Each of us performs archiving in some small way. In lockdown, more than before, people have had time to go through and preserve their family history of photographs, letters, diaries, and recipes. These clues are how we are able to trace our roots and learn not only about our families but also about other cultures and societies in the world. At the institutional level, governments, private organisations, and museums take up archiving so that culture and history enthusiasts can deep-dive into precious historical repositories. 

While these records exist throughout the year, one week — starting June 9 or ‘International Archives Day’ —has been carved out annually to support the archiving community and to boost the visibility of their work. Archives and archivists play an important role in accountability, transparency, democracy, heritage, memory and society, according to the International Council on Archives (ICA).