Securing Archives Against All Odds: The Kenyan Story of Digital Archiving Amid Risky Disruptive Technologies in Selected Universities

Archival repositories in universities have the responsibility of preserving and availing records that are trustworthy, authentic, reliable, and possess integrity. This is a tall order in the current technological dispensation where digital information systems and the internet are the kingpins driving the wheel of corporate governance the world over. This article explicates findings of a larger study that investigated digital archiving in six public universities in Kenya. The study was guided by three objectives: (1) to establish the state of digital archiving readiness in selected Kenyan universities; (2) to examine the risk exposures for digital archives in the universities, and (3) to propose strategies for safeguarding digital archives in the universities. The theoretical basis of the study constituted the records continuum model, the Open Archival Information System Reference model, and the Archives and Records Management Association Records Management Maturity model. Mixed methods triangulation was adopted following a multiple-case (embedded) design using a cross-sectional survey. The target population was 451 out of which a sample of 205 participants was purposely selected using stratified sampling techniques. The study found that public universities in Kenya were generally not ready for digital archiving, and were therefore exposed to records technology risks, legal and regulatory risks, administrative risks, and records control risks. Hence, the institutions faced challenges in the management of digital archives from creation and after their declaration as archives. The study proposed a digital archiving framework for adoption by public universities and other academic institutions.