A Directory of Archival Repositories 2005
At the time of publishing the first edition of A Directory of Archival Repositories in South Africa, it was envisaged that further editions would be produced to make it more comprehensive and bring the contents up to date. During 2003 and again in 2005, a questionnaire was sent to all existing contributors requesting them to revise their entries, and efforts were made to secure additional contributions to enhance the usefulness of the publication. The principles followed in editing and lay-out explained in the Introduction have remained the same.
Since the first edition appeared, the National Archives and Records Service has created a website and has published the contents of the Directory on-line in searchable form under the link “Information on related organizations” (URL: www.national.archives.gov.za ). This should serve to make the contents more readily available to a larger number of users.
The National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS) was web-enabled in 2001 and is accessible via the National Archives and Records Service’s website address. NAAIRS provides information on the archival holdings of the repositories listed in this Directory as NAREM participants.
Sincere thanks are extended to all contributors for their co-operation, which has enabled the production of the second edition. I am aware that the Directory still cannot claim to be fully comprehensive, and would value suggestions that could be taken into account in a future edition.
Dr Graham Dominy
NATIONAL ARCHIVIST
2005The unique nature of archives and manuscripts confers a special status to the individual repositories which have custody of them, but also an obligation. Specific individual repositories are important because of the archival material they preserve which, unlike publications, cannot be found elsewhere. Concomitantly, repositories are obligated to make their holdings known to potential users, and to define their acquisitions or collecting policies and areas of specialisation clearly in relation to those of other institutions to minimise the dispersal of related material and the duplication of collecting endeavours. South Africa is fortunate in having a large number of institutions dedicated to preserving non-public archives, i.e. private records of individuals and organisations that are not governed by the National Archives of South Africa Act (No 43 of 1996). There is however still considerable scope for better co-ordination of collecting endeavours. A Directory of Archival Repositories in South Africa seeks to provide essential information to users of archives and manuscripts, and potentially to promote liaison between archival repositories and the co-ordination of their services and collecting endeavours.
In 1986 the South African Library published a Directory of Manuscript Collections in Southern Africa 1985, compiled following a symposium on manuscripts. The Directory has proved to be an invaluable tool, but is now outdated. The National Committee of the South African Society of Archivists (SASA) suggested in 1997 that the National Archives of South Africa should undertake the compilation of a new publication containing essential information on archival repositories. I welcomed SASA’s suggestion, particularly as the National Archives of South Africa Act charges the National Archives with promoting co-operation and co-ordination between institutions having custody of archival records. As a facet of this responsibility, the Act empowers the National Archives to maintain national registers on non-public records with enduring value in consultation with institutions having custody of such records. The Act specifically directs the National Archives to avoid competition in the collecting of non-public records by providing that the activity be confined to those records which have enduring value of national significance and which cannot be more appropriately preserved by another institution. The Act assigns the regulation of the preservation of non-public records to the National Archives Commission, and makes it an offence to destroy, export from South Africa, or otherwise dispose of non-public records recorded in a national list by the Commission without its approval.
The South African Library expressed its agreement that the National Archives is the appropriate institution to undertake the compilation of a new Directory. The elements used in each entry largely correspond with those of the South African Library’s publication. Slight but significant differences in approach to this publication are that it incorporates public as well as non-public records, and that it is confined to repositories within South Africa. The format was submitted to the South African Historical Society for comment. The following brief notes seek to clarify certain elements in the entry format, which are generally self-explanatory.
Access: This element indicates the policies which govern public access to archives and manuscripts at individual institutions.
Acquisitions policy: This element indicates the nature of the records acquired and demarcates the fields of collection where applicable.
Areas of specialisation: This element indicates the areas of specialisation within the broader acquisitions policy. e.g. records on particular individuals, regions or themes.
Core holdings: This element is intended to provide a concise, summarised overview of the core holdings, such as those which are the largest, most heavily consulted or are most significant in terms of the repository’s own acquisitions policy. The information provided is necessarily selective, and it would be necessary to consult the repository’s finding aids, the national registers and the reference staff of the repository to obtain a complete picture of the holdings and to retrieve specific records.
Finding aids: This element gives an indication of the existence and availability of finding aids in general terms, and whether they are published or electronic. Finding aids to individual groups or collections are not listed.
National register participation: The National Archives maintains four national registers in respect of manuscripts (NAREM), photographs (NAREF), audio-visual material (NAROM) and oral sources (NAROS). The purpose of the national registers is to record information about archival material kept in different locations at a central point. The registers are accessible for on-line searching as part of the national automated archival information retrieval system at a number of participating institutions. This element indicates whether a repository participates in any of the registers and whether it is linked for on-line access.
An alphabetical list of repositories and an index of locations have been included to facilitate the use of the Directory.
The information contained in the Directory was obtained by means of a questionnaire which was widely distributed in March 1998. Reminders were sent out in August 1998. The amount of information provided, and in some cases, its appropriateness, varied according to the size and scope of the institution concerned. A certain amount of editing was necessary to ensure that the information is presented in a reasonably uniform manner, but differences in the style of individual contributions were generally retained. Despite the efforts made to obtain information, I am aware that the Directory cannot claim to be fully comprehensive. Any repository which would like to be included in a possible future edition is welcome to advise me.
I sincerely thank all those who have provided the information that constitutes the contents of this first edition.
Marie Olivier
NATIONAL ARCHIVIST
1999
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF REPOSITORIES
[ A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z ]
- ABSA Group Archives, Johannesburg 1
- Adler Museum of Medicine, Johannesburg 2
- Africana Library, Kimberley 3
- African National Congress Archives, Alice and Johannesburg 4
- The Afrikaans Language Museum and Monument (Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en Monument), Paarl 5
- Afrikaans Protestant Church (Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk), Pretoria 6
- Alan Paton Centre and Struggle Archives, Pietermaritzburg 7
- Albany Museum, Grahamstown 8
- Amathole Museum, King William’s Town 9
- Archive for Contemporary Affairs (ARCA), Bloemfontein 10
- Archives of the Archdiocese of Durban, Durban 11
- Archive of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (Argief van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika), Potchefstroom 12
- Arend Dieperink Museum, Potgietersrus 13
- Armaments Corporation of South Africa Limited (ARMSCOR), Pretoria 14
- Barberton Museum, Barberton 15
- Barloworld Limited, Sandton 16
- Brenthurst Library, Johannesburg 17
- Buffalo City Municipal Library, East London 18
- Cape Town Archives Repository, Cape Town 19
- Castle Military Museum, Cape Town 20
- Catholic History Bureau, Johannesburg 21
- Cory Library for Historical Research, Grahamstown 22
- CSIR, Pretoria 23
- Department of Foreign Affairs, Pretoria 24
- Documentation Centre (Department of Defence Archives), Pretoria 25
- Documentation Centre for Music (Domus), Stellenbosch University 25A
- Drostdy Museum, Swellendam 26
- Durban Archives Repository, Durban 27
- Dutch Reformed Church of Africa Archives Repository (Argiefbewaarplek van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika), Pretoria 28
- Dutch Reformed Church of Natal (NG Kerk van Natal), Synodal Archives and Information Service, Pietermaritzburg 29
- Dutch Reformed Church Archives (Western, Northern and Eastern Cape) (Nederduitsch Gereformeerde Kerkargief), Cape Town 30
- First National Bank Archives, Johannesburg 33
- Fort Beaufort Historical Museum, Fort Beaufort 34
- Free State Archives Repository, Bloemfontein 35
- Gay and Lesbian Archives (Gala), Johannesburg 36
- Gauteng Department of Education Library and Information Services: Education Library, Pretoria 37
- Graaff-Reinet Museum, Graaff-Reinet 38
- Greytown Museum, Greytown 39
- Harold Strange Library of African Studies, Johannesburg 40
- Himeville Museum, Himeville 41
- Howick Museum, Howick 42
- Huguenot Memorial Museum, Franschhoek 43
- Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), Sandton 44
- Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town 45
- JCI Ltd. & Amplats Ltd. Archives, Johannesburg 46
- Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg 47
- JS Gericke Library, Stellenbosch 48
- Killie Campbell Africana Library (Campbell Collections), Durban 49
- Klerksdorp Museum, Klerksdorp 50
- KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium of the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Durban 51
- Ladysmith Siege Museum, Ladysmith 52
- Lebowakgomo Archives Depot, Chuenespoort 53
- Library of Parliament, Cape Town 54
- Mafikeng Museum, Mafikeng 55
- Mayibuye Centre for History and Culture in South Africa, Bellville 56
- McGregor Museum, Kimberley 57
- Melrose House, Pretoria 58
- Michaelhouse, Balgowan 59
- Montagu Museum, Montagu 60
- Moravian Church Archives (Moravian Archives), Western Cape 61
- Msunduzi Municipal Library (formerly Natal Society Library), Pietermaritzburg 62
- Museum Africa, Johannesburg 63
- Natal Museum Library, Pietermaritzburg 64
- National Archives Repository, Pretoria 65
- National Cultural History Museum (incorporated in the Northern Flagship Institution), Pretoria 66
- National English Literary Museum (Nelm), Grahamstown 67
- National Film, Video and Sound Archives, Pretoria 68
- National Library of South Africa, Cape Town and Pretoria Campus 69
- National Museum Bloemfontein Library, Bloemfontein 70
- Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository, Pietermaritzburg 73
- Pilgrim’s Rest Museum Archive, Pilgrim’s Rest 74
- Pinetown Museum, Pinetown 75
- Pioneer Museum, Winburg 76
- Port Elizabeth Archives Repository, Port Elizabeth 77
- Port Elizabeth Museum (Bayworld) (incorporating the Port Elizabeth Museum Oceanarium, Snake Park and No. 7 Castle Hill), Port Elizabeth 78
- SABC Sound Archives, Johannesburg 81
- Sammy Marks Museum (incorporated in the Northern Flagship Institution), Pretoria 82
- Sanlam Archives (Sanlam-Argief), Bellville 83
- Simon’s Town Museum, Simon’s Town 84
- South African Air Force Museum, Centurion 85
- South African Data Archive (SADA), Pretoria 86
- South African History Archive (SAHA), Johannesburg 87
- South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Johannesburg 88
- South African National Biodiversity Institute (Harry Molteno Library), Cape Town 89
- South African National Gallery, Cape Town 90
- South African National Gallery Library, Cape Town 91
- South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg 92
- South African Police Service Museum and Archives, Pretoria 93
- Standard Bank Archives, Johannesburg 94
- Stellenbosch Conservation Society (Die Stellenbosse Heemkring), Stellenbosch 95
- Stellenbosch Museum, Stellenbosch 96
- Talana Museum, Dundee 97
- Telkom Archives, Pretoria 98
- Transnet Heritage Library and Archives, Johannesburg 99
- Ulundi Archives Repository, Ulundi 100
- Umgeni Water, Pietermaritzburg 101
- Umtata Archives, Umtata 102
- University Archives, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 103
- University of Cape Town Libraries: Manuscripts and Archives Department, Cape Town 104
- University of Durban-Westville Documentation Centre, Durban 105
- University of Johannesburg Library and Information Centre, Rare Book Collection and Archives, Johannesburg 106
- University of Port Elizabeth Archives, Port Elizabeth 107
- University of Pretoria Archives, Pretoria 108
- University of Pretoria: Mapungubwe Museum, Pretoria 109
- University of South Africa Library, Pretoria 110
- University of Venda, Thohoyandou 111
- University of the Western Cape Institute for Historical Research, Bellville 112
- University of the Witwatersrand, Historical Papers, Johannesburg 113
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