Confessions of an Archivist

摘要

Retirement after more than 30 years in archives has allowed me the time not only for retrospection but also to assess personal attitudes, failures and successes without the ever-present pressures of responsibility and the need to deliver on this-or-that routine service or perceived important initiative. It is akin to standing on a mountain, enjoying the panoramic view and looking at the scene below with an often fresh and sometimes sobering or exhilarating perspective.rnAs I look across the landscape I can appreciate the richness and the sheer variety of what constitutes archives in the early years of the twenty-first century. During my working life much remained unchanged, and quite properly so. These are the reference points that constitute the foundations of the archival discipline. One simple example is the whole concept of provenance. Other points have appeared with rapidity and risen to ever greater prominence. An obvious instance of this phenomenon is the growth of information technology and the myriad of challenges for archives associated with it.