Using archives for learning

Definitions of Archives

'1. collection of records, documents etc about institution, family etc. 2. place where these are kept.'
(Collins Dictionary, 1991)

'Archives are the documents accumulated by a natural process in the course of the conduct of affairs of any kind, public or private, at any date; and preserved thereafter for reference, in their own custody, by the persons responsible for the affairs in question or their successors.'
(Sir Hilary Jenkinson, 1948)

Archives are different things to different people:

• Historical files and records
• Inactive written documents
• Photographs
• Old newspapers
• Posters
• Maps
• Film
• Sound recordings
• Oral History interviews
• Electronic records
• Personal records