| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to assess the records preservation and conservation practices at Parliament of Uganda so as to promote continuity and accessibility of its records. The study objectives were; to examine the current state of preservation and conservation of records, to ascertain the challenges faced while preserving and conserving records, to determine the policies that guide records preservation and conservation and lastly to propose and recommend the best practices regarding the preservation and conservation of records at Parliament of Uganda. The study adopted a qualitative research approach with a case study design and the samples were selected purposively to gather data from the respondents. Data collection methods were Interviews, Document Review and Observation.
The findings of the study revealed that housekeeping, repairs and environmental control, were the common practices of preservation and conservation of records. Further findings indicated that inadequate funds, lack of trained manpower, poor handling of records, inadequate preservation and conservation equipment, effect of dust and rodents, lack of maintenance culture in records staff and failure to recognize the need for preservation and conservation of records by the records office managers were the challenges faced while preserving and conserving records at Parliament of Uganda. Also the findings showed that there was a preservation and conservation policy at the Parliament of Uganda which was written by a committee. However, it could not be cited during the observation sessions.
The study therefore, concluded that Parliament of Uganda had good practices for preserving and conserving its records. However, they paid more emphasis on printed materials, with less use of digital preservation methods. PRMS was yet to embrace the opportunities offered by technological advancement for preservation and conservation of their records. The use of air conditioning in the storage rooms and to ensure regular and frequent repairs, cleaning and dusting of the environments, Parliament of Uganda should fully engage in electronic preservation in order to meet up with the required standard of service and they should also employ Conservators with specialized skills in preservation and conservation of records in order to provide a well-articulated roadmap for continuous preservation and conservation activities at the Parliament of Uganda. | en_US |
