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Archives are generally described as the accumulated unique records of an individual or institution that warrant permanent preservation because of their value to their creator (Local Government) for their legal, administrative or fiscal purposes or to researchers because of their potential research value.

The majority of archival material is paper-based but archives also includes:

Parchment

Photographs

Slides

Maps, plans and drawings

Audio and visual material
Electronic formats

Why are archives so important?

Archives are the raw material of history: they are primary sources: UNIQUE
• Invaluable tools for the historian
• They are a sign of transparency

Archives
• They are a right: notion of public and cultural ownership
• They are an irreplaceable heritage, making up the history of the population at a local and national level.
• Archives confer an identity to individuals and groups. Together they are the common inheritance of all humanity.
• For the Local Government, records and archives are part of a ‘corporate memory’.