Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future

The Importance of Archivesbrought into focus with the evidence presented to theHutton Inquiry, embracing electronic information (such asemails) and written information (such as personal diaries),as well as oral testimony.Such events highlight a paradox that has always faced theprofessions in archival and records management. Thewider world has little interest in records until something isneeded – as evidence of proof, for research or indeed justfor interest. Yet unless the preservation and managementof increasing numbers of items in various media iscontinuously sustained (whether through statutoryrequirements or voluntary responsibility) the availableevidence of past events will be no more than a randompatchwork of haphazard facts. Many people who holdarchive collections do not recognise what they do as beingarchival. These can include the passionate amateur andcommunity groups whose diverse collections can providethe focus to bring people together as part of a vibrantmulti-faceted UK community. In many ways it is this‘invisibility paradox’ that is the key challenge of the TaskForce and of those who will deliver the recommendationsthat the Task Force proposes.or on the television. Changing this perception and helpingarchives to fulfil effectively broader social functions hasbeen the purpose of the Task Force.Our vision is of an archival heritage unlocked and madeopen to all citizens in a way that engages them andempowers them to use archives for personal, community,social and economic benefit.In one way oranother archives andrecords managementunderpin the workof all organisations.15Archives, of course, are much more than a quiet haunt forthe solitary researcher that the popular stereotype oncesuggested. Moving image, sound and photographicarchives, are growing as innovative dimensions in therecording and preservation of our history. Many of thesecollections have used technological solutions to enablemass audiences to access the resources as more and morepeople decide to explore their own identity and history, orto add a sense of history to their relationship with the placethat they inhabit. The global interest in family historyattracts millions of virtual visitors to The National Archives’website to explore online census data.In one way or another archives and records managementunderpin the work of all organisations, whether forcommercial interests or public accountability, for interest orto encourage wider understanding of our place in societyand in the rest of the world. And yet, until recently, for themajority of the people of the UK, the significance ofarchives and the richness they contain has remained nomore than a footnote in the histories told in books, in class