Recently, I found myself requesting a document confirming a service that I had genuinely completed when I was a teacher. The college where I studied was able to provide an official certificate because the record of my service existed within the institution. However, when the document required confirmation from a higher authority (the University), the process became unexpectedly complicated. Before the document could be endorsed, the person concerned asked me to provide further evidence proving that the 1-year programme I completed and which the college subsequently endorsed had really existed in the first place.
It was a surprising moment of reflection. The question was not whether I had completed that program. Rather it was about whether the institution still remembered the history behind initiating such programs which I happened to a part of.
A few years ago, I wrote about Data Democratisation (December 4, 2022) and the importance of making information accessible. I argued that public institutions should move away from restrictive information practices and instead make data more openly accessible, reducing unnecessary bureaucratic barriers so that needy people can obtain the information they need more easily. At that time, my focus was primarily on improving access and transparency in how information is shared and retrieved.
Today, I realise there is an even deeper challenge. Before information can be accessed, it must first be preserved.
However, accessibility without institutional memory is like building a library whose books have slowly disappeared from the shelves. Even if people have the right to access knowledge, that knowledge becomes meaningless if it has not been properly documented, stored, and passed on.
This experience led me to reflect on the importance of institutional memory. By institutional memory, I refer to the collective knowledge, experiences, records and practices that an organisation accumulates over time. It is the invisible thread that connects the past, present and future of an institution. It allows current leaders and employees to understand, for example, why certain course or programmes existed, how decisions were made (e.g., to amend or remove) and what historical circumstances shaped the organisation.
Without strong institutional memory, organisations slowly lose parts of their own identity. As times goes by, leadership changes and systems evolve, valuable knowledge can disappear. New generations inherit responsibility but may not inherit the historical understanding required to protect that responsibility.
The consequence is that genuine events (for example, in this case, the program I completed and the evidence of my service) begin to require proof. Past students, employees or citizens may find themselves having to demonstrate experiences that institutions themselves once created, managed and recorded. The issue is not that people are making unsupported claims. The issue is that institutional memory has not travelled successfully across generations.
Documentation is, therefore, not merely an administrative obligation. It is an act of preserving institutional truth. Records such as policy documents, programme handbooks, academic calendars, circulars, meeting minutes, annual reports and curriculum documents serve as the foundation of organisational memory. They allow institutions to explain not only what happened, but also why it happened.
For universities and public institutions (e.g., colleges and schools), preserving institutional memory should be considered a core responsibility. These organisations do not only deliver services, but they also carry histories. Every programme introduced, every policy implemented, and every decision made contributes to a larger institutional story.
Maintaining this memory requires deliberate strategies. Institutions should establish proper archival systems, digitise historical records (e.g. building websites), create searchable databases and ensure that important knowledge is transferred during leadership transitions. For example, in my case, it was a shame that the key official who was responsible for endorsing my document was unaware of the one-year program that her institution had a hand in creating, and later removed. Documentation should not be treated as paperwork that is stored and forgotten. It should be treated as an investment in continuity and accountability.
While making information available is important, preserving information is the necessary foundation that makes accessibility possible. At the end, a library is valuable not only because people can enter it, but because the books remain on its shelves.
