Mission and History
About “Research Resource Archive, Kyoto University”
“Research Resource Archive, Kyoto University” (KURRA) was established to collect and preserve systematically various materials that were made within educational and research activities in Kyoto University, and to make them available for further activities.
A central feature of KURRA is that it treats materials other than books and specimens: photographs, films, recordings, field books, records of research meetings, lecture notes, and manuscripts, from primary sources. These primary source materials are investigated and registered in the Kyoto University Digital Archive System, and set up for the services. Furthermore, based on the materials, KURRA creates movies which present educational and research activities in Kyoto University, and show them to the public.
KURRA is relevant to education and research activities of all departments of Kyoto University, and for this reason, its action program is decided by the steering committee that consists members from all departments and a chairperson, who is an executive director of the university. Based on the action program, the Kyoto University Museum (a governing department) and Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies operates activities of KURRA, and Institution for Information Management and Communication supports them.
History
The history of KURRA from its beginning to the present is presented below. Please note that names of projects are abbreviated; a project of “Field Video Archive Center” as “FVA”, a project of “Digital Archive” as “DA”.
| Date | Event |
| April, 2005 | A prospectus of “Kyoto University Field Video Archive Center (provisional name)” was presented to the president of the day Kazuo Oike. Discretionary expense of the president for the project was approved. [FVA] |
| March, 2006 | A symposium “Archival films tell frontier spirit” was held. A questionnaire survey on archival films and images was carried out. A movie product based on archival materials was created. [FVA] |
| April, 2006 | Digital Archive project was officially approved by the president. [DA] |
| December, 2006 | “Draft plan of Digital Archive (provisional name)” was proposed to the president. |
| February, 2007 | Inamori Foundation donated a memorial hall to Kyoto University. |
| March, 2007 | A symposium “Records of the critical moments” was held. A photo collection and a booklet about “Field Video Archive” were published. A movie product was created. Image materials were investigated. [FVA] |
| May, 2007 | Inamori Foundation and project staff discussed about unification of “Kyoto Prize Library” and “Kyoto University Digital Archive (provisional name)”. A plan of “Digital Archive (provisional name)” was written. [DA] |
| October, 2007 | A working group for the budget was set up in a meeting for Digital Archive. Members of the working group and executive directors held meetings for the budget request. [DA] |
| February – August, 2008 | A working group for Digital Archive was set up and meetings (1st to 12st) were held. At the meeting in August (12st), the name of Digital Archive was defined as “Research Resource Archive, Kyoto University” (KURRA). [DA] |
| March, 2008 | Image and film materials were investigated. A photo collection and a booklet about “Field Video Archive” were published. A movie product was created. [FVA] |
| September, 2008 – March, 2009 | Meetings (13th to 23rd) of the working group for KURRA were held. At the end of March, the working group was dissolved. |
| November, 2008 | Audio-Visual Station was opened. |
| January – March, 2009 | Preparatory meetings for KURRA were held (four times). A report was produced. |
| March, 2009 | Kyoto University Digital Archive System (KUDAS) started working. The Field Video Archive project offered movies and image materials to Audio-Visual Station. |
| May, 2009 | The all-university budget for 2009 was shown preliminary. |
| June, 2009 | A monthly meeting for Audio-Visual Station started. A laboratory and a workroom for KURRA were opened in the Kyoto University Museum. KURRA started working on official rules of it. |
| July – September, 2009 | Preparatory meetings for an expert committee of KURRA in the Kyoto University Museum were held. (two times) |
| October, 2009 | The expert committee for KURRA in the Kyoto University Museum was set up. Since then, the committee have been called two to four time in a year, by the director of the Museum. A public workshop “History of inter-university research institutes and historical films about them” was held in Audio-Visual Station. |
| December, 2009 | A working group for KURRA in the Museum was established and monthly meetings have been held since then. |
| March, 2010 | A discretionary decision of the president No. 1-27 “the stipulation about Research Resource Archive at Kyoto University” and an instruction No. 52 “the instruction modifying a part of the stipulation of the Kyoto University Museum” were established. “Workshop about KURRA: to pass and realize ‘the spirit of recording’ at Kyoto University” was held. |
| July, 2010 | At Audio-Visual Station, events and screening special movies related to a special exhibition at the Museum “The Wonder of X-ray” were carried out. |
| August, 2010 | Movies to introduce the Kyoto University and its departments were made available at Audio-Visual Station. |
| January, 2011 | The first steering committee of KURRA was called. The president adopted a logo and an official abbreviation of KURRA. |
| March, 2011 | KURRA was opened for the public. KUDAS (a directory service interface) was made available on the Internet and at Audio-Visual Station. A commemorating exhibition was held at the Museum and Audio-Visual Station. (until the beginning of May) |