Astronomical Archives: Their Historical and ScientificValue and How to Preserve them for the Future

摘要

This article introduces the Archive Collection held at the RoyalObservatory, Edinburgh. It begins with a short background history and anexplanation as to how the archives came to be here. It continues with a discussionon what they are; how the items are stored and arranged and what exactly theyare used for.Secondly, emphasis is placed upon their historical value and scientific im-portance with specific examples shown to back this up.To finish, there is a discussion on what has been done so far to preserve thematerial, a little about funding issues and an indication of some ideas to helppromote and raise the collections profile.