Task

contribute to the blog at least four times during the session. To do this, you should respond to the focus questions scattered throughout the learning modules. Your contributions should be thoughtful and show evidence of reading the modules and reflecting on what you have learned there and in your other reading. You do not need to write overly long contributions (a maximum of around 200-250 words per post is suggested).

The followings are opinions of other students who have posted on the discussion blog.

1. From : A
“Our memory is a more perfect world than the universe: it gives back life to those who no longer exist.” ? Guy de Maupassant.

Memories are powerful, they remind us of things past. They transport us to days long ago, or just yesterday. The simple act of smelling a rose, or kicking a ball can trigger in a person memories of past loves or sporting triumphs. But with memory comes the forgotten features, be it misunderstood gestures and recalling inaccurate timelines. Through understanding that a memory is one person’s impressions and feelings about an event, the use of evidence, the combination of cold hard facts, be it in the forms of hand written letters, long stored official documents, recent tweets, or digital images to name just a few, can reinforce the strength and power of a memory, or dispel it from the halls of history as fiction.

Channelling the human ability to recall an event or memory, through remembering things as trivial as the chill in the air, or what it feels like to hear the sound of distant explosions, if not adding this human element to the evidence, this would just then create a collection of historical records that don’t have an anchor in time, to be surrounded by the things that make us truly human….our memories.

From <https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blogs-journals/execute/viewBlog?course_id=_24174_1&blog_id=_24375_1&type=blogs&index_id=month>
2. From :B
This is a difficult idea to show the difference between. Archives can be both memory and evidence at the same time, memory or evidence, or neither. It really depends on such things as the chain of evidence, showing that the records/memories have been recorded in a manner or through processes that are consistent and sound. Such as the difference between the Torrens Titles system of property transfer and the old system of property title. Where chains of deeds or some form of transfer were required to show when property was transferred (which still occurs in different parts of the world) compared to a central register that standardised land transfer that could be legally enforcible though the evidence of transfers. Although this also transferred the liability of proof of property ownership from the owners to the state.
https://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/land_titles/land_ownership/old_system
https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/planning-and-property/certificates-of-title/torrens-titles

There is also times when the memory of events don’t agree with the evidence of the events. Which can at times happen especially in cases of abuse (such as abuse within institutional environments). Where due to the lack of evidence/records, someone such as a ward of the state (or care leavers) can not prove that they were at a particular institution (unless other evidence – even such things as graffiti on the wall at an old institution). Which can lead to great personal pain if there is no belief in the memory of the care leaver or even if there is only negative records about the person (and nothing about the achievements of such an individual).
https://www.archivists.org.au/learning-publications/2016-conference#Day 2
Alternatively when fakes and forgeries are added into archival collections for one reason or another they can end up casting doubt on the entire archive or collection.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/may/05/nationalarchives.secondworldwar

From <https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blogs-journals/execute/viewBlog?course_id=_24174_1&blog_id=_24375_1&type=blogs&index_id=month>
3.From:C

I’m not sure why evidence and memory have to be against each other when it comes to record keeping. For example, records can be used as the evidence that something has taken place, while they can also be used to provide memory for something that has been. Maybe it’s the type of record that has been recorded which presents the differentiation? Certainly, the word evidence provides a dryer connotation. It sounds like something that an organisation needs to record to provide evidence that a particular event has occurred.

A record as a memory provides a connotation that a record has been preserved for future generations as a worthwhile contribution to society. It does sound like I’m describing the same thing and I guess that’s where a lot of problems arise in this area. However, if a city is hit by war or a natural disaster, and archives are destroyed, that would or could create a memory loss. In that situation, would it be then needed for survivors to record their memories as evidence for future reference?

It feels like i’m asking more questions than answering them (and I’m possibly babbling too) but I do think that both can exist along side each other.

From <https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blogs-journals/execute/viewBlog?course_id=_24174_1&blog_id=_24375_1&type=blogs&index_id=month>
4. From ??
I am not sure I am fully grasping the concepts here, but here goes.From a personal standpoint, I would say I fall on the evidence side of the debate. I tend to like things clear and structured which from an archival point of view, means the ability to classify an item clearly (ie. date, creator, publishing date, proof the item is what it purports to be, etc). I believe from an archiving point of view, accurate information is what allows an archive to fulfill it’s main function and role to best of it’s ability.That being said, I do see a place for memory in archives – provided the archives are willing to deal in things that may not have all the information an ‘evidenced item’ normally has attached to it. The benefit of having ‘memory’ items as part of the archival collection, is the potential for any missing information being provided at a later date. By way of example, the number of people I know who get stuck while doing family history, only to have someone at a later date provide the missing information, is quite amazing. Keeping memory stored at the archives with an eye to the possibility of receiving any missing information later on (therefore allowing it to become evidence), not only adds to the richness of the archives themselves, but also to the community at large who access the records kept. I would appreciate any feedback or correction if I am off track here.

From <https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blogs-journals/execute/viewBlog?course_id=_24174_1&blog_id=_24375_1&type=blogs&index_id=month>
5. From : E
When it comes to both Evidence and Memory, Records and archives play huge roles.Providing solid evidence in the form of a photograph, or providing a catalyst for a memory of what happened after the photograph was taken. The piece by Sue McKemmish, Evidence of Me, is actually one of my favourite pieces of text I have come across within this course, I first read it in a previous Archives and Records Management class and I remember re-reading it many times. The idea that record keeping is a “kind of witnessing” (McKemmish, 1996) really fascinates me. Such as the story of the man who wanted all his letters to be destroyed, but his wishes were not followed through and are now on public display, Sylvia Plath’s different selves shown in contrast between her earlier poems, her later poems, and her private journals.

In terms of business, government, and official personal records, these are almost purely for evidential purposes. Such as contracts that keep a company responsible for its promises, a certificate of a course completion, or a binder full of somebody’s personal records such as dentist appointment letters, and car rego paperwork. These have no memory purposes, and provide solid evidence that can be used to prove something.

Having an item that holds memories for someone, would be very useless to archivists without knowing the memory’s attached, or to whom the memories belong to, and how these memories change the value of the item in question.Whilst having an item that has evidence of an event or evidence of communication, provides context, normally without any reasons to dig deeper.
McKemmish, S., (1996). Evidence Of Me. Retrieved from https://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/research/groups/rcrg/publications/recordscontinuum-smckp1.html