Short Essay Number 1

By

Rich Smith

In the practice of history, there are several places that a historian spends an inordinate amount of time. One of the most important places is the archives. The reason for this is that an archive represents a connection with the historical past, one that a historian is trying to connect with and bring to life. As keepers of the historical record, archives not only function as storage and preservation of the past, but they also determine how and what is remembered. Moreover, archives, through the items in their collection, serve as a representative of that past, providing individuals glimpses into a world that no longer exists. Lastly, archives function as collective constructs of the past through their role as a public liaison connecting archive material with the researchers and users of an archive, as well as by determining what is historically viable and what is expedient. Archives can also function, in a more limited sense, as a means for storing the everyday records of a private or public entity, albeit either a government, or a corporation. All of these functions, are for the most part, interrelated with one another.

One of the primary purposes of an archive is to serve as a keeper of the historical record of the past. Archives used to function merely as a keeper of public record. Even in today’s world an archive can serve as a public record of the functions of either a private or public industry. This is especilly true as it relates to the functions of a governmental entity.[1] However, with the advent of a more scientific approach to the practice of history, and the use of factual information as a means of explaining historical causality, there grew a need for authentic and legitimate records of the past. As such, archives ceased to function merely as a keeper of the public record, but instead as a place that housed an authoritative and authentic record of the past. Moreover, this historicity meant that the official historical record was tied to the evidence found in the records, or sources, housed in an archival setting. As a result, archives took on a greater importance in society representing an authoritative and authentic record of past events, functioning as the “…foundation for all verifiable historical knowledge and the keystone of nation historical understanding.”[2] This function of an archive stems largely from the representational nature of the records contained therein.

According to Geoffrey Yeo, records possess a representative quality. For the most part, records have to come to act as a means for representing activities, or in the case of history, a relation between past events, and as such, are portions of a larger and more complex representational system. Keeping this in mind, it is quite possible to argue that the items in an archival collection are representations of previous events. Moreover, these records formulate a part of a larger system, one that serves as a representation of the over all history of the state or nation. They have become, in a sense, an authoritative and authentic representation of how the past became the present. Therefore, archives become representatives of past events, and as such, enable historians and other researches to construct a historical narrative that represents the historical context surrounding these records.[3]

Archives also function as a public liaison, acting as go between the general public and the historical past. The archives, through the diligence of an archivist, takes on this role on a variety of ways. One of the most important of these is through the function of reference. These services are vital because they provide visitors with essential means for accessing and interacting with artifacts in the collection. By offering these services, archives provide users with a means for connecting and engaging with the past.[4] Some of these services include: information relating to the archives themselves, material relating to the items in the collection as well as the historical context surrounding the collection, the historical context surround the creation of the archives and who created them, information relating to the accessibility and usage of the archival material, instructions on how to research the collection, and actual physical access to the collection.[5] Moreover, many of these services enable the archivist, to establish a good working relationship with the surrounding community. According to author Wendy Duff, there six different steps, registration, identification, orientation, the reference interview, continuing interaction, and the exit interview, that allow the archivist to engage with the larger community and act as a public liaison between the researcher and the historical past.[6]

These three functions mentioned, are just some of the functions aptly describing what is an archive. Archives have evolved beyond the keeper of the public record and now offer a means for engaging the past and understanding the historical context that surrounds the articles in their possession. Moreover, archives have now become thought of as the authentic and authoritative evidentiary record of the past, and one that serves as a means for providing individuals with a better understanding of their history.

[1] Frances X. Blouin Jr. and William G. Rosenberg, Processing the Past Contesting Authority in History and Archives (Oxford University Press: 2011) 16–17; James M. O’Toole and Richard J. Cox Understanding Archives & Manuscripts (New York: Oxford University Press: 2011) 40–41

[2] Blouin and Rosenberg 13–31 quote from 31

[3] Geoffrey Yeo “Concepts of Record(1): Evidence, Information, and Persistent Representations” American Archivist (Society of American Archivist)Vol. 70 No. 2 Fall-Winter 2007 pp. 334–343

[4] Wendy Duff “Archival Mediation” Currents of Archival Thinking ed. Terry Eastwood and Heather MacNeil (Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited: 2010 115

[5] Duff 117

[6] Duff 118–120