International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XII, December 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Archival Responsibility, Access and Technological Issues in Contemporary Society
Dr Nene F. K. Obasi1, And Dr Rose Ezeibe2
1Department of Library and Information Science, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria
2The University Library, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria
Abstract: The current convergence of interest in archives has generated issues for the archival community and archival practice. These issues- access and preservation, digitization and copyright, user expectations, and global economic realities- are topical and are a determinant in dispensing quality archival services to individuals, and researchers, and a tool for a common understanding and tackling of national and global issues. This paper therefore takes a critical look at them, with a view to proffering possible way out. The paper observed that the ‘slow and steady moving’ archival field will continue to evolve as the world is in a state of constant flux. The paper therefore calls for the need to open up the archives more, through a corresponding increased research attention to keep pace with the continual evolving archival issues; building collaboration and partnerships among archival stakeholders; archival marketing; and entrepreneurial archiving.
Keywords: Archives, archival access, archival profession, archival technology, archives use, contemporary archives, archival digitization, archival preservation
I. INTRODUCTION
Interest in archives has ceased to be rested on librarians or archivists but has extended to scholars in various humanities and social science disciplines like anthropology, classics, history, literature, and technology. The centrality of archives in both the scholarly community and in the existence of democratic society has been increasingly muted by researchers (Vatelarr, 2001; Manoff, 2004; Society of American Archivists, 2016). Development in technology- a major feature in the 21st century- is altering the way archival services used to be in relation to service methods, access and preservation. User expectation has also impacted on archival traditions. Degenerating resources caused by global economic downturn has had its toll on projects funding. For instance, archival project for young institutions and libraries may be delayed or denied by the sponsors of those institutions. Another rising area of call for a change in the archives of today, is a change in the concept of archival audience. Archives are traditionally meant to serve an organization, institution, or nation. Gilliland in Harmon (2014) observe that archives are shifting from a national information infrastructure to a global one, and as such there is need for archives in nations- developed and developing- to wake up to this responsibility and operate in that direction. Archives in developed countries are often behind their western counterparts because these archives are of a recent history- coming into existence only after colonial disentanglement. So, archives appear less popular than libraries in developing