Changes brought about by the baby-boom between 1946 and 1964 have had, and will continue to have, impact upon archives and the archival profession. More people mean more records; more records require more decisions on retention and disposal. More people also mean more records users; more users place greater burdens on staff and make preservation of records even more difficult.
Changes in the structure of government at all levels and the attitude of the public towards government also have had, and will continue to have, impact upon archives and archivists. More and different kinds of governmental agencies create records which are frequently difficult for the archivist to obtain. Differing opinions about the public's right to know and the individual's right to privacy have created a dilemma for present-day archivists which their predecessors did not have to face.
The greatest changes, however, have come, and will continue to come, from the post-industrial, electronic information revolution. What the ultimate impact of the computer will be upon archives and archivists is unknown. What is certain, however, is that, to meet the challenge of the computer as well as those challenges resulting from other changes, archivists will have to work together to set priorities and to plan more than they ever have in the past.
