Tçnâ koe Craig
 
Thank you for your OIA request OIA2324-1082 to Te Rua Mahara o te
Kâwanatanga Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara), received 17 June 2024.
 
We wanted to get in touch to clarify your request.
 
You have requested:
 
“Please supply a copy of the Collections Search database in comma
separated format, including the following fields:
 
‘R’ Number
Title,
Years,
Item ID,
Agency,
Series,
Accession,
Record group,
Box / Item,
Sep Record no.,
Part Alternative no.,
Record type and
Former archives ref”
 
An initial assessment of your query from our subject matter experts
indicates that it is likely not possible to extract data in comma
separated format from the Collections Search/Arena system.
 
It is technically possible to extract data in comma separated format from
the Collections Staff system, which is where Collections Search harvests
its data from.
 
However, Te Rua Mahara holds over eight million records, of which over
seven million are publicly listed in the Collections Search database.
Extracting over 91 million bits of data (over 7 million records x 13
fields) would require:
 

* Significant staff resource from the in-house system application
specialists, which may interfere on the ability of Te Rua Mahara to
carry out our normal functions
* A system capable of holding and transferring 91 million bits of data
to you.

 
It may require resource from the vendor of Collections Search, which would
be at cost.
 
It may also interfere with the day to day statutory operations of most
other staff at Te Rua Mahara, as an extract of that size may slow the
functionality of the system for all users.
 
The cost of the resource required would not be reasonable to pass on to
you, and an extension of the timeframe for delivery of the information
would not reduce all costs.
 
For these reasons, this request would likely constitute substantial
collation and may be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA.
 
If you are able to specify the group or groups of records you would like
to have more information on, we are able to extract that from the
Collections Staff database as a business request. For example:

* A particular series of records
* A specific keyword search, which could also include the relevant time
periods
* Records from a particular agency/agencies

 
Alternatively, if you have a specific research question, please feel free
to use the Ask an Archivist service at
[1]https://www.archives.govt.nz/about-us/se....
We would also like to note that the Collections Search database is
publicly accessible and searchable at
[2]https://collections.archives.govt.nz/en/....
 
Please let us know your clarified request by cob 25 June 2024.
 
Please feel free to contact [3][email address] if you would like to
discuss further.
 
Ngâ mihi
 
Office of the Chief Archivist
Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga Archives New Zealand
10 Mulgrave Street | Wellington, New Zealand | [4]www.archives.govt.nz
 
 
 

References

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Tçnâ koe Craig

 

Please see attached Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga Archives New Zealand’s
response to your OIA request OIA2324-1082.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Office of the Chief Archivist

Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga Archives New Zealand
10 Mulgrave Street | Wellington, New Zealand | [1]www.archives.govt.nz

 

References

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1. http://www.archives.govt.nz/