Dormant Is Not Disposable — Horn on Archival Preservation

Dormant is not disposable By Horn

A board can sit out a season and still need maintenance. So can a record. The difference is that a failed board costs you a ride; a failed archive can cost someone the evidence they need.

Dormant papers deserve an inventory, not a performance of reverence. No document needs to be lifted, unfolded or posed to make that point. Here is an inventory of responsibilities—not a claim to have inspected a particular collection.

1. Physical records. Paper files, bound volumes, maps: identify what exists, where it belongs, its condition and any restrictions on access. Plan suitable storage, environmental monitoring, pest prevention and a response to water or fire. A shelf is a location, not a preservation policy.

2. Electronic records. Born-digital files and digitised copies need identifiers, descriptive information and a record of their origins. Count formats and storage locations, not just files. Check integrity, maintain separate recoverable copies and test restoration. Plan migration before the software or equipment needed to read a record disappears. A scan does not automatically replace its original; a backup does not prove that anyone can recover it.

3. Policy. Decide who is responsible, what must be retained, how authorised disposal works and who may gain access. Make those decisions traceable. Better discovery should not mean exposing sensitive information. Nor should a locked system become a convenient excuse for permanent inaccessibility.

4. Capacity. Budget for trained staff, storage, security and continuing maintenance—not merely the launch of a digital service. Equipment wears out. Skills need renewal. The recurring costs belong in the plan from the start.

5. Partnership. Regional cooperation can support shared training, preservation expertise and compatible practices. Agreements should spell out responsibilities and recovery arrangements. Cooperation is useful when it strengthens local stewardship, not when it leaves ownership and accountability offshore or unclear.

The study of national archives practices in Sub-Saharan Africa described in the African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science reports gains in access and efficiency alongside uneven implementation, funding gaps, staffing needs, obsolescence and security challenges. That is not an argument against digital tools. It is an argument against treating their arrival as the end of the job.

Dormant means not currently in use. It must not mean nobody is responsible.