Sustainable equals holistic Formal education for green archivists

The environment is changing rapidly, not just the physical, carbon-affected environment but also our techno-cultural situation. This is exemplified by tensions over who is best placed to steward authentic and reliable information. If records and archives people are to remain relevant in this space, our skills and education prepare and define us. Skills and education come together in our worldview in which I position us, after Australian archivist Cassie Finlay, as the ‘in context, through time’ people (Finlay, 2021). Seeing ourselves this way, continuing through time becomes crucial and aligns with a holistic understanding of sustainability. It’s not enough to understand sustainable as practices associated with reducing carbon dependence and changing other resource-depleting behaviours. Sustainable is a bigger and more holistic mission.
This talk teases out some features of holistic sustainability such as governance, preservation and social impact. It demonstrates these ideas through teaching initiatives at Charles Sturt University in the records and archives courses.
In the governance dimension, we need agreed social rules and parameters that will help us thrive and continue. In practical terms this entwines funding, our social mandate and education so the next generation learns why our mission is important and adapts it to their evolving situation. The preservation dimension addresses the practical measures we take to care for collections alert to resource depletion. There is a social dimension, some of which is captured through metadata, the way information circulates, who it is important to and their ability to influence and shape it.
Reference:
Finlay, C. (2021). Privacy update: current trends and developments. Australian Society of Archivists webinar. https://www.archivists.org.au/events/event/privacy-update-current-trends-and-developments