Are archives important?

Storage room, courtesy of Municipal Archives of New York

Are archives important?

Are archivists important?

We think you know the answer!

For those readers working in the archives profession, you’ll know that there are sometimes misconceptions around archives, the profession, and the role of an archivist.

How many times have we heard: ‘it can’t be that difficult organising old files in filing cabinets!’

But being an archivist is not just about cataloguing records in dusty rooms. It’s about knowing how to transform archives into strategic assets for businesses and communities.

In the slides below, Megan Lee explores how archives can be used as a business tool to enhance corporate knowledge, identity, branding and engagement. For communities too, archives can be used to engage inter-generational audiences through nostalgia, or as the basis of hands-on volunteer and education programmes.

As archivists we are in the profession of preserving history. We are the keepers of the records. But we are also researchers, writers and communicators about the past. At History Ink, we are proud to help businesses use the past creatively to connect their history with today.