Keep it Un-Secret. Keep it Safe.

I was talking about the archives at work the other day, so history has been a bit on my mind, and I really like this post by s.e. smith at this ain't livin' called "I Believe in History."

Here's a lovely bit that speaks specifically to archives (as well as anyone who preserves records):

And it made me realise the value of keeping and preserving records. Things that might not seem so important or interesting now could be fascinating later, as I’ve realised looking through subsequent original source documents relating to other historical events. You really do never know when or what might be relevant, how material might be used. And people who preserved things ensured that even if stories weren’t told at the time or official publications were incomplete, that the information was out there. It was available. For people who were willing to look for it and sift through it, it might provide an entirely new perspective that had not been considered before.

I like the point about how things that aren't particularly interesting now may be fascinating later--we really have no way of knowing what someone will want to see someday. Which is of course part of the eternal pressure of archives and libraries. You never know what someone will want, but you can't keep everything, so you have to make your best guess.

And, often, what people will eventually find fascinating, and what people will know, will be determined by what's been preserved and what is available to be known.

Let's say we don't know much about Ancient People X, because all we have of their culture is some pottery shards. We're really interested in those pottery shards because that's all we've got, and we've learned a lot based on those shards, but there's so much that we can't get from pottery and therefore will never know.

The past, out of record and memory, is unknowable, so in a sense it doesn't exist. At the same time, the past lives with us. Traces are everywhere from millions of people before us going about their lives. It's almost eerie, being able to get closer to them by looking at the traces first hand.

Respect the archives!

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