Solomon Islands - August 2008

The National Archives of Solomon Islands is located in the capital town of Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal. Its main collections are materials that illustrate the development of the Solomon Islands before and after British incorporation. There are currently twenty-four ministries that house their most important records permanently in the archives.

Due to a lack of trained staff, resources and funding, the archives is in a precarious state. New collections are being received, but without anyone to process them, the records sit exposed to the harsh environment, and just as important, inaccessible to the public.

Project Overview

This Project included many hours of re-organizing records. Processed records were mixed with unprocessed records, and the first order of business was to identify the processed records and re-file them back with their respective collections. A collection policy was drafted to help identify wanted and unwanted material. After consolidating collections and weeding unwanted material, shelf space became available for numerous records sitting on the floors, cabinets and desks. Shelves were then designated for new materials and collections with the intent of generating a better workflow.

Before the Project

After the Project

Recent Work

The maintenance of the archives' collection has fallen on hard times. Because of a lack of funding and resources, there is little preservation of material throughout this archive. In 2009 ICAS will undertake basic conservation work starting with one of their most valued and used collection- the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. This collection is rich in historical information when Britain was a protectorate and spanning a time frame from the late 1800's until independence in 1978.