Mission statement and acquisition of materials
The Archives of Migration Institute of Finland (MIF) collects and deposits material related to migration, which is one of the main tasks of the MIF. The related archive collection is called the Migration Collections. The Migration Collections is accumulated through cultural heritage and research material related to emigration, Finns abroad, and immigration to Finland. The Migration Collections contain source material of cultural and historical value for researchers or other interested parties.
Migration Collections primarily deposits unique, unpublished materials. As an exception the archive accepts newspaper clippings as well as video and audio publications. Printed publications are accepted by the MIF library.
Migration Collections is accumulated with diverse materials, such as private correspondence, travel documents, interviews, audio and video recordings and photographs. In addition, artefacts are accepted in some cases.
Migration Collections accepts material in both physical and digital form.
As a rule, materials are accepted as a whole rather than as separate, individual documents. However, as acquisition is always based on an overall assessment, in some cases the archiving of individual documents is justified.
Any delivery costs incurred in sending materials to the Migration Collections may be reimbursed, but the Archives does not pay for the materials themselves. Use of the materials is free of charge.
The accepted material is physically and technically in at least adequate condition. Physical conditions (e.g. mold) may prevent the material from being accepted in to the Migration Collections.
The materials in the Migration Collections are, for the most part, openly accessible. The materials can have restrictions based on law or the donor’s wishes, but the Archives will not accept material that is permanently excluded from use. The user commits to the general ethical rules and collection-specific rules regarding the use of archival material.
The aim is to accumulate Migration Collections with materials which there is adequate context information available regarding its origins, the people and the places relative to the material. For example, relevant contextual information for a photograph includes the photographer, subject(s), date and place. Potential donors who are unsure whether the contextual information of the material in their possession is adequate are advised to contact the archivist before submitting the material.
Groups or individuals depositing material in Migration Collections include or may include for example migrants, migrants’ descendants, relatives and friends of migrants; organizations or other communities set up by migrants; return migrants, researchers, journalists, genealogists as well as domestic organizations and authorities with contacts to Finns abroad.
The Archives of MIF cooperate with the National Archives of Finland, government-funded private archives and other Finnish private archives by complying with mutually agreed division of labor and collection policy principles.
The Archives of the MIF also strives to co-operate with the essential GLAM ¹-organizations operating outside of Finland that preserve materials relating to Finnish migration and its history.
The materials deposited in the Migration Collections frequently contain information about individuals. Processing of personal information in the Archives of the MIF is based on the corresponding legislation in force at any time (now: EU Data Protection Regulation [Regulation (EU)
2016/679] and the Finnish Data Protection Act [5.12.2018 /1050]) and it follows the established practices of GLAM-organizations. The Archives of the MIF has the rights under the Data Protection Act to process personal data for archiving purposes carried out in the public interest (Section 4 (4) TSL) and also to process special categories of personal data for archiving purposes carried out for the public good. (Section 6 (1) TSL). The Archives of the MIF keeps donor contact information for future contact and archiving purposes.
Preservation and access
The physical material of the Migration Collections is stored for preservation under controlled conditions for temperature and humidity. There are currently two storage facilities: an archive room in the main premises of MIF in Turku and another in a warehouse building located in the same city.
Digital material of the Migration Collections is stored on the work station of the archivist of the MIF. The material and the database used for its management are backed up daily to a server maintained by the University of Turku, located separately from MIF premises.
Digitization does not change the need to preserve physical original materials. Even after digitization, the physical materials are preserved to ensure the authenticity of the information and adequate protection.
The physical material of the Migration Collections is made accessible for use in the main premises (except for exhibition loans) and the digital material via website(s), cloud service or e-mail.
The aim is to make Migrant Collections as much accessible as possible to all interested parties. At present, this goal is being achieved primarily through the digitization of collections and the publication of descriptive information and digital materials from the collections in the Finnish cultural heritage material search service Finna (https://www.finna.fi/).
¹ GLAM is an acronym for ”galleries, libraries, archives, museums” and refers to cultural institutions with a mission to provide access to knowledge.