ARCHIVES MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION

Transcription

1 ARCHIVES MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION DEFINING ARCHIVES The word archives is popularly used to refer to older paper and computer files that are not needed for daily used and confined to a particular storage area for reference purposes. Sometimes, the words archives and records are used interchangeably. However this use is not correct from a professional standpoint. Archives are records of permanent value selected for long-term / permanent preservation primarily to serve evidential and informational values in an organisation (SAA, 2005; Stoler,2005). Archives document past events in a society or organisation and provide rich source of information on past events that can be used as evidence and also mere sources of information for information s sake. Most records have a limited lifespan and are eventually destroyed. However archives are a unique lot of records that are selected for permanent storage due to their long-term significance. Archives may include records that have continuing significance in the conduct of business or records that are no longer expected to be needed for operational purposes but are kept indefinitely as collective part of the corporate memory, for research and cultural reasons. The word archive is also used to mean an institution responsible for managing archives like Kenya National Archives or even more narrowly, to a room used to store archival materials. VALUE AND USES OF ARCHIVES Traditionally, archivists were only interested in identification, selection and acquisition of records of enduring value. According to Penn, Pennix and Coulson (1996), the archivists were also interested in preserving them. However they never deemed it necessary to disseminate Page 1

2 information from archives to those requiring it. This led to accusations that archivists were more interested in wasting organisations. They were deemed to be of no value to organisations. Consequently, any time organisations needed to down size, the fist to go was the archivist. If not sacked, they were redeployed or resources reduced. Modern archivists have however realized that they sit on wealth of information that can be utilized to assist both public and private sectors in achieving success and the set goals. They have also realized the importance of disseminating the archival information to users. Today, many organisations especially in the developed world have decided to ensure that their archives are well managed and available in different formats. Archives are now considered of much value to organisations than they were before. The values of archives can then be thought as research value, evidential value and preservation of institutional and societal memory Research Value Archives embody and re-live society s collective memory and experiences. Records enable scholars and the general public to use records for all manner of research including historical, cultural, sociological, demographic, scientific, medical and technological (Wamukoya, 2007) Evidential value One other greatest value of archives is the fact that they provide evidence of past events (Harris, 2007). For example archives have proved useful to solve land disputes among individuals, organisations and even countries. Indeed in Kenya now, they are the archives which are heavily being relied upon to solve the dispute between Kenya and Uganda regarding Lake Victoria s Migingo Island. Archives have also been previously used to solve boundary issues between Kenya and Sudan (Daily Nation, 2009). Page 2

3 1.2.3 Preservation of history/institutional memory Archives help preserve the history of a society and an organisation. They document the genesis of an organisation. They show the transition an organisation has gone through. This kind of information is essential especially when developing strategic and development plans. Historical information is also useful in serving informational value. When archives are selected and preserved, a whole society s way of life is preserved. Archives have information that can assist the society to reclaim its lost values through identification and redesign of traditional practices and even resurrect languages. They can assist reconstruct cultural values Archives in Context of Society Archives play a crucial role in fostering society well-being. According to David Lammy, Britain s Minister for culture, any Government that neglects archives does so at its peril. Archival documents are the foundations of our collective understanding of who we are. And any thorough examination or exploration of our identity, our history and our future would flounder without archives (Lammy, 2007). Lammy (2004) further notes that whereas the 20 th century was about where the last century the battle was about the role of the state and the power of the market, in the early 21st century, the focus has moved to issues such as race and faith, environmental climate challenges, social cohesion and the community. At the heart of the public policy agenda is culture and identity and, without doubt, archives are at the centre of this and have never been more important. Mckemmish and Glenda (1999) also note that archives play the following roles with regard to society: facilitating good governance; underpinning accountability mechanisms; constituting corporate, national and societal memory; constructing individual, community and national identity; providing authoritative sources of information. Wallace (2007) also asserts that archives and archivists contribute both to societal empowerment as well as its hindrance. According to Wallace, laws, regulations, standards, best practices, policies and compliance and audit mechanisms provide records-based frameworks and opportunities for healthy societies. Page 3

4 1.2.5 Archives and Good governance Given the evidence they document, archives are critical in fostering good governance in society. According to Chibambo (2003) documentary heritage or records are not only a key to the preservation of an organization s and society s memory, but to the effectiveness of good governance and the development of national awareness and identity. Kemoni, Ngulube & Stilwell (2007) observe that records are required for developing and implementing policies, planning, keeping track of actions, achieving consistency in decision making, providing effective service to citizens and achieving greater efficiency. Weinstein (2005) observes that the national archive for instance is a public trust on which our democracy depends. We enable people to inspect for themselves the record of what government has done. We enable officials and agencies to review their actions and help citizens hold them accountable. We ensure continuing access to essential evidence that documents the rights of citizens, the actions of federal (and other) officials, and the national experience. In Kenya for instance, archives served a critical role in unravelling issues around the Goldenberg Scandal that led to irregular payments or siphoning out of the country of billions of shillings through a dubious trade in gold, between the government and individuals. Archives were also useful in handling land issues between the Maasai community of Kenya and white settlers, where the Maasai were demanding their land back after 99 years of leasing. The documents held in the Kenya National Archives were instrumental in resolving the conflict. Still in Kenya, the Ndungu Land Commission that was investigating matters concerning irregular land allocations and grabbing in independent Kenya, heavily relied on such archival documents to gather evidence Archives and Human Rights Page 4

5 The absence of records impacts upon transparency and accountability of government. The baseline of this argument is that where there are no records, there is no transparency and accountability. Where there is no transparency and accountability, there is no good governance and human rights will be undermined. A number of experts (LaGrange, 2005; Harris, 2005; Cox & Wallace, 2002) referring to records and human rights, point that records are used to: o Benchmark its progress and that of organizations and individuals working for it. o Protect the rights and obligation of the public, its partners and itself. o Support programs meant to advance the will of the public o Enable the public gain an insight into the centuries and processes government does in their name. o Prevent, eliminate or reduce fraud. o Support accountability o Support and uphold transparency o Provide evidential support during a litigation process o Preserve corporate memory, culture and history of a people and finally. o Fulfil Freedom of Information Compliance. Wallace (2007) also opines that records and archives provide a records-based framework for ensuring, protecting and provisioning a range of human rights. According to Mnjama Education Archives support education of generations. Archives provide materials for even writing historical books for the education of present generations. Today in the Kenya National Archives, school children pay visit to be educated on some of the traditional and cultural practices of Kenya communities courtesy of the Murumbi collection that has a huge collection of artefacts across Africa including weapons, clothing, artilleries etc Cultural Preservation. A very important use of archives is preservation of culture. Archives document cultural practices of communities which can then be transferred to subsequent generation. For instance in the Kenya National Archives, the Murumbi collection provides a rich source of cultural information Page 5

6 on various communities cultural practice through the various artefacts preserved by the collection. 1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF ARCHIVES Charles Dollar, in Ensuring Access over Time to Authentic Electronic Records: Strategy, Alternatives, and Best Practices, proposes a number of preservation characteristics that help preserve the legal integrity of a business record while stored and archived. These characteristics include: authentic: the measure of the reliability of a record (i.e., its ability to remain unaltered, unchanged, and uncorrupted) encapsulated: the measure of the self-referential linkage of logical components in a record identifiable: the measure of the specification of unique identification boundaries in a record intelligible: the measure of the integrity of the bit stream represented in a record readable: the measure of the integrity of the bit stream device processing of a record reconstructable: the measure of the quality of rebuilding the same structure and intellectual content of a record retrievable: the measure of the capability to locate objects and parts of a record understandable: the measure of the quality of the context of creation of a record Revision Questions 1. What is the value and use of archives? 2. What are some of the characteristics of archives? 3. what is the role of archives in the following areas; human rights governance society Page 6

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