Nature and Challenges of Archives

By Christine Holmes, Harshavardhan T and Swarna Tyagi

Introduction

The archives of South India are sites of historical knowledge that host a disciplinary mosaic of scholars from different walks of life. Local archivists and managerial staff enable archival research by protecting and conserving records — some of which date back to 14th century South India. Despite financial constraints faced by the archives of developing countries, many archival staff uphold the integrity of fragile, historical records through careful, manual preservation. Archivists and scholars in India have a special opportunity to preserve archival research for future generations through digitization and the promotion of the archives as invaluable learning sites.

Archives as “Human Libraries”

Colonial buildings in India often house dated gazettes, letters, and prominent correspondents key to historical research. On a daily basis, researchers from across India and abroad roam its corridors and foster dialogue with one another as they finger through the pages of centuries-old texts. Enriching conversations emerge between fellow academics who serve as human libraries and subsequently enhance research endeavors. These transdisciplinary and culturally diverse exchanges play a pivotal role in bringing a fresh perspective to archival research that can help strengthen empirical findings. Tapping into their respective networks, individuals sometimes provide great insight and valuable resources to augment research.

Digitization and Maintenance

In consideration of the aging infrastructure of the archives and the historical documents contained within, digitization offers an economical means to maintain historical evidence that is otherwise irretrievably lost when records become too brittle to handle or read. Digitization is also a timely response to a new climate of research whereby global scholars are empowered through virtual tools, such as electronic libraries and databases. During the pandemic, research that required on-site data collection came to an unexpected standstill. Researchers, along with the rest of the world, experienced a paradigm shift toward digital platforms for safe and expedient data collection.

Although issues, such as funding, continue to persist, archivists have sustained their efforts to evolve and meet the needs of archival visitors, and safeguard society’s most precious documents.

Christine Holmes, MSW, LCSW, is the Lead author on the Book and has supervised the project since its inception in 2018. She is an Adjunct Professor of the Columbia University School of Social Work and a doctoral candidate of Clinical Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania researching the caregiving burden of transnational elder caregivers. She is a Research Consultant and Visiting Faculty for The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health.

Mr. Harshavardhan Thirunavukarasu started the project as a final year medical student in Sri Muthukumaran Medical College Hospital & Research Institute and is now a medical intern at the same institute.

Swarna Tyagi is a Research Associate at the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health and joined the book project in 2019 and has been involved in data collection, analysis and chapter development. She is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science and has also previously worked with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.