Impact of disaster on access to records of National Archives of South East, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of disaster and how it affects access to records of the National Archives of South East, Nigeria. However, the specific objectives are to: identify the types of disasters that occur in the archives of South East, Nigeria; ascertain the frequency with which the disasters occur in the archives; determine the relationship between disaster and access to records of the archives; find out the disaster prevention measures adopted by the archives; find out the disaster response and recovery plans available in the archives; and make recommendations for effective disaster prevention and control measures for the archives. Design/methodology/approach The research design adopted for this study is the survey method. Individuals constituted the respondents of the study. This design assisted in gathering accurate data of the given issues and also guided in discussing the findings of the study. The researcher adopted one technique in data collection. Questionnaire was used for primary data collection. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the staff of the National Archives. Findings The findings show that the most prevalent disaster experienced in the archives is power failure. There are occurrences of other man-made disasters in the archives such as stealing, vandalism, fire outbreak and water leakages. The only natural disaster they acknowledged that occurs in the archives is lightening strike. The effect of this disaster was found to be enormous as attested to by 90.9 and 75 per cent respondents in Enugu and Owerri, respectively. The respondents do not agree that natural phenomena such as earthquake/tsunami, volcanic eruption and landslides do constitute threat to records of the archives. Originality/value The events of disaster, in whatever shape or frequency, impede access to records of the National Archives of South East, Nigeria. Most of the disasters that affect the archives are man-made, but with the recent happenings around the globe – the global climate change – it becomes imperative to focus attention on eventual occurrence of natural disasters in the archives. In prevention, response and recovery plans, it is important that consideration is given to all areas likely to be affected by the disaster.

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