IMR 659

Management of Manuscripts and Personal Papers

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS
 Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the history of manuscripts and personal papers and the

terminologies.

2. Understand the history of archives and manuscripts

3. Differentiate between archives

 Definitions

Archives

Materials created or received by a person, family or organization, public or

private in the conduct of their affairs and preserved because of their
enduring value contained in the information or as evidence of the functions
and responsibilities of their creator, especially those materials maintained
using the principles of provenance, original order and collective control;
permanent records.
A Glossary of Archival & Records Terminology, The Society of American Archivists (2005)
 Definitions

Manuscripts

Documents created, acquired, or received by an individual in the course of

his or her affairs and preserved in their original order (if such order exists).
Nonofficial documents kept by an individual at a place of work.
 Introduction

 Manuscript is any document that is written by hand, as opposed to being printed or

reproduced in some other way. Early period manuscript was written on palm leaves from the
lontar palm and the nipah palm, bamboo, vellum and tree bark coming of the English in the
region in the seventeenth century, paper from Europe, mainly from England, Italy and
Holland became more easily available. Oriental paper from Arabia, India and China surfaced
in the market. This is due to the industrial revolution in Europe.

 Manuscripts can be found all over the world. It represents the cultural and unique identity of
a country.

 In India, for example manuscripts can be found in palm leaves. It covers a wide range
of knowledge and is well preserved at the National Archives of India.
 In the United States, in 1960 the total manuscript holdings as reported by the
National Historical Publications Commission was 150 million, with at least 39 libraries
each reporting more than a million manuscripts.
 Introduction

Lectionary 183 Buddhist manuscripts in copper

The Dead Sea Scrolls

 Archives & Manuscripts: Some Perspective
ARCHIVES
Holdings
Archival repositories hold mainly archives
records perhaps complementary collection of
personal papers.
How material describe by their custodian
Material produce by or relating to organization
is called record, and they are grouped in record
groups and described in inventories.
Arrangement
Arrange based on principle of respect des
fonds, provenance and original order
MANUSCRIPT
Holdings
Manuscript repositories by conduct are largely
comprised of historical manuscripts, written by
hand, typewriter or the equivalent in the single
or multiple- form.
How material describe by their custodian
Material produce by or relating to individual is
generally called papers and they are grouped in
collection and described in registers and
catalogs.
Arrangement
Two basic arrangement system:
- Alphabetical and chronological
- Personal and corporate
 Archives & Manuscripts: Some Perspective

ARCHIVES MANUSCRIPT
Types of records Types of records
Most of the records of various kinds produced Letter
by government or non-government Diary
organization. Journal
Map
Draft
Speech
Article
Note
Memorandum
Reason to keep Reason to keep
Primarily to meet the needs of the creating To foster the study of the subjects with which
organization. the repository is mainly concerned.
 History of Paper

The knowledge of paper making is widely spread all over

the world. It begun in China to Japan the to India and
Europe.

From Arabic country, the knowledge all through Spain in

12th century.

It is from papyrus that the word paper comes from. Although papyrus sheets were
similar to paper in terms of function, being laminated sheets they were technically
more like a mat and therefore not the same as the papers of today.

Paper was first made in China by Tsai-Lun in AD 105. The physical paper was a rough
fiber that was 2000 years old.
 History of Papermaking

It wasn't until the 3rd century that the secret art of

papermaking began to creep out of China, first to
Vietnam and then Tibet. It was introduced in Korea in
the 4th century and spread to Japan in 6th.

Papermaking spread slowly throughout Asia to Nepal

and later to India. It made its true push westward in
751AD when the Tang Dynasty was at war with the
Islamic world.

During a battle on the banks of the Tarus river, Islamic warriors captured a Chinese
caravan which happened to include several papermakers. They spirited them away
to Samarkand, which soon became a great centre for paper production.
 History of Papermaking

 Paper making is one of the inventions by Chinese. In few years, the Chinese began
to use paper for writing. Around 600 A.D. woodblock printing was invented and by
740 A.D., The first printed newspaper was seen in China.

 In Europe, the use of papyrus had dropped out in the 9th century. The preferred
medium for the artists and literati of the time was the smooth and lustrous
parchment. However, parchment - made from animal skin - was extremely
expensive.

 The notion of paper being used as a practical everyday item did not occur until the
15th Century. When Johann Gutenburg perfected movable type and printed his
famous bible in 1456, he not only spread the word of Christianity, but also sparked
a revolution in mass communication. The birth of the modern paper and printing
industry is commonly marked from this date.
History of Papermaking
 Printing Industry

 The demand for paper also created the need for

greater efficiency in production.

 In the late 18th century the labours of Nicholas Luis

Robert resulted in the creation of a machine that could
produce a seamless length of paper on a endless wire
mesh with squeeze rollers at one end.

 Perfected and marketed by the Fourdrinier brothers,

the new machine made papers soon replaced
traditional single sheets made by hand.

Today, the increasing volume of paper consumption has become a complex

environmental matter - and the need for new materials increasingly urgent. While
recycling has done some good, much paper is still wasted.
 Process of Machine Paper Making

Shredding the material into small strips

Soaking them overnight to loosen the fibres

Boiled the fibres for 2-6 hours

Washed with fresh water to remove impurities and small particles

The fibres are beaten in a blender or by hand to a creamy pulp

The pulp is poured into a large tub and the fibres are suspended in the water

Dips a framed screen into the water, lifts it to the surface catching the fibres onto the screen.

Dried it. The screens can either be left in the sun to dry, or be transferred to boards, pressed,
smoothed.
History of Papermaking

Hollander Beaters
 Types of Archives & Manuscripts

 Business Archives

 Organizational

 Religious
 Business Archives

Archive located in for-profit institutions and also provider of paper record storage,
management and retrieval; document destruction services and online business data
backup. Examples of such materials are the Coca Cola Archive known as World of Coca
Cola, Atlanta, Georgia, Motorola Heritage Services and Archives and The Procter &
Gamble Company, Ohio.

Characteristics:

i.Not open to the public.

ii.Used by workers of the owner company, although some will allow approved visitors
by appointment.
iii.Maintaining the integrity of their parent company, and therefore selective of how
their materials may be used.
iv.Workers in these types of archives may have any combination of training and
degrees.
 Business Archives

Functions:

i.To seek out documentation, regardless of its format, concerning a company's

founders, corporate and capital structure, financial performance, management
culture etc.
ii.To supply advice and information on business archives and modern records.
iii.To promote the preservation of business records of historical importance
iv.To helping you protect your critical business information.
v.To ensure your file storage problems are solved.
 Organizational

Not open to the public. Only used by workers of the organization.

Collection

i.Consist of records which have been selected especially for permanent or long-term
preservation.
ii.Maintain historic documents and items related to the history of organization.

 Administrative files
 Memos
 Official correspondence
 Meeting minutes etc.

Example: Universiti Teknologi MARA’s Archival & Museum Unit.

 Religious Manuscripts

Currently the Religious Archive contains information about the following religious
paths:

Christianity: This is the archive of the Morning Star magazine about Christianity. It is
maintained by Per Cederqvist.

Discordianism: Discordianism is a fairly new religion (late fifties). It is mainly

concerned with the balance between order and chaos. Its main deity is Eris, the Greek
Godess of Discord. There are also numerous saints.

Neopaganism: Neopaganism is a group of religions which evolved out of the works

of Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente and Alex Sanders in Britain in the twentieth
century. Asatru and Neoshamanism are often counted as Neopagan. Wicca is the
largest Neopagan denomination.
 Conclusion

Material preserved in manuscript form is the primary source

databank of written material from the middle ages. Manuscripts
provide not only the most authentic witnesses to life in the
medieval era, but also a record of what aspects of life were
considered to be of sufficient importance to immortalize in the
medium. Regardless of what materials are call and where they
are housed, scholars and students needs both archives and
manuscripts to provide as complete documentary records as
possible.