The Reserve Bank of Australia has a rich and unique archive that captures almost 2 centuries of primary source material about the Australia’s economic, financial and social history. To enhance public access to these records, DatacomIT has constructed a custom-built digital archive tool using Recollect as the digital platform for the RBA, titled ‘Unreserved’.
Unreserved enables the release of some of RBA’s most fragile records along with items that people might find surprising for RBA to have as part of their collection. It also enables the wider public release of records about which the Bank has received requests in the past. Users can independently research and download digital versions of key archival records, learn about the nature and scope of the Bank’s entire archival collection, and lodge requests for information or assistance from RBA archivists.
The RBA mentioned in their article dated March 2021 – From the Archives: The London Letters | Bulletin – March Quarter 2021 | RBA
“Most importantly, Unreserved provides a vehicle for sharing unique primary source information about the nation’s economic, financial and social history, as seen by the central bank, and will ensure the preservation of this important archival collection.”
The team at DatacomIT are honoured to have been part of this awe-inspiring project which brings us joy and purpose. We’ve digitised many special collections for the RBA over the past 6 years, including the iconic ‘Colonial Ledgers’. All material digitised is processed at a very high specification to meet the FADGI 4 star standard.
Digital preservation is the key driver for DatacomIT, it ensures important information is preserved for future generations where knowledge and experiences are sensed.
For the full RBA article click link – From the Archives: The London Letters | Bulletin – March Quarter 2021 | RBA
This article focuses on the London Letters – a series that is unusual in its scale and continuity and which provides a detailed account of the central banks experience of some of the most significant events of the 20th century. The RBA also describe how Unreserved can be used and the plans for future information releases.
To access ‘Unreserved’ click link – Reserve Bank of Australia Unreserved (rba.gov.au) or click image below.