Risk Although interest in the past has never been greater, many of our archives are at risk.
Archives also suffer, sometimes irreversible damage, from being kept in poor storage conditions.
Records in newer formats, such as photographs, film or magnetic tape, are particularly vulnerable. A New Initiative Archives in Hampshire have been well served for several decades now by Hampshire Record Office and the Portsmouth and Southampton City Records Offices, provided respectively by Hampshire County Council and the two City Councils. But many important collections were held elsewhere in the county, some well cared for, others in far from ideal conditions. There was no provision for film and sound records. Many wanted to help but lacked the means to do so.