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Course Descriptions
     

Course descriptions

(Please click on the titles for more information)
20 credit courses last for 15 weeks and 10 credit courses last for 9 weeks. For more details please contact the Programme Administrator at armtraining@dundee.ac.uk, tel: 01382 385543.




The Theory and Context of Recordkeeping
  • The importance of records and archives and their impact in society
  • The nature of the record in the context of the wider data and information landscape
  • The development of recordkeeping functions and theories
  • Regulations, standards, professionalism and ethics
  • Concepts of records and archives within and beyond the discipline
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Archive Theory and Management
  • Introduction to theory and practice: historical development of the record keeping profession; functions and responsibilities of archivists; differences and similarities between records and archives
  • Acquisition and appraisal: policy development; methods of acquisition; accessioning procedures; the theory and practice of appraisal
  • Arrangement and description: provenance; arrangement; descriptive and indexing standards; finding aids; archives, the internet and new technologies
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Archive Administration, Access and Preservation
  • Users and access: providing services to users; users and their needs; access restrictions and regulations; legislation
  • Outreach: reaching a wider audience; outreach strategies
  • Preservation: risks to archives; protecting archives; preservation policies
  • Resource management: components of management; managing resources; measuring performance
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Ethics and International Perspectives
  • Accountability, ethics and archives in society: the role and responsibility of the archivist; archives as evidence; the role of archives in protecting rights; accountability; social inclusion
  • Legislation and archives: the regulatory environment in which archivists operate; national and international laws and standards
  • External opportunities and fundraising: fundraising; the media; cross-domain collaboration; archive networks; archival emergencies
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Principles and Practice of Records Management
  • Organisations and records: nature of records; making, maintaining and managing records
  • Records management concepts: record life cycle; records continuum
  • Records management programmes – foundations: records management roles & responsibilities; records management policies; records systems development methodology; business analysis; records survey
  • Records management programmes – elements: records creation & capture; records classification; records storage; records retention; records destruction
  • Establishing a records management programme: developing a business case for a records management programme; selling records management
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Electronic Records Management
  • Electronic records and their management: key concepts and terminology; unique properties of electronic records; implications of these properties for their management; understanding and coping in hybrid paper and electronic environments
  • Incorporating electronic records management into the information fabric of your organisation: drivers for electronic records and information management; key elements of a successful electronic records program; mandates and policies; technical and social infrastructure; establishing collaborations with key personnel
  • Getting started: simple first steps to begin managing your organisation’s information; understanding your organisation’s information landscape; sources of information to help you manage information; gaining practical experience; learning from the experience of others
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Management and Preservation of Digital Records
  • Computer science basics for archiving and preservation
  • Digital archiving and preservation processes: comparing digital archiving and analogue archiving technologies
  • Systems to support digital archiving and preservation: current status and limitations; the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) standard
  • Metadata standards and metadata maintenance
  • Organisational and business considerations
  • The future agenda: how might the management and preservation of digital records evolve in future?
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Cataloguing in a Digital Age
  • Computers and record keepers: the development of digital cataloguing; national and international developments and drivers; archival networks; how users search for information
  • Descriptive Standards Online: online access to archives; metadata schemes; indexing, thesauri and authority records; content standards for online description
  • Getting your catalogues online: simple web solutions; databases and proprietary software; Encoded Archival Description; publishing EAD finding aids; other solutions
  • Networks and interoperability: current projects and future developments
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Preservation for Information Professionals (can be combined with Disaster Management for Information Professionals)
  • Preservation theory: the principles of preservation; understanding archival materials; threats to collections
  • Preparing for action: storage and environment; archive surveys; archive formats; identification and storage
  • Preservation in practice: handling records; working with conservators and allied professionals; digital preservation and the creation of surrogates; special circumstances
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Disaster Management for Information Professionals (can be combined with Preservation for Information Professionals)
  • Risk management and business continuity: designing a disaster plan; environmental control; identifying and understanding risks
  • Preparedness: appointing a disaster team; setting priorities; emergency operation plan; types of disaster; security; staff training and disaster simulation
  • Response and recovery: formulating systems for response and recovery
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Strategic Management for Information Professionals
  • Introduction to managing people and the legal considerations
  • Managing people: recruiting, selecting and managing staff
  • Managing money: finance and fundraising
  • Managing the service: processes, performance and monitoring
  • Managing the service: marketing and customer service
  • Managing the service: projects and change
  • Strategic planning and management
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Sound and Vision
  • Historical Overview: development of cinefilm; development of video recording; sound recording; the growth and development of specialist film and sound archives
  • Origin, development and strengths and weaknesses of oral history
  • Management and administration: collection policies; appraisal; accessioning; cataloguing; and access in film and sound archives
  • Preservation: physical characteristics of cinefilm; video recordings; sound recordings; handling, conservation and restoration of sound and vision media; storage; copying for preservation; data mitigation; emergency planning and disaster recovery
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Skills and Sources for Family and Local History in England
  • Introduction to family and local history sources in England
  • Location, type and uses of records
  • Reading and interpreting records
  • Demography and local administration
  • Court records, taxation and registration
  • Ecclesiastical and diocesan records
  • Education and poor law administration
  • Land, property and inheritance
  • Occupation, business and trade
  • Maps and plans
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Skills and Sources for Family and Local History in Scotland
  • Introduction to family and local history sources in Scotland
  • Location, type and uses of records
  • Reading and interpreting records
  • Local administration and records
  • Financial and fiscal records
  • Courts and the police
  • Church records, education and poor relief
  • Harbour and building records
  • Land, property and inheritance
  • Trade and business
  • Families and societies
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English Palaeography and Diplomatic
  • Introduction to palaeography and diplomatic: the value of palaeography and diplomatic; transcribing conventions; how to deal with dates, numbers, money; types of writing materials
  • Secretary hand: history of the script; letter forms; reading secretary hand
  • Manorial records: background to the manor, its court and its records
  • Italic writing: history of the script; letter forms;
  • Wills and inventories: formats; reading and interpreting
  • Court hands: history of court hands; chancery, common pleas and exchequer hands
  • Title deeds: land tenure; components of a title deed; title deeds relating to freehold/leasehold lands
  • Nineteenth century handwriting
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Scots Palaeography and Diplomatic
  • Introduction to Palaeography: history, abbreviations and languages within Scotland
  • Identifying letter forms and reading and understanding different document types
  • Personal names, reckonings of time, numerals, coinage, weights and measures
  • The feudal system and feudal conveyancing
  • The notary, sasine and registration
  • Heritable and moveable property and family settlements
  • Courts of law and civil process
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Scottish Local Government and Records
  • Country and parish before 1930: predecessors of the county council; county councils; education provision; the parish and the poor law; lieutenancy; militia and volunteers; special districts; sheriff courts
  • Burgh to 1930: reform; police acts; burgh records; incorporations
  • Developments since 1930: 1930-1975 and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947; reform in 1975; district courts; local administration 1975-1996; reform in 1996; the Scottish Parliament
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Understanding and Managing Rare Books
  • History of rare books
  • Book production in the hand-press era
  • Bindings
  • Cataloguing and bibliographical descriptions
  • Managing collections and providing customer services
  • Developing access and promotional polices
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Understanding and Reading Latin (can be taken as 2 x 10 credit modules - Basic Latin for Archivists and Researchers and Understanding Latin in Documents and Archives)
Basic Latin for Archivists and Researchers
  • Simple Latin Translation
  • Regular grammatical forms
  • Using a Latin dictionary
  • An introduction to when and how is Latin used in documents
Understanding Latin in Documents and Archives
  • Advanced grammatical forms
  • The use of Latin in a variety of documents
  • Diplomatic of Latin documents
  • Latin abbreviations
  • Reading Latin documents

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Web 2.0 for Information Professionals
  • The nature of Web 2.0, the tools and the opportunities and risks for recordkeepers
  • The implications of social media for information policies (including privacy and copyright)
  • Web 2.0, the nature of the record in social computing and appraisal
  • Digital preservation, access and Web 2.0
  • Participatory culture and changing attitudes to information
  • The role of the recordkeeper in a Web 2.0 world
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Ecclesiastical Archives
  • Ecclesiastical records, their location and their use in the context of the following areas
  • The established churches: their development and location of records
  • The non-conformist churches and the Episcopal and Catholic churches
  • The clergy: records created, their location and use
  • Church discipline and pastoral guidance including church courts
  • The parish including parish registers, poor relief, education and other local activities
  • The church fabric including plans and heritors
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Educational Archives
  • Record types, their identification, location and use in the following contexts
  • Historical background: medieval and early modern schools; nineteenth century educational legislation; twentieth century changes
  • Administrative records: school boards; managers’ minutes; correspondence; the school inspection system; central government sources; examination boards
  • Log books and other school records: types of record and their research use
  • Higher education: higher and further education educational records
  • Adult education and self-help: history and records
  • Workhouse and Industrial Schools: the poor law; industrial schools; reformatory schools; special schools
  • Ecclesiastical provision: church schools; Sunday Schools; other ecclesiastical provision
  • Other providers: charities; dame schools; ragged schools
  • Teacher training: history and records
  • Managing school records: appraisal, arrangement, description and access
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Business Archives and Records
  • Introduction to business archives and the role of the business archivist
  • History of business and the development of business records and their research use
  • Appraisal, records management and access
  • Business archives overseas and current issues
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Outreach and Community Archives
  • The nature and role of outreach in archives and related professions
  • Different types of outreach and promotional activities
  • Community archives as organisations and as collections
  • Working effectively with local groups and individuals
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Heraldry
  • The role of heraldry in identification and status
  • The design, meaning and description of coats of arms
  • The origins of heralds and heraldry
  • Developments in heraldry from the middle ages to the present day
  • The role of heraldry in historical and genealogical enquiries
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Complying with Information Legislation: Principles and Practice
  • International, constitutional and legal context
  • Data protection
  • Freedom of information
  • Environmental information regulations
  • Importance of corporate frameworks to compliance
  • Implications for archivists and record keepers
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Comparative Concepts in Information Rights
  • Framework of freedom of information legislation in Scotland, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
  • Public interest test, introduction and general principles: the public interest test and the general law; the public interest test in freedom of information law
  • Public interest test, comparative case studies: comparison between Scotland, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
  • Harm tests and freedom of information: role of harm tests in exemptions to general rights of access and the concepts of prejudice and substantial prejudice
  • Vexatiousness: when can a request for information be considered vexatious and is this the same in different jurisdictions?
  • Commercial sensitivity and trade secrets: when can information be classed as commercially sensitive or as a trade secret?
  • The interface between human rights and information rights
  • Confidentiality: the nature and application of confidentiality law as it applies to freedom of information in different countries
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Metadata Standards and Information Taxonomies
  • Metadata Standards: the main metadata concepts; the use of metadata for the management and retrieval of records and archive collections; metadata standards; identity, discovery and resource description
  • Information Taxonomies: the main types of taxonomy available; how classification systems apply to records and archival collections; hierarchical and faceted classification; controlled vocabularies; ontologies; folksonomies
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Wider Legal Frameworks
  • Survey of the legal structures that impact upon the work of information professionals over and above the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts including: Access to Health Records Act 1990; Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005; human rights and the right to a private life; Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000; Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003; Official Secrets Act 1989; Prescription and Limitation Acts
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