival and records management activities generally throughout the country.

The second core function entails creating the environment in which the National Archives and Records Service promotes efficient, accountable and transparent government through the proper management and care of records that are still in the possession of national governmental bodies, that is, in the offices of origin. To this end the National Archives and Records Service takes responsibility for the design and maintenance of records classification systems, the identification of records with archival value, determining the conditions for the management of micrographic and electronic records systems, the training of public servants in records management and finally the inspection of records management practices of governmental offices.

The primary intention of translating this function into the activities described above is to ensure that the management of current records by national governmental bodies promotes an efficient, accountable and transparent public administration. In a word, it lays the foundation for good governance. It also ensures a better quality archival legacy.

The mission of the National Archives and Records Service is further supported by other functions and objects. The public programming endeavours of the National Archives and Records Service aim to make public and non-public records not only accessible to the public, but also to promote their use by the public. The National Archives and Records Service is charged with the responsibility of actively collecting non-public records which would fill the gaps in our social memory and in documenting of our nation's experiences. The main activity in this regard is the National Oral History Programme. The National Archives and Records Service has also to maintain national registers of non-public records with archival value. Additionally, it has to promote co-operation and co-ordination between institutions that likewise engage in the collection of non-public records.

The functions that give concrete expression to the mission of the National Archives and Records Service constitute Section 3 of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996).

Organisation

The head of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, of which the Bureau of Heraldry is an integral part, is the National Archivist. The National Archivist is supported by two directors, the Director: National Archives and Records Service and the State Herald. There are four main organisational components within the Directorate: National Archives and Records Service, viz. Records Management and Information Systems, Archival Services, National Film, Video and Sound Archives and Coordination. The State Herald heads the Bureau of Heraldry.

The National Archives and Records Service operates as a programme within the Department of Arts and Culture *.

Corporate documents

 

Public Programming

The profound political and social changes in South Africa since the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 have led to our country seeking to overcome its international isolation and becoming integrated into the global community. For the archives community these changes have afforded it the opportunity to re-think archives and to re-position itself in its search for a new and post-apartheid identity. This process of reconstruction is taking place within the ambit of ongoing international archival discourse around re-defining professional identity and functions in relation to users and the creation of records. One of the most powerful theories of re-definition that is moulding South African thinking is the discourse initiated by F Gerald Ham, namely that the archival profession is in a process of re-orientation towards a post-custodial identity. Implicit in this definition of identity is the challenge of opening up the archives to the public and drawing in or creating new users, of designing the National Archives and Records Service' public programming as the condition for an interaction and interface between the public archives and society. In post-apartheid South Africa this has meant that the objectives and content of public programming have to be aligned with societal imperatives.

Against this background public programming calls for active outreach - "taking archives to the people"- as the popular slogan goes. Section 5 of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996) determines the parameters of outreach and public programming: special emphasis has to be placed on activities, strategies and programmes that are designed to open up the archives to, and include, the less privileged and previously marginalised members of our society, and to ensure that these activities make the information contained in the archival holdings known to the public. Ultimately then, public programming strategies should lead members of the public to the realisation that the archives is an invaluable community resource.

The main activities of public programming are guided visits that target various social groups, exhibitions, publications, open days, public lectures and services to the public which includes an introduction to genealogical research, or advising on establishing a private archives.

An important aspect of public programming is the educational and training functions that are executed by the National Archives and Records Service. Staff are involved in the designing of curricula for Archival Studies, lecturing in this field, providing placements for practical training for students of Archival Studies, providing practical training for archivists and records managers from other African countries as well as providing expertise in the fields of electronic record keeping and advising on legislation pertaining to information technology. The National Archives and Records Service has also designed an archives educational kit which is geared towards senior high school students.

At an international level the National Archives and Records Service has established may ties. The South African State Archives Service (as the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa was called then) was admitted to the International Council on Archives (ICA) in 1991. Special efforts are focussed on nurturing sound professional relationships in the Southern African region, most notably with the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA). In 1992 the State Archives Service was admitted to membership to ESARBICA. The levels of interaction with the international archives' community have led to the National Archives and Records Service hosting international gatherings. It will be hosting the Round Table Conference of the ICA (CITRA) in the year 2003. The new understanding of being part of the international archives community has borne fruit, exemplified by the National Archives and Records Service returning to Namibia records that had been removed from that country by South Africa immediately prior to Namibia gaining its independence.

Transformation

"Transformation" is an organising concept used in the National Archives and Records Service to refer to a range of processes which enables the National Archives and Records Service to implement the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996) and other legislation in order to promote the process of democratisation of South Africa's social order. The scope of transformation is specifically informed by this piece of archival legislation, because it is the statutory frame of reference and context for the translation of the provisions of this Act into processes, strategies and programmes pertinent to the requirements for fundamental change in the public archives service. Hence transformation in the National Archives and Records Service is seen as an overarching endeavour, and impacts on all operations of the organisation.

In striving towards the fundamental transformational goal of promoting and fostering democratisation both internally and in the broader context of its operations, the following priority areas have been identified:

Provincialisation: The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act provides for a national archives. Schedule 5 of the Constitution determines that public archives other than national archives are "functional areas of exclusive provincial legislative competence". Together these provisions effect a transformation of the public archives service from one in which the state's responsibility for public archives as function of government was concentrated at central government level, to one which affords the nine provinces of South Africa substantial autonomy in this responsibility. To date the repositories in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces have opted to have their archival function devolved from the National Archives and Records Service to their respective Provinces. Despite the autonomy afforded the provincial archives' services by the Constitution, sections of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996) determine for the National Archives and Records Service the parameters of overarching competencies, coordination and support structures in relation to the provincial archives.

Supporting the transition from Apartheid to democracy. Many activities constitute this function. Foremost in this regard is the support given by the National Archives and Records Service to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) by identifying the nature and extent of the illegal destruction of public records by the Apartheid state. The National Archives and Records Service has provided the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights with assistance and technical support with tracing records that would enable people to reclaim land and property appropriated by the Apartheid state. Apart from commenting on a variety of draft bills, green and white papers, the National Archives and Records Service has actively participated in the drafting of legislation such as the Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2000, and the Legal Deposit Act of 1997.

Pursuing the goal of increasing representivity in the staff profile: The focus in this regard is aimed at a staff profile that is representative of the South African population. 

Human resource development and capacity building. The National Archives and Records Service has, embarked on a strategic education and training plan of action that correlates with the conceptual and functional transformation goals of the organisation. This includes members of the National Archives and Records Service supporting tertiary institutions with the design and teaching of curricula in archival studies and records management, offering in-house training for students of archival studies, offering records management courses to government officials as well as to its own staff, awarding bursaries for staff to complete their professional qualifications and/or improve on language skills. Human resource development and capacity building programmes are aimed at all levels of staff, with the cleaning and ground staff participating in Adult Basic Education Training (ABET) courses.

Exhibitions

The repositories of both the National Archives and Records Service and the provincial archives mount exhibitions at regular intervals in order to give members of the public an insight into nature of their holdings. Therefore, historical records, private papers, official publications, maps, photographs, films and library material are exhibited.

The Pretoria head office of the National Archives and Records Service together with the National Film, Video and Sound Archives and the Bureau of Heraldry has established a committee of staff members from each of these components who are charged with the mounting of exhibitions. At the level of provincial archives each repository mounts exhibitions as an office.

Current exhibitions

National Archives and Records Service, Pretoria: 

"National Symbols"

Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository:

 "An Introduction to the Pietermaritzburg Archives"
"Umlando nesiko likazulu - the history and culture of the Zulu nation"

Cape Town Archives Repository:

"The Anglo-Boer War. The Centenary Exhibition"

Free State Archives Repository:

"The Free State Red Cross, 1899 - 1999"
"The Batho Project"
"Black Concentration Camps in the Orange River Colony during the Anglo-Boer War, 1899 - 1902"
(forthcoming)

National Film, Video and Sound Archives

Video projector

Introduction

The National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NFVSA) is a subdirectorate of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, located in Pretoria. State generated material is transferred periodically in terms of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996). However, the NFVSA has a broad mandate to collect audio-visual and related material which was made in or about South Africa. Material is mainly donated by the film, video and sound industry, as well as private persons. Some material is purchased or exchanged. Provision was made in the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act for a form of legal deposit of audio-visual material at the request of the National Archivist. The Legal Deposit Act (No 54 of 1997) specifically designates the NFVSA as a place of deposit for audio-visual material that has been published and made available in South Africa.

History of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives

The National Film Archives was established as a part of the National Film Board in 1964 in terms of Act No 73 of 1963, which was aimed at assisting in the promotion of the film industry. It specialised in films that were made about or in South Africa irrespective of the format. It traced, accessioned, restored, preserved and made available films to the public.

Initially known as the South African Film Institute (SAFI), the name was later changed to the National Film Archives (NFA). In 1982 it was incorporated into State Archives Service and in 1985 the name was changed to the National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NAFVSA). In 1989 it attained full membership of the International Association of Sound Archives (IASA) and in 1996 became a provisional member of the Federation of International Film Archives (FIAF).

The NAFVSA falls under the Department of Arts and Culture. The National Film, Video and Sound Archives is the only national institution of its kind in South Africa.

Mission of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives

The aims of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives are:

What is the National Film, Video and Sound Archives?

NAFVSA is a government institution that preserves the audio-visual heritage of the country for future generations. Different formats like films, sound recordings and related materials, such as scripts, posters etc, can be found at the NAFVSA, where interested persons can access audio-visual material. NAFVSA should be seen as a resource centre for the audio-visual heritage of South Africa.

NAFVSA has a reading room where researchers can consult various finding aids as well as a computerized database free of charge. To view or listen to material, an appointment must be made in advance. A three-day notice period is required to allow the material to acclimatize before putting it on the machines to access it. Material may be accessed on NAFVSA premises at a fee determined by the Treasury. Bona fide students, however, can view or listen to material free of charge.

The written permission of a copyright holder is required before any material may be borrowed for duplication.

Apart from the audio-visual collection NAFVSA also has slides, posters, scripts, a library and photographs dealing with audio-visual material, as well as information on the arts such as literature, music, sculpting, painting, the theatre etc.

Importance of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives

A country without a history is not a country. We need to know where we come from and where we are going. Preserving information on the heritage of South Africa is very important, for this can used by future generations.

The NAFVSA is unusual in that it is one of a few archives of its kind internationally which preserves all three formats, that is, film, video and sound material. Having access to the preserved material can be of great help to future generations of South Africa, especially historians, musicians, film producers etc. They can easily listen to and see what was done in the past and can further conceptualize what the audio-visual industries would be like in the future. Due to the rapid changes in technology, equipment that was used 20 years ago is obsolete today. However, it can serve to supply background information, and is of historical interest in illustrating the development of the industry.

Outreach Projects

NAFVSA has an Outreach Section, which makes resources available to the previously disadvantaged communities. In forging screening partnerships with other institutions, it tries to reach all South Africans, especially those in rural communities.

The National Film, Video and Sound Archives is involved in a number of projects. Educational institutions are invited to view films and have discussions on any topic they feel necessary to cover. This is done in liaison with teachers and lecturers. The main aim of the Outreach Section is to take the "Cinema to the people" where the disadvantaged communities can benefit from it. This is done in conjunction with other organisations such as schools, churches, communities etc. The NAFVSA targets the rural communities that do not have any idea about audio-visual archives, since they have a right to access information.

NAFVSA intends utilising the Community Art Centres, which were built by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, to fulfill this mission. Churches, schools and community halls will also be used.

We urge communities or anyone who is interested in the audio-visual heritage of South Africa to contact us if they have requests to utilize NAFVSA's services.

The Bureau of Heraldry

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