PEOPLE
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Is it online through The UWI Open Campus?
Does each of the four or five campuses has a record keeper?
No, it’s a face-to-face programme. They come for six weeks to do part one in the summer; and then the following year, they do part two; and after that, they are awarded their Certificate in Records Management . We get an average of 25 students a year. Many of them are government officers who work in registries … We have also had librarians, lawyers, and people from the supreme court who want to improve their records management. This will continue even though I am not there; I have been training someone to do it. What are some of the prized documents that are in the Federal Archives? I found, some years ago, a Royal Warrant that was just so beautiful, edged in gold. We took that one out and separated it because we wanted it to go into a special environmentally controlled room. I felt we really had to preserve this one well. In 2012, the Government asked the university to do an exhibition for Prince Edwards and his wife, and that was one of the exhibits from the Federal Archives. Once Prince Edwards saw it, he said, “I have never seen a document signed by my mother and my aunt.” It had Margaret and Elizabeth on it, but I would not have known the significance of that. Princess Margaret was involved with The Federation, and somehow, when they got the Royal Warrant, the Queen signed it and she signed it as well; so, he said that is priceless. So, you know how great we felt! I said, “straight back into the dark for you!” So, we only bring that out on special occasions.
Yes, we have a structure under the broad umbrella of the University Archivist. Below that there is a Campus Records Manager on every campus. Each of these individuals has a team that works for the Registry (the active records) and Records Centre for inactive records. [There is also an archival repository here at University Regional Headquarters.]
Why is it important that we have one on each campus?
Because records appear in each area, and some of them are peculiar to that particular campus and its development over time. There are archival records that are unique to St. Augustine. Remember they were the second campus and also the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture started there. There are archival records that are relevant to those years that are not here at the University Archives . What are some of the things you’ve put in place that you are really proud of? Well, I would say my flagship achievement is the Federal Archives. The Federation dissolved in 1962, and The UWI was the one standing regional body at the time, besides cricket. The UWI was asked to take the records into safe keeping. The West Indies Federal Archives Centre is a double repository that also houses the Cave Hill Campus Archives . The West Indies Federal Archives have since been formally inscribed in the local, regional and international Registers of UNESCO Memory of the World . I feel really good having accomplished that! My other major thing is training. I have been running, since 2001, a Certificate in Records Management in the summer and have had students from Belize in the North down to Guyana in the South. This programme has prepared over 450 graduates for record keeping in various agencies.
Former UWI Archivist Sharon Alexander-Gooding speaking with former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart while others look on
CHILL NEWS 104
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