For History : Roles of Historians and Archivists - Public Archives, Archivists, and Historians -

역사를 위하여: 아키비스트와 역사가의 역할 -공공기록보존소를 중심으로-

Chief Consultant Archives Government Archives & Records Service -table of contents- 1. Introduction 2. Relationship of Historical Studies and Archive 3. Relationship of Archives and Archives 4. Conclusion; Historians, Archives, and Archivists, and Their Roles This essay is mainly written for historians who may have "little or limited experience" in dealing with archives and archivists in their course of historical research. It may sound very ridiculous to say that "historians have little or limited experience" in using archives but it is also true that many Korean historians have depended on various compiled editions of historical materials or personally donated and/or collected materials when they do research, rather than they would visit archives and search for the materials by themselves. This is the main reason for that the public archives in Korea have not served historians well and effectively, and vice versa, that historians have not visited archives sometime with no knowledge of archives, and have not requested opening of archives for their research. It is a simple fact that historian's study depends on the records he/she uses. Without records, there should be no history. Use of archives for historical research is a common thing and a must in modern archives. Records are selected to be preserved in archives for their preservation as well as their future use. Who select the records as archives? Archivists do mostly. Then, what are the criteria for the archivists to chose records as permanent preservable archives? Answers to this fundamental question have been provided by many historians and archivists. The closest answer may be that selecting archivists would be better trained and equipped with historical research and knowledgeable of the major trends in historical research. With his/her own experience of historical research and tracing the trends of historical studies and materials used in the historiography, they could chose better and appropriate records for future use using their prudence and discretion. It also means that historians have had influence on archivists in their selecting archives by providing the theme and context of historical studies of the time. Though not necessarily becoming a historian themselves, selecting or appraising archivists should understand the process of creating the records and should know how they become archives. This is a precondition to become a good archivist. But that's not all. They must know how the archives are used and what archives are used for what purposes. Among many other roles of modern archivists, selecting and describing the archives are the foremost tasks of an archivist. Archivists therefore developed modern methods to select future archives based on functional analysis and records series concept rather than a record file or item as a unit of selection. Historians are users or consumers of the archives held in the archives building or repository. The quality of their study depends on the "quality" of the materials they use. With the help of archivists not to mention of reference service, historians owe much to archivists in having an access to the materials they need, intellectually and physically. Too many closed archives and too long closed archives in the archives repository would benefit neither historians nor archivists. However, archivists can mostly react only to archive requests and demands made by historians for more wide accessibility. Using the FOIA, as in the U.S., or the Information Opening Act, as in case of Korea, historians can promote the use of historical materials as well as promoting accountability and transparence for the benefit to society as whole. In this context, it is vary desirable to establish a close professional relationship between historians and archivists even in the age of information society. At present, historians need more understanding of operation and importance of archives while archives administration need to realize the potential archival demands from research community and civil movement for clean government.