Disaster Preparedness at the National Archives of Zimbabwe: An Appraisal

Abstract

Disaster may be inevitable but a well thought out recovery plan will minimize their effects. It is important never to think that a disaster cannot happen. It is crucial in fact to think the opposite. Every effort should be made to curb the effects of disasters, because archives preserve and make accessible for use by the government, scholars and the general public the historical, cultural and educational resources contained in the documents. Archives act as repositories for records of a culture’s existence, and these records reflect the scholarly and creative efforts of a civilization as well as its social and historical interaction. It is against this backdrop that every effort should be made by national archival institutions to contain disasters of any kind. Archives are a gift from the past to the future, collected in the hope that what a generation has thought, created and discovered will be a source of pleasure and assistance for generations to come, so they have to be guarded jealously. The adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is never more true than in the case of archival disaster planning and prevention.



ESARBICA Journal Vol.20 2001: 114-116