Reflecting on the place of regional university libraries and archival collections

University archives sit in a unique space within the Australian archives landscape, with many serving a dual purpose. Archives may be collected and maintained as the historical memory of an institution. Others also act as archives for their local community or the state. Most Australian universities have a dedicated archive, and the Australian Society of Archivists (2024) has a Special Interest Group devoted to the sector (see Appendix 1: Foundation Dates of Universities and their Archives). This paper reflects on some of the different models offered at regional universities. As members of the Regional Universities Network, they share a particular context; each institution is committed to the broader community and serves the research and teaching purposes required in their establishment. Echoing early research on Australian university archives, however, there are marked differences in their approaches to managing archives, different functions and strategic alignment and diverse organisational arrangements.[i] Prompted by the initiative to develop a university archive at SCU, we would like to reflect on the strengths and challenges, limitations and possibilities of different models, how each archive relates to the business of the university, and echoing Boadle, to ask whether they function as a community or university resource.[ii] Centring the place of regional universities, this paper also allowed us to collaborate and traverse the boundaries between our institutions and within them, as well as between the university and community. [i] N. Allen, ‘University archives in Australia’, Australian Academic & Research Libraries, vol. 19, no. 3, 1988, pp. 173-179. http://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.1988.10754626; D. Boadle, ‘Australian university archives and their prospects’, Australian Academic & Research Libraries, vol. 30, no. 3, 1999, pp. 153-170. http://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.1999.10755090 [ii] D. Boadle, ‘Academic or community resource? Stakeholder interests and collection management at Charles Sturt University Regional Archives 1973-2003’, The Australian Library Journal, vol. 52, no. 3, 2003, pp. 273-286. http://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2003.10721555