Theo Hoksbergen, archivist for the Atlas staff department. Photo Guy Ackermans They are indispensable on campus: cleaners, caretakers, caterers, gardeners, receptionists – the list is long. Resource seeks out these key people. This time, meet Theo Hoksbergen (62), an archivist for the Atlas staff department.
‘A lot has changed in the 40 years I’ve been an archivist. When I first started we didn’t have any computers. I photocopied incoming post, reduced it manually to four pages per A4 and printed it on coloured paper. Now I scan all the incoming post at Actio and archive it in a program. We still keep the post in archive boxes for three months, but since 2016 the scan has counted as the original.
‘Now that everyone stores documents on their computers themselves, the role of the archive department has changed from implementation to a supervisory and advisory role. And since the pandemic started, we have been working on tools for supporting users with their information management remotely.
Creating order is in my blood
I enjoy being in contact with the users, most of whom are secretaries. Information from chair groups and departments is archived properly. I advise people about the retention period for material.
I am only at ease when everything is well organized. At the moment there are still a couple of pallets full of archive material in the Agrotechnion building. I’ll have more peace of mind once that is all in the stacks and has been catalogued, and I’ve determined how long it has to be kept. Creating order like that is in my blood. I’m a collector of original Beatles LPs – which are stored in the right order at home. My job may sound dull, but it is very nice to see what is going on in an organization.
A nice anecdote is how we were threatened with a burst dyke in 1995 and we lugged most of the archive that had to be kept long-term up out of the basement and to the internal walkways in the administrative headquarters on the Costerweg. That was hard work, but if everything had got wet it would have cost a fortune to have it all freeze-dried.
I was supposed to take over my father’s bicycle shop, but I wasn’t very technical-minded and I wasn’t a salesman. A career test suggested that working in a library would suit me, so I trained to be an archivist. I worked for the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management for eight years, until the same sort of job was advertised at the agricultural college, and that appealed to me. I’ve been working here for 32 years now. Before I retired, I hope to destroy much of the 5.5 kilometres of physical archive that where the retention period has expired.’
