New home for old public documents

Published on 07 December 2023

As we move into an increasingly digitised world, one matter becomes increasingly important for those all-important paper records the public might need access to.

And that is, where to store them? After all Glenelg Shire Council is custodian of many such records dating back many years, but with storage space at a premium, where can they go?

As it turns out, the answer is relatively simple.

The Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) is a Victorian Government agency that accepts and houses permanent records and has recently done so for Glenelg Shire Council.

PROV is the archive of both State and Local Government in Victoria.

Council’s main priority is to maintain public records and by transferring them to PROV, it also transfers the risk and cost of storage.

As part of that Council recently transferred all its public meeting and Council meeting minutes from 1991 to 2021 to PROV – that added up to 13 metres of records (a warehouse measure).

It added up to a lot of records and a lot more free space in Council offices – the transfer process took several months as everything had to be checked and double-checked before being sent off.

It’s important to note too that these are records that the public has rarely requested access to and that Council retains full ownership of the records.

However, should a member of the public require access to records Council has sent to PROV, that’s not an issue either – they just need to contact Council and we will request access for them.

But it’s also just the first stage in a long-term Council project to ensure we are adequately preserving records, as well as aligning with our digital-by-design strategy.

That will see paper-based records increasingly become a thing of the past – for example, there aren’t any more minutes that need to be sent to PROV as they are created digitally now.

Council will assess all the permanent and physical records it holds to see what can and can’t be transferred to PROV for storage.

Caption: Some of the old Glenelg Shire Council records being prepared for the journey to their new home at the Public Record Office Victoria.