>
ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 49| February 2001
Register of Australian Archives and Manuscripts Redevelopment
The Register of Australian Archives and Manuscripts (RAAM) is an Internet guide to collections of personal papers and the records of non-government organisations held by libraries and archives throughout Australia. Since RAAM was launched in 1997, it has grown steadily and now includes nearly 40 000 entries contributed by some 200 institutions holding manuscript collections. RAAM can be found at: www.nla.gov.au/raam/
Contributors to RAAM range from institutions with thousands of collections such as the National and State Libraries, the Australian War Memorial and the Noel Butlin Archives to smaller, specialist institutions like public libraries, historical societies and organisations as diverse as the New Norcia Benedictine Monastery and the Estonian Community Archives. RAAM provides researchers with a convenient, centralised register of locations for primary research material. RAAM also provides links to the Directory of Archives in Australia, which gives information about contact details and opening hours.
In December 2000, RAAM was migrated to new software enabling faster search times and faster reporting of contributions. In the past, updates to RAAM were processed in two-monthly batches. The new software allows contributors to add new or updated records to RAAM using an online form. An advanced search option has been introduced which will enhance searching, permitting a search by repository and date of last update, for example. An optional biographical/administrative note field has been added to RAAM providing additional information where this is available. A keyword field has also been added to enable headings from thesauri other than the National Librarys Occupations Thesaurus, or free text terms to be added to RAAM records to enhance retrieval.
A strength of RAAM is its ability to provide links to finding aids available on the Internet. Kay Nicholls, the RAAM Administrator, has been adding links to Internet finding aids and would appreciate being alerted to new finding aids as they become available on the Internet.
The software migration was the first phase of a staged redevelopment of RAAM. In the second phase, a RAAM Z39.50 Target Service will be implemented. This will mean that a user with a searching client or tool that is Z39.50-enabled could search RAAM using the same interface and search syntax they use to search their own databases. The plan is to make RAAM compliant with Functional Areas A and C of the Bath Profile. This means that RAAM will support delivery of records in both USMARC and Dublin Core format. Another focus of phase two will be greater enhancement of the offline loading module of RAAM to facilitate the adding of new electronic files from contributors.
The continued effectiveness of RAAM is dependent on the cooperation and
commitment of other institutions contributing records to the database. It
is through the goodwill of the archives and library community that RAAM
will continue to grow and fulfil its valuable research role. The National
Library is continually seeking to expand the number of RAAM contributors.
Information about contributing to RAAM is available from the home page and
enquiries may be made by contacting Kay Nicholls, tel: (02) 6262 1495,
email: knicholl@nla.gov.au.
Kay Nicholls
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: dthomas@nla.gov.au