Archives in 3D

Abstract

This article examines the characteristics of archives (records) susceptible to modification by changes in context. After briefly defining the notion of context, the author proposes a complex analytical model, taking into account what archives are, what they do, and what they represent for their creators. By applying such a model to a traditional definition of archives, the author can identify the physical, functional, and symbolic characteristics of archives and explore how they have been conditioned by contexts of recording, communication, and memory making. If they hope to respond to new questions raised by information technology, widespread concerns over privacy, and the phenomenon of globalization, archivists must gain a better understanding of the processes which influence the nature, functions, and values of archives. This article was written with these challenges in mind. By way of a complex analysis of the various processes involved in the production of documents, it highlights the interplay of perspectives within which archives take shape. The exercise shows how the traditional definition of archives is much less static than might be thought at first glance. Archives are a composite, or whole, emerging from a tangle of perpetually interacting parts. Furthermore, this broad definition adapts to the * This paper is based on a paper the author presented at the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists, Edmonton, Alberta, 22 June 2000. The author wishes to thank the National Archives of Canada, Terry Eastwood, and Steven Watt for their help in translating this text.

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