HIS 395 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Early Modern Europe, Functional Illiteracy, Massachusetts Historical Society
Document Summary
The history of archives and the archive profession. Government archives at every level maintain the records of the public and of the officials and age(cid:374)(cid:272)ies that (cid:272)o(cid:374)du(cid:272)t the pu(cid:271)li(cid:272)"s (cid:271)usi(cid:374)ess. End of the 18th century historical societies: set the direction of archives as acquirers of historical materials. 19th and 20th centuries research libraries: assembled archival collections of broad historical and cultural significance. Recently universities: maintain their own institutional archives, have become a principal employer of archivists. Substantial archival efforts: business firms, religious bodies, hospitals, schools, labor unions, museums, cultural institutions, voluntary organizations. The habit of preserving records appears almost immediately with literacy: fourth millennium bc, ancient near east. Greece and rome: families kept private archives. Medieval and early modern europe: literacy spread and paper became the most common media. Motivations for creating them remained largely unchanged: records became numerous and necessary, proved land ownership, also created problems of forgery for the first time.
