The state of document deterioration in the national archives of Ghana

Abstract

A survey of the condition of documents in the National Archives of Ghana was conducted. A stratified proportionate sampling technique was used to select 600 documents from five repositories for examination. The results of the survey show that 63 per cent of the documents had pH values of below 5, 31 per cent were brittle, 77.3 per cent had fading texts, 94.3 per cent had turned brownish and 85.6 per cent had indications of fungus infestation. In all, 51.5 per cent of the documents were in need of urgent treatment. The study established that the situation resulted from a combination of factors, paramount being the unfavourable storage conditions. The implications of the findings of the study for Ghana were highlighted. Recommendations put forward include among others, mass deacidification of documents, sustained programme of fumigation, purpose-built archives for the regions, environmental monitoring and control measures, staff recruitment strategies and the institution of a comprehensive preservation and conservation policy.

African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science Vol. 16(1) 2006: 1-8