National Archives Director speaks on institution’s significance

A greater appreciation for the country’s history is a call that is being made by Director of the National Archives Gavin Emmanuel.

The National Archives was created in 1982 and is an institution responsible for the care, custody and preservation of public and non-public records of historic significance to Antigua and Barbuda.

The Factory Road facility has around 5 million records ranging from baptismal documents to the slavery list and the Codrington papers. 

Emmanuel while speaking on state media during Black History month highlighted the lack of interest shown by the public.

 “What I think has happened over the years is the Archive has been seen as a building with old papers. They don’t know where the Archives is and I think part of the issue is the way we have always approached our historical records.

“Traditionally, we have not done a very good job as a nation to valorise and project our own history. I think this is one of the mandates of the current Archives. We have to get to a place where the Archives is not just a building and so, an important aspect of what we are aiming to do is to digitize the Archives where persons can stay from anywhere in the world and do their searches,” Emmanuel said.

A stronger social media presence and an awareness drive in the schools are some other avenues Emmanuel mentioned will be looked at.

These measures, Emmanuel added cannot get off the ground without additional funding, not just directly to the Archives but to educational courses focusing on history.

He added that there is a shortage of historians and archivists in the region as it is not being offered and pushed in schools as it should be. Instead, majority of the focus is on STEM subjects.

Director Emmanuel added that without this revamped focus and interest in these subject areas, there will soon be a void in the region where history recording and preservation is concerned.