Archives are selected from among the great mass of records, and are preserved, for one primary reason so that they may be available for use by those needing the information they contain. During the past thirty years or so, many archives have moved away from what was essentially a passive stance (making records available on request if there was no objection by the transferring authorities to their use) to an active role involving efforts to make the research materials in their custody available as soon as national security and personal privacy considerations permit, undertaking outreach programs aimed at informing potential users of their content and availability, and actively encouraging the exploitation of archives as a means of bettering society therefore this essay is designed to discuss the statement that archives are old documents which have no value to society, this will be done by looking at the importance of archives it will first start by defining the key term which is archive.
Existed since ancient times, According to James O’Toole (1990), the term “archives” was originally used to “designate all collections of written records”. In the modern world, however, the word “archives” is commonly used in three different senses. First, archives are documents that are created or accumulated by an individual or an organization in the normal course of business. Second, archives are the independent agencies or programs within institutions that are responsible for selecting, preserving, and providing access to archival documents. Finally, archives are the buildings or repositories that house collections of archival documents.
Archival institutions select, preserve, and make their records accessible for a number of reasons, including legal, financial, and administrative purposes. Government archives (at the federal, state or local level) that administer public records, for example, maintain records as evidence of the government’s policies and operations. Thus, public archives help ensure that the government is held accountable to the public by preserving records that enable citizens to monitor the conduct of government agencies and public servants. In addition, the records that are held by public archives document the rights of citizens, such as entitlement to social security benefits or ownership of property. Private organizations, such as businesses, churches, universities, and museums, also establish institutional archives to care for their records. The archival records that are maintained by these repositories document the organizations’ origins, structures, policies, programs, functions, and vital information over time Sanderson, (2007).
In addition to the legal, fiscal, and administrative purposes for which records are originally created and used, archival records are useful for historical or research purposes. Archives provide a key with which to examine past and present events. In addition to the administrative users of archives, a variety of researchers take advantage of archival sources. These researchers may include scholars, genealogists, and students at all levels, local historians, biographers, independent writers, and documentary filmmakers. Since archival documents can be used for many purposes by diverse audiences, the records of organizations that do not have their own institutional archives, as well as the personal papers of individuals, are often actively sought by archival programs such as collecting repositories or historical societies. These types of institutions, rather than documenting the activities of a parent organization, focus on collecting records that document a particular topic (e.g., a person, subject, or geographical area) (ibid).
According to Freeman, (1994), Archives are non-current records that have been formally appraised, and found to have continuing or permanent values as evidence or for research purposes. They normally amount to only a small percentage of the great mass of records from which they are selected, but they are useful and valuable in an almost infinite variety of ways. They serve first of all as the nation's memory, and enable a society to plan intelligently for the future based on an awareness of past experience. Archives preserve a record of the obligations and commitments of the government and evidence of the rights and entitlements of the citizens. Collectively, the archives contain a vast amount of information about people, organizations, social and economic development, natural phenomena, and events invaluable primary source material for writing about all facets of the nation's history. As a source of national history the archives can become a powerful influence in fostering a people's understanding of itself and in creating a sense of national identity
Archives created by entities of government are normally considered to be public property. It is from this vast pool of documentation that the archives are selected. Usually only a small proportion of them possibly as little as two to five percent have sufficient value for administrative, legal, or research purposes to warrant permanent retention. But this small core of non-current permanently valuable records archives possesses tremendous value, because the information it contains is essential as evidence of important legal and administrative transactions and obligations, and because much of its informational content is of value for purposes that extend beyond the reasons for its initial creation, Among the latter category will be found the records that document wars and natural phenomena, the migration of peoples, the birth and development of the national identity, the efforts of government to improve the lot of the people economically and socially, the successes and failures that are the results of all sustained human activity. Therefore, archives are not only an essential part of institutional memory, but a major cultural and scientific information resource, together comprising a significant, basic and versatile element in the national information system. The archives deserve to be properly housed, carefully preserved, and generally available to all who would benefit from their use. They have a unique value, and should have a unique status. They are an essential part of the national domain, and must be kept legally and physically in the custody of the government making archives to be very important for the society’s survival Sanderson, (2007).

Economic and social development may be viewed as a continuum of efforts by modern governments to create physical and social infrastructures that produce wealth and apply it, or a part of it, to the social betterment of people. This conception is valid, to at least a limited extent, for most of the colonial regimes which antedated the national governments which have come into existence since the end of World War II. If viewed as a continuum of efforts, then, most new initiatives are based in some degree on previous ventures. Even though the context in which certain new initiatives are undertaken may be quite different than for earlier ones, a knowledge and understanding of previous efforts is likely to have considerable value. It is thus important to have ready access to a full account of the programs, measures and procedures that have been proposed, attempted or implemented in the past, as well as data to support the reasons why they may have failed, been abandoned, or succeeded. If this information is available in the national archives and used in current decision-making, governmental actions will be more likely to be soundly based and successfully implemented thus the notion that archives are old documents which have no value in society becomes invalid as this shows that society greatly benefits from the archives McKemmish, (1993).
Although the most basic and essential task of archives is to serve the interests of the creating organization itself, and to preserve and make available evidence protecting the rights of its workers or citizens, it has other responsibilities of far-reaching importance. Foremost among these is its role as a source of enlightenment and improvement for all segments of society. Modern governments create and receive records relating to a vast array of persons, places, things, transactions and events. Archives preserve the most important of these because they are useful for research in history, government, political science, geography, economics, social phenomena, science and technology, and other disciplines, and thus constitute a major repository of primary source material which may and should be exploited in the interests of society Brunton, & Robinson, (1993).
Archives are very important for society as they save the society time and money because Without recourse to such information in the nation's archives planners may be required to conduct expensive and time-consuming surveys to acquire it for their immediate purposes, or else face the serious and potentially catastrophic risks involved in making important planning decisions without a solid informational base instead of improving the society Pearce and Richard. (2005).
Archives seem not to have value to the society as not every citizen possesses the skills, resources, or inclination to use the archives personally in the way one might use other documents but In most cases the individual will benefit from the archives through the labor of intermediaries who may be defined here as the primary users. These are the persons who individually, or occasionally in teams, mine the rich ore of the archives and distill it through their skills in research, writing and other forms of presentation into books, theses, research papers, journal articles, newspaper stories and audio-visual presentations thus making archives to be of great value for the society Guy Duboscq, (1963).
In conclusion archives will faithfully reflect the activities of government, businesses and other organization and constitute an authentic source of information, it should be noted that authenticity cannot in every instance be equated with truth. Inadvertent factual errors occasionally will find their way into government records. Opinions expressed in writing to government, business and organization entities can reflect individual biases or lack of full understanding of an event or transaction. Records may sometimes even embody deliberate efforts to deceive thus this can compromise the value of archives in the society making them to be old documents with no value but with authenticity archives are very important and are needed for the society to move on.

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