Archiving allows you to preserve documents for future reference.
Archivology is the discipline dedicated to the analysis of archives . The term file, for its part, refers to a document that an entity, a company or an individual generates within the framework of the development of an activity or function.
File preservation
Also known as archival science , archival science investigates all issues related to archives and the institutions dedicated to their conservation . In this way it aims to promote the use of both.
It is common for archivology to be framed in information sciences . The management of resources, the examination of information in its context and the exploration of its potential usefulness are some of the topics of interest for this area.
Multiple practices and principles aim to promote the location, accessibility and use of files. Although these objectives were always pursued, it was only in the 19th century that appropriate protocols and procedures began to be defined based on scientific criteria.
Protection of history
It must be taken into account that archivology is not only dedicated to promoting the preservation and use of documents . It also focuses on how they should be evaluated, classified, ordered, administered, interpreted and disseminated.
It can be said that archiving, in short, provides a social service. The work of its specialists is vital to care for the history and heritage of societies.
Archival science is generally linked to large public archives . In any case, their contributions are also important in the archives of small organizations or even in family archives.
The three ages
Archival science is a very broad discipline, with great depth and a theoretical base that has been enriched over the decades, acquiring ideas from different parts of the world to organize and protect the most valuable documents. In this framework we must talk about the theory of the three ages , which allows us to recognize the different stages that files go through from when they are created to when they are stored.
To do this we must refer to the smallest unit, which is the document. It all begins with its issuance and sending to a third party, who uses it for the period of time stipulated by the rules of its field, and keeps it in an accessible space for reuse as long as necessary . This is the first age of an archive, the one in which it is completely current, so that it exhibits constant input and output activity .
File volume is becoming less of a problem thanks to digital storage.
But no document is necessary forever, so inevitably they all reach the second age, in which they are placed in intermediary archives . There they can be consulted if necessary, but they usually spend a lot of time (even years) on a shelf. It is worth mentioning at this point that companies do not always store their own documents, but usually hire one that is specifically dedicated to this service, where file management professionals work.
Finally, if the use of a document is no longer necessary and they do not wish to destroy it, they store it in a definitive file (sometimes called historical ), from which it will no longer be removed except in exceptional cases, since its consultation does not depend on any activity. This third age that archiveology contemplates does not exist in all contexts, since not all companies want to allocate space and resources to documents that they will not use again. However, in contexts where the archive allows history to be kept alive, it is the most appropriate decision. Still, with constant advances in digital storage technologies, physical space is becoming less of an issue.