What is document archiving?

Organizational archives tend to contain important administrative, business and official correspondence documents, whilst if an individual was to collect an archive then this may consist of a variety of things including; diaries, photographs, birth records for example. Some examples of the different types of archives that exist include the National Archive that contains the national census, birth deaths and marriages, population records and army figures for the past few hundred years. On a smaller scale there is an archive on Andy Warhol at the Andy Warhol museum and an archive of some 1400 Charles Darwin’s letters in Cambridge; demonstrating the archives are not limited to one topic or type the only similar significant factor is that they all tend to document something or someone over a sustained period of time.

Given the nature of many archives, maintaining the records within the archive can be a very laborious process. Depending on how old the items are or their material an archive might have to be maintained through the monitoring of the environmental conditions within the archive and stabilized through the use of a preservation specialist. No matter how big or small, old or new your archive is, many archivist’s invest in high quality containers for the documents and items to be placed in; it has been known for comic book collectors, a comic book collection can be considered a archive, to invest in fire proof and digitally locked filing cabinets to ensure the protection of their comic book archive.

The Freedom of Information Act has determined that certain types of information must be made readily available to the public, in light of this many organizations including the National Archives have began documenting their archives on their website allowing users to search and find the information they require without having to visit the facility or make a formal inquiry. They are able to do this by inputting the information into a digital document management system. Having such information in digital format can be very beneficial in the event of something happening to the archive.

Another method of digitally archiving documents rather than inputting the information by hand is through digital scanning; which can be of greater use when maps, photographs, or images are involved. The migration of an archive into digital data will be more beneficial to an organization than anyone else; it allows for the legal storage of information that companies by law are required to hold on to for certain period of time. Along with this digital archiving can greatly increase space within an office environment and allow easier access for individuals to access the information; which has been a great benefit to organizations such as the National Archive who allow anyone to search through their records. Digital document management also allows for easier user interface enabling those searching for information to do so through a ‘searcher friendly’ system.