Overview
The Archive and it's Mission
Overview the Archives
The future

“No nation can control its own history unless it has collected and safeguarded all its formal documents, has enabled research and methodical studies to be performed on them and has established a system to sort them by relevance…. A nation’s concern for treasuring its past memories may serve as a measure of the cultural level achieved by that nation….”

Prof. M Andrews Charles
“The history of modern Europe”

The University of Haifa was established in May 1963 through a joint effort of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Municipality of Haifa, the thriving Mediterranean port city in the north of Israel. It was then called the “University Institute of Haifa.” The Institute was granted independence in April 1971 and in May the following year received accreditation from Israel’s Council for Higher Education

The original agreement between the Hebrew University and Haifa municipality for enlarged view please click here

Today, more than 600 scholars and scientists make up the academic staff of the University's six Faculties: Humanities; Social Sciences and Mathematics; Education; Law; Social Welfare and Health Studies; and Science and Science Education. There is also a thriving Graduate School of Business.
Given its location, the University of Haifa has come to play a vital and dynamic role in the education of the diversified communities of northern Israel. A large proportion of the immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who arrived in the 1990s, chose to settle in Haifa, while the Galilee is the traditional home to the majority of Israel's Arab citizens.
Not surprisingly, the University has seen its student body double over the past decade: close to 16,000 students enrolled in 2004.

The Archive and its Mission

Archives and the records they contain provide tangible evidence of human activities and transactions and as such are fundamental to democracy and good governance. Archives safeguard the memory of humankind by preserving records of its past and thus serve to underpin the rights of individuals and corroborate a country’s history.
Archives play a key role in the acquisition of knowledge and information through the wide range of services they provide.

The Archive of the University of Haifa was officially established in January 1984 in light of the growing need to keep track of its rapidly increasing number of records in a professional manner.  The Archive is the official repository for all of the University’s data and centers on the following:

·        Preservation and protection of non-active records on behalf of the University’s various departments

·        Security of stored records

·        Fast retrieval of stored records

·        Maintaining an international standard system for records management

·        Clearing/shredding of expired records, according to a set timetable

·        Storing space saving

·        Facilitating an ever-increasing number of archive users

·        Documentation of archives history

·        Defining and applying professional ethical regulations in the organization

·    Ensuring the preservation of the archival heritage files.

Overview the Archives

Currently the Archive contains approximately 20,000 subject files, stored in over 2200 containers occupying an area of 200 square meters. The Archive strictly maintains the optimal environmental conditions required for storing records to protect them from damages due to pests, temperature and humidity fluctuations, dirt etc.

Photos (black & white and colored) and newspapers clips are on deposit in addition to documents.

The headlines of all subject files stored in the archive are labeled in a computerized format. A number of characteristic fields for each record facilitate efficient processing and enable improved services to University’s academic and administration units and its various external organizations. Archives software allows for swift searches and the quick production of reports according to defined parameters. Currently, 11,000 personal files of academic and administrative staff are stored on microfilm, easily retrievable and turned into printed files. Microfilm is used in order to maintain legal acceptability assurance. Miniaturization substitutes for paper files, reducing paper capacity by 97-99 percent. Retrieval is quick, convenient and accessibility is simple and prompt.

The Haifa University archives are made up of an main archive and an intermediate storage facility. As the archives include records for permanent storage, intermediate storage contains records for a limited time according to a set clearing-out timetable. An advanced mapping system enables parallel management of the archive and intermediate storage.

The records stored in the archives cover the wisest spectrum possible and includes the following University offices and departments:

·   The President’s Office

·        Public Relations Department

·        The Vice-President Office

·        The Rector’s Office — The Senate

·        The Research Authority

·        The Academic Planning Department

·        The Fiscal Department

·        The Accountancy Department

·        Salaries Department

·        Disciplinary Authority

·        The Advanced Studies Authority

·        The Departments of all Faculties

·        Human resources Department (including academic and administrative staff personnel files)

·        Students Administration Department

·        Dean of Students Department

·        Property Management Department

·        Security Department

·        Maintenance Department

·        Construction and Development Department

·        External Academic Studies Division (including personal files of students that attended school until 1990)

·    Pre-academic Unit

Records stored relate to essential decisions that concern the management of academic, administrative, fiscal, legal and historical aspects of the University. For example, protocols of the Administration, decisions of Board of Governors and decisions of Senate meetings are all deposited in archives.

In addition to the central archives, there are a few smaller archives belonging to various departments. These archives contain records required for the daily use of department. Departments themselves clear 30 percent of their records with the rest deposited in the intermediate archives, and after three years stored in the main archives. The small archives operate independently as subsidiaries of the offices they belong to. Examples are the Fiscal Department Archive and the Pre-academic Unit Archive.

The future

In the late 1990’s, as part of the global technological revolution, Haifa University adopted a new management concept that includes usage of computers. Today, office management and most of internal and external communication are performed by means of Outlook system. Digital format is a substitute to paper records.
The archive, in its present structure, cannot provide service to information management of the XXth century. Therefore, the archive is challenged to take part in the “computerized office” project and expand its information capacity which is a consequence of the technological development.
In order to solve storing problems, data processing and information retrieval, the University has purchased the records and archive management software: “Proffice”. The ultimate goal is to achieve paperless office; the archives will offer access to global resources in a local setting.