The Role of a 21st-century National Archive—The Relevance of the Jenkinsonian Tradition, and a Redefinition for the Information Society¹

In order to meet the challenges that living in a digital society presents us with, we must change our ways of thinking about archives and our models for managing them. This paper explores the way in which The National Archives is responding to the digital challenge and the changes in mindset that accompany this response. It concludes that Jenkinson's solutions are not appropriate for an anarchic, digital society, where the greatest constant to be managed is change itself.