Table of Contents page

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2
History ........................................................................................................................................................... 2
Mission .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Vision............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Objectives ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF NALE ...................................................................................................... 3
RECORD MANAGEMENT POLICY OF ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY AGENCY ................... 4
How to use the archive ............................................................................................................................. 4
Transfer of records.................................................................................................................................... 5
SERVICES PROVIDED BY NALE AND ITS PROGRESS ....................................................................................... 7
References .................................................................................................................................................. 10

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RECORD MANAGEMENT POLICY ISSUE,PROGRESS AND TREND OF
ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY AGENCY

Introduction
Archives are non-current records which are preserved for their enduring
value . From the beginning of the writing system people always created
documents and try to preserve them for different values . People can create
documents for private or public purposes in order to accomplish their day to
day activity. After the end of their active use documents can have long term
(permanent) value as evidence for research. Ethiopian National Archives and
Library Agency is established for the case managing the whole records such as
archival and non archival.

History
The Ethiopian National Archives and Library Agency is established in 1944
with the name "wemezekir" as a public Library. It first inaugurated by his
Majesty Imperial Haile Selassie I in the year of 1944 and started giving service
with the books donated by the king.

The Ethiopian National Archives and Library Agency reestablished in 1999 by

proclamation No. 179/1999 as a national institution by the name Ethiopian
National Archives and Library Agency.

Having made a number of structural changes in its old age history, the agency
has been delivering lots of services particularly to the researchers, scholars,
academicians, writers, higher education students and the public at large.

Mission
Acquire, Organize and preserve information resources and create a national
information system to avail the resources for research and study purpose to
make the public beneficiary.

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Vision
To be a world class national information center where information resources
of the country are systematically organized and the culture of utilizing
information is developed in building democracy and development.

Objectives
The objectives of the organization are to collect systematically organize,
preserve, and make the information resources of the country. Other
objectives are to collect, systematically organize, preserve, and make the
information resources of the country accessible for study and research
purposes

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF NALE

Director General

Change Management
Directorate
Purchasing, Finance and
Property
Planning, Performance Administration Directorate
follow-up and
evaluation Directorate

Public & International

Relations Human Resource
Directorate Development
Internal Audit Directorate &Administration
Directorate
Ethics
Information Communications
Technology
& Information systems 3
Directorate
RECORD MANAGEMENT POLICY OF ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES
AND LIBRARY AGENCY
The National Library and its National Archives department were reorganised
and strengthened by the issuance in June 1999 of a law, the “Ethiopian
National Archives and Library Proclamation n°179/1999, 57 giving them a
legal framework and a nation-wide mandate. This proclamation lays the
groundwork for setting up a reliable policy for NALE, which starting in 1999
was considered as an Agency within the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Information and within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism since the October
2005 change of government 58 . The proclamation details with great care the
powers and duties of the National Archives and the National Library. With the
responsibility for collecting, preserving and making available the information
resources of the country (precisely defined), it must initiate regulations and
directives, inspect their implementation, ensure professional training, and
represent the country with regard to international collaboration.

How to use the archive

Reference tools to help researchers identify and use the collection in the
archival repository.

The reference tools include:-

 List of Archival collection.

 Inventory list.
 Calendar and Guides
 Index card.

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Transfer of records
Transfer of records from the source organization to the NALE is once
per annual

Responsibilities of source organization

Separate active records from the inactive records

Separate distorted (materials out of use) for re-cycling

Arrange records that lost their integrity of their creation

Rules on transfer of records to NALE

Private bodies can sale or donate records to NALE. But the records must be
relevant to the country

According to the proclamation 171/91 article 8, every private record cannot

be transferd to the archive if selection is not happened

The transfer process approved through the NALE General Director and the
archive should give legal approval to the donator

Record translation process

1. Storing the records those which are created by individual office by

preparing record file
2. Asking the agency on how to bind and fill the records
3. Storing the record according to call number given by the source of
records

Record transferring rules

The responsible body for the transfer of records is director of NALE.

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  Conduct study on record management of governmental record sources,
offices and providing operation procedure
 Create the rules on creation, maintenance , preservation of record and
make this roles to be assessed by different instructions
 Setting tutorial schedule on the selection of record and assess their
operation
 Conduct study on how records or archives are collected from different
source
 Identify between records collected from the organizations, make an
accession list for the materials and enable them to be published
 Setting rules on record disposal committee in the organization and be
responsible fpr the disposal of records
 Setting rules and policy on acquisition, selection and disposal of records
 Setting classification program on the records collected
 Setting finding list, description list, cataloguing list, calendar guide for
records on how their classification and arrangement program is going
on

Record disposal

According to the proclamation 179/99 article 14

1) Any provenant shall not dispose of records at its disposal.

2) In no case shall records created prior to 1936 E.C be disposed of.
3) Without prejudice to Sub-Article (2) of this Article, the disposal of all
records shall be carried out by the Agency.

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SERVICES PROVIDED BY NALE AND ITS PROGRESS
Ethiopian Studies & Manuscript Division

Service: Photocopy and Reading.

Working Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30a.m. 6:00p.m.

Saturday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

2.Reference & Documentation

This section of library consists of textbooks, Reference books, periodicals,

conference proceedings, patents, fictions and Amharic literature. It provides s
for college students & government employees.

Service: Photocopy Reference, Consultancy, Training, and loan,

Registration, Reading and Internet.

Users: College student and above.

Working Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Periodicals

Working Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Saturday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Legal Deposit

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This section keeps those materials mainly for historical and future generation
consumption.

Service: Photocopy, ISBN Registration and Reading.

Users: Researchers and other users

ISBN Registration provides ISBN (International System Book

Number) for publishers.

Working Hours: Monday 8:30a.m. to Friday 5:30p.m.

Archives Repository and Research

Collection: Archives, photographs, charts, plans and other

documents on general national matters are available. This
division is open for service from Monday to Friday at office hours.

Service: Reading & Photocopy.

Users: Researchers and other scholars

Working Hours: Monday 8:30a.m. to Friday 5:30 p.m.

 Saturday from 2:30a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Microfilm and Microfiche Library

Microfilm and microfiche taken on ancient historical manuscripts and
important prints are available. It is open for service from Monday to
Friday at office hours.

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 Service: Reading Users: Researchers and other scholars.

Working Hours: Monday 8:30 a.m. to Friday 5:30 p.m.

Internet and E-mail services

This section provides Internet and E-mail services for different users.
Especially for researchers, students, employee of government and non-
government institutions, senior citizen, and disabled person, on average
500 users per months

Working Hours: Monday 8:45a.m. To Friday 7:30p.m.

HIV/AIDS Desk Users: researchers in the area of HIV/AIDS,

University and college students, Government and non-government
institutions.

Working Hours: Monday 8:45am to Friday 7:30pm

TREND OF RECORD MANAGEMENT IN NALE

Building Database

The computer centre together with the appropriate

teams, is building the following database In Micro-
CDS/ISIS in its effort to improve access to documents.

1. National Bibliographic databases.

2. Archives description list database
3. Microfilm Library database
4. Reference & Documentation database

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 5. Acquisition & Union Catalogue Database
6. Library catalogue database.

References

Source:-
https://www.academia.edu/6381591/National_Archive_and_Library_of_
Ethiopia_NALE_

- https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00450633/document

- https://www.longdom.org/open-access/archival-management-and-
preservation-in-ethiopia-the-case-of-east-gojjam-44295.html

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