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What is Tabularium?

Tabularium (the name is Latin for a record office or registry) is a collection management system for archives. It is designed primarily for small archives operations but is scalable to larger environments.

Technically, Tabularium is a Microsoft Access database application, that is, a collection of tables, queries, on-screen forms and reports tied into a coherent system.

Please note that Tabularium is not a standalone software product: you need Microsoft Access to run it. Tabularium Version 2 requires Access 2000 or later.

Tabularium can be used to implement either the Australian 'series system', using the essential elements of classic practice using that system, or the ‘record group system’ as described in international standards for archival description. Tabularium complies with these standards.

What Tabularium does

A large part of Tabularium is concerned with the intellectual control of archives, that is, '…the control established over the informational content of records and archives resulting from ascertaining and documenting their provenance, and from the processes of arrangement and description.' (Judith Ellis, ed., Keeping Archives, Second Edition, WD Thorpe in association with the Australian Society of Archivists Inc, 1993, p. 472).

In particular, Tabularium helps you to describe archives and their context, to produce standardised hard copy and online finding aids and to find particular records in your archives by searching your Tabularium database.

Tabularium also supports the physical control of archives, that is, '…the control established over the physical aspects (such as format, quantity and location) of the archives and the records in custody.' (Keeping Archives, p. 476).

Thus, for example, Tabularium supports the accessioning process, lending and reading room issues, and the destruction of temporary records. It helps keep track of where different units of records are in your records storage area but, because every archives' storage area is configured differently, Tabularium's location control is necessarily basic.

Tabularium supports records retention and disposal authorisation by enabling you to document disposal authorities and link them to series, agencies and functions. Finally, Tabularium produces a variety of management statistics.

In addition to conventional forms of records, Tabularium supports the management of photographs and objects, both as part of the archives collection and as separate collections in small museums and mixed heritage collections.

Where to find guidance about archival theory and practice

Tabularium is designed to help archivists apply sound practice in a range of archives management activities. It is, however, only a tool and can be of only limited assistance in showing how to manage archives.

The best source of guidance for Australian archivists is Keeping Archives, a second edition of which was published in 1993 (Judith Ellis (ed.), Keeping Archives, Second Edition, Thorpe in association with the Australian Society of Archivists, 1993). Tabularium has been designed to be consistent with the practices described in Keeping Archives.

Anyone involved in the management of archives in Australia should join the Australian Society of Archivists Inc. As Keeping Archives notes, '…communication and cooperation with other practitioners to share ideas and experience and to act jointly to promote archival goals, develop standards and codes of practice and foster links with the international community are vital.' (p. 21) The Society meets this need for the archival profession, acting as '…our vehicle for communication, support, learning/training, socialising and campaigning'. (p. 22) You can contact the Society at:

PO Box 83
O'Connor ACT 2602
Australia

World Wide Web: http://www.archivists.org.au

Credits

Word and Access and are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.

Copyright in Tabularium is owned by David Roberts, with portions owned by the Government of New South Wales.

Tabularium was developed as a private project by the author and is made available by the State Records Authority of New South Wales ('State Records') to help support good archival practice in the community..

© David Roberts and the Government of New South Wales MMIV

E-mail: tabularium.archives@gmail.com

This page updated 21/07/2008