Archivists, people who look after the records of businesses, organizations, or governments, probably have been around since the fourth millennium B.C.E. At that time, cuneiform clay tablets and hieroglyphics on papyrus came into use in the Middle East and Egypt, and with the creation of such records came the need for people to look after them. As civilization developed and advanced in Greece, Rome, and China, more records were produced in a variety of formats and these records required care.

This early recordkeeping continued and accelerated during the rise of nation-states, which in turn brought their recordkeeping practices to their colonies. As early as 1626, the English colony of Jamestown in North America had systematic land records. And records were so important to the rebellious colonists during the American Revolution that they were mentioned in the Declaration of Independence.

But in the new United States of America...