What is archives in history
Archives are places where old private and public records are kept.
Archives can also be defined as a collection of public and private documents gathered at the same place for reference of the past human activities.
Private and public records include early missionary and travelers’ records and colonial government records.
These are places where collection of private and public documents and old records are preserved. These documents include personal letters, early travelers and missionaries records, trader writing, personal and governmental files. These documents are kept at the same place for reference of past human activities.
Function of archives
They preserve public and private records that have enduring value tot eh society.
The records in archives are made available for use by the public, however, not all records can be viewed by everyone.
Archives collect records.
They promote awareness of the availabilities and use of non current records to the public.
Historical information in archives ensure continuity example company policies from previous years still guide the employees today.
Advantages of archives
i. Easy to identify ideas and literacy level of the past man.
ii. It is easy to identify the exact date of historical events.
iii. Used to store historical information.
iv. Easy to get historical information and different places and different people.
Disadvantages of archives
i. May lead to false information if the author is biased.
ii. Illiterate people cannot get historical information through this source.
iii. It is difficult to get information of a certain society whose information are not documented.
iv. It is difficult to get remote information from archives
v. It is non-renewable once disrupted either by wind, insects or other external forces.
