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Archival Roles for the New Millennium
August 26, 1997
The Society of American Archivists (SAA) is the authoritative
voice in the United States on issues that affect the archival mandate.
SAA works to monitor and address consistently and effectively all matters
of policy that affect the ability of archivists to meet their responsibilities
or that affect the creation and preservation of the documentary record.
SAA is particularly concerned that the archival dimensions of technological,
commercial, and governmental policy issues must be articulated and raised
in the public consciousness. These include:
- mechanisms for the creation of reliable, authentic, identifiable,
accessible, and manageable records of government, institutions, and
society in general.
- the sustainability and viability of electronic documentary formats
and media.
- intellectual property regulations that promote the use of new technologies
to expand access to records and other documentary materials.
- development and adoption of standards and protocols that facilitate
identification, description, communication, longevity, and access for
both traditional and electronic forms of documentation.
- provision of adequate financial and policy support to fulfill legal,
institutional, and societal mandates.
- mechanisms and policies that ensure the prompt declassification of
federal records whose secrecy requirements have passed.
- means to ensure that the management of individual archival programs
follows the norms of the profession so that the archivist's distinct
role and responsibilities are not compromised by political, institutional,
or other considerations.
- accessibility of public records and documentary cultural property,
regardless of format, to the public at a reasonable cost.
SAA seeks opportunities to examine and comment on public
and information policy issues which directly affect the ability of archivists
to fulfill their core responsibilities to society. SAA works with its
coalition partners and allied professions to ensure that emerging policy
issues related to archival concerns are addressed and that the archival
perspective is clearly articulated.
This perspective is informed by centuries of archival work
to meet essential societal needs. The mission of archives and archivists
is to secure and help people use authentic records thereby ensuring the
availability of evidence and the preservation of cultural heritage. Archivists
meet this responsibility through their work in governmental, corporate,
and non-profit settings.
As society moves into the new millennium, global telecommunication
and computing technologies are changing the way individuals and organizations
communicate and do business. Moreover, these dramatic changes are occurring
at a time of changing societal dynamics. Nevertheless, the fundamental
archival roles and responsibilities remain the same but also are more
important than ever. They are to:
- manage cost-effective archival programs for the selection, retention,
and use of both electronic and paper documentary materials.
- ensure that an authentic and reliable record is created and available
for use.
- evaluate the universe of available documents and record-keeping systems
to select those to preserve for future use.
- preserve and document the context and arrangement of the materials
retained for long-term use.
- provide descriptive tools, such as registers, indices, and databases,
to allow records-keepers, researchers, archivists, and others to locate
and identify the information and evidence in archival holdings.
- preserve information and evidence in a protective environment and
in a format or media that will remain usable over time.
- promote and help people use archives to explain the past, support
accountability for the present, and provide guidance for the future.
The archival contribution and challenge for the future is
to adapt our responsibilities to the new information environment and shape
that environment to maintain institutional accountability, assist in effective
and efficient record-keeping, and document and preserve heritage. At the
same time, we need to strive to increase the base of resources available
for all archival work. The pace of change in information technology, society,
and institutions only makes these tasks more complex. Thus, archivists
are committed to playing a major role in the formulation of information
policy.
For SAA to be effective in serving as the profession's active
and authoritative voice on these and other issues, its members and allies
must be diligent in monitoring the information policy environment. We
must identify specific issues on which SAA should consider taking a position
or issuing a statement or standard. Success requires both rapid dissemination
of SAA positions and active members prepared to draft language on specific
issues so that SAA Council can respond quickly to policy opportunities
and needs.
For further information contact:
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-3315
312/606-0722
fax 312/606-0728
toll-free 866/SAA-7858
info [at] archivists [dot] org
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