Public Consultation on Records held for Archives & Historical Research Purposes
Submission from the Society of Archivists, Ireland
September 2008
The Society of Archivists is the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The society exists to promote the care and preservation of archives and the better administration of archive repositories, to advance the training of its members and to encourage relevant research and publication.
The Society of Archivists, Ireland welcomes the introduction of Regulations regarding Archives and Historical Research. We have long considered it a key part of our mission to assist in safeguarding the nation’s history and ensure that as full an account as possible of the development of society is retained for future generations. To this end we have a number of comments we hope you will consider when developing the Data Protection (Archives & Historical Research) Regulations.
We note that the draft regulations apply to:
(a) data kept solely for the purpose of historical research,
or
(b) other data consisting of archives or departmental records (within the meaning in each case of the National Archives Act 1986) and the keeping of which complies with such requirements (if any) as may be prescribed for the purpose of safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects”.
We are concerned that by designating the term archives in section 2 to mean only those records covered by the National Archives Act, 1986 this creates the possibility for uncertainty which could result in organisations not covered by the National Archives Act, to deem their records unsuitable for retention.
We believe that making the distinction between “archives” as archives and departmental records covered by the National Archives Act and “data” as information kept solely for historical research introduces the risk of confusion. The process by which data becomes archival or is assigned as being of historical interest is not addressed. There is the possibility that organisations that read these regulations and who are not covered under the National Archives Act will feel vulnerable when retaining data as historic and opt to destroy records rather than risk taking the subjective decision for retaining it. Ideally the decision to retain records/data for the purpose of historical research should be based on an appraisal of their value for this purpose. Organisations should therefore have a retention schedule indicating their intention to retain data for the purpose of historical research purposes. Such a schedule should be available for inspection and input from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and by data subjects. It might be preferable to see the regulations apply to all bodies covered by the Data Protection Act without making the distinction between “archives” and “data kept solely for the purpose of historical research” but with a focus on information within “records”.
We would argue that by their very nature the many records containing personal data have potential for future historical research and therefore it is very important to address the question of who decides what is going to be of interest to future generations. We would like the emphasis to be placed on the retention of as many records of historic interest as possible with a focus on security and protecting rights to privacy rather than destruction to avoid risk but we understand the rights of the individual to protect their personal data must be upheld.
We are highly sensitive to the need to protect the individual’s personal data and archivists and records managers act under a professional obligation to so. We believe strongly that this right to privacy and protection for the individual can be balanced with the civic right of society as a whole to have a history and that it is possible to protect this generation’s right to privacy as well as the next generation’s right to memory
As stated, we welcome the introduction of regulations concerning the Data Protection and Archives and Historical Research as well as the documentation of specific safeguards necessary to protect such information. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with the office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
Leah Benson
Chair, the Society of Archivists, Ireland
89 Merrion Square West,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.