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Main Points
Jamaica’s government archives took institutional shape in 1955, when an Archives Section was established within the Island Records Office. According to the Jamaica Information Service, the appointment of Clinton Black as government archivist was the first such appointment in the Commonwealth Caribbean. That beginning forms part of the history of the Jamaica Archives and Records Department, which preserves records relating to the country’s history and heritage. Its remit covers paper, audiovisual and electronic formats. The department’s collecting responsibilities extend beyond government documents. The JIS profile explains that it gathers archival materials produced by ministries, agencies and departments, as well as materials associated with people of national importance, churches, charities and other organisations. The purpose is to preserve primary materials of cultural value to Jamaica. Its structure reflects those different responsibilities. The department comprises the Archives Unit, Audiovisual Archives Unit, Government Records Centre and Office of the Government Archivist. The profile identifies the Archives Act, 1982, and the Archives (Official Records) Regulations, 1988, as its governing framework. Preservation is only part of its work. The department also provides a public research and reference service and shares information about its collections to encourage knowledge of Jamaican history and culture. The account offers a useful perspective on what a national archive contains. Official records sit within a wider collecting mission that recognises the historical value of material produced by religious bodies, charitable organisations and significant individuals. The institution that began with an Archives Section in 1955 therefore has a role both in preserving government records and in making primary evidence of Jamaica’s past available to researchers.
Jamaica’s government archives took institutional shape in 1955, when an Archives Section was established within the Island Records Office. According to the Jamaica Information Service, the appointment of Clinton Black as government archivist was the first such appointment in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
That beginning forms part of the history of the Jamaica Archives and Records Department, which preserves records relating to the country’s history and heritage. Its remit covers paper, audiovisual and electronic formats.
The department’s collecting responsibilities extend beyond government documents. The JIS profile explains that it gathers archival materials produced by ministries, agencies and departments, as well as materials associated with people of national importance, churches, charities and other organisations. The purpose is to preserve primary materials of cultural value to Jamaica.
Its structure reflects those different responsibilities. The department comprises the Archives Unit, Audiovisual Archives Unit, Government Records Centre and Office of the Government Archivist. The profile identifies the Archives Act, 1982, and the Archives (Official Records) Regulations, 1988, as its governing framework.
Preservation is only part of its work. The department also provides a public research and reference service and shares information about its collections to encourage knowledge of Jamaican history and culture.
The account offers a useful perspective on what a national archive contains. Official records sit within a wider collecting mission that recognises the historical value of material produced by religious bodies, charitable organisations and significant individuals. The institution that began with an Archives Section in 1955 therefore has a role both in preserving government records and in making primary evidence of Jamaica’s past available to researchers.
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