Abstract
The Continuum concept of pluralisation is often misunderstood. This paper aims to explain how records are embedded in the society that created them from the time of their creation and how they can be further embedded throughout their lifespan by adding metadata to them, placing them in context, making them accessible to those who will need them in the future and potentially sharing them with the broader society according to societal rules. The author proposes to use the concept of societal embeddedness, which indicates that pluralisation is not just about sharing in the future, but also about incorporating societal expectations in records and recordkeeping systems, to help explain the concept of pluralisation. She shows how using simple examples from everyday life and discussing the societal context of the creation and use of records can help explain Records Continuum concepts, and in particular the concept of pluralisation, to students from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Highlights
In his translation of the Records Continuum Model into Dutch, Hans Hofman translated the name of the fourth dimension of the Records Continuum, “Pluralise”, as “maatschappelijk inbedden”, literally “to embed in the society” (Horsman et al 1999, p. 147)
The difficulties associated with translating some terms that do not have direct equivalent made me reflect on the meaning of the recordkeeping terminology that we use in Australia so as to find appropriate equivalent terms in French, and got me interested in translation problems and in comparative archivistics (Ketelaar 2000)
The experience of translating the model into French (Frings-Hessami 2018c) made me conscious of the translation issues experienced by students from non-English speaking background, and made me reflect on the meaning of the recordkeeping terminology that we use in Australia
Summary
In his translation of the Records Continuum Model into Dutch, Hans Hofman translated the name of the fourth dimension of the Records Continuum, “Pluralise”, as “maatschappelijk inbedden”, literally “to embed in the society” (Horsman et al 1999, p. 147). To further complicate the issue, the way the words records and recordkeeping are used in Australia to encompass both records and archives, and records management and archives management are different from the ways they are used in the rest of the English-speaking world This needs to be clarified and examples discussed with the students before discussing the Records Continuum Model. I reflect on how translating the model and teaching continuum concepts to foreign students help us to better understand the concepts that we use and to realise how much societal context is embedded into records, and I show how using the concept of societal embeddedness can help explain the complexities of records creation and use through time and space. I define the concept of societal embeddedness and argue that the concept of societal embeddedness helps to explain the meaning of pluralisation and to explain how records are both embedded in a societal context from the time of their creation and need to be further embedded in that context over time to meet the needs of all potential stakeholders
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