Deep in the basement of Bermuda's main Government building, the National Archives remain something of a hidden treasure. Row upon row of documents, photographs, films, and even valuable watercolour pictures, meticulously stored in a cavernous, climate-controlled room make up a unique and fascinating collection.

"It is Bermuda's record of its own history and heritage,'' says Yvette Swan, whose Ministry of Government and Community Services administer the department.

"It belongs to the people. All the citizens, residents and friends of Bermuda should feel free to go in and make full use of it for research. The Archives are now very user-friendly and we are encouraging more people to make use of this great resource.'' And, in order to emphasise that the Archives belong to the whole community, Dr. Swan is appealing to the public to become more involved. "I would like to ask families, before they dispose of papers or old photographs of their loved ones, to please contact Archives to see if the material should be preserved for posterity.'' She is also appealing to organisations and societies to deposit their early records with the Archives. "We were just presented with the records of bishops' conferences of the early AME Church in Bermuda and we were very thrilled to have that.'' Access to all information -- and assistance in its retrieval -- is entirely free of charge. "I think perhaps some people may not really be aware that we even exist,'' says archivist consultant Sylvie Gervais, "and certainly, many are amazed that our services are free -- apart from the cost of photocopying.'' Ms Gervais, seconded from the National Archives of Canada for a period of two years while archivist designate Karla Hayward completes her studies abroad, says she was impressed by the facilities when she arrived here in January.

"Documents are stored at 67 degrees with 40 percent humidity, there are alarms and water censors in case of accidents, and the lights are turned upside-down to deflect potentially harmful light. We have state-of-the-art equipment and I would say that this facility meets world standards.'' Noting that Ms Hayward had already initiated some education sessions for the Portuguese community, Ms Gervais says she is anxious for Bermuda's teachers to make wider use of the facility. "I am planning some information sessions to make them more aware of what we have here.'' Revealing that genealogy is by far the most popular area of research, Ms Gervais says, "People love to learn about their ancestors, their families, to make family trees!'' Sometimes, the search may have a more serious intent as was the case a few weeks ago when Ms Gervais assisted a woman in finding her father's naturalisation papers. "She needed to find them -- and we were able to find them for her.'' She stresses however, that this aspect of the Archives form only a small part of its overall function. Pointing out that there are more than 60 departments within Bermuda's ministries, she explains, "We are the Government's record keepers. Even parking tickets are kept for one year after payment. We do, of course, have private collections that have been donated or entrusted to us for safe-keeping, but the vast bulk of our material consists of Government papers.

It is our hope,'' she adds, "that more of this information -- much of which is largely untapped -- can be made more accessible.'' Beginning from the very earliest years of settlement, the day to day running of Bermuda's affairs has been well documented -- just how well, becomes apparent through even a cursory inspection of the main research area. Included here are the daily records of the House of Assembly, Legislative Council and Senate minutes; records of the Registry General (while births, deaths and marriages documents are kept here, they have to be accessed through that department); church records, including baptisms; and Bermuda-related material in foreign repositories.

One of the most interesting areas is the Special Collections Room where rare documents, manuscripts, watercolours, maps and photographs are kept. Here, for instance is the collection of Thomas Driver watercolours (purchased by Fay and Geoffrey Elliott), early N.E. Lusher photographs -- and even an album showing the many kinds of seaweed found around the Island's shores, collected by Edith Peniston Wilkinson at the turn of the century -- and still in pristine condition.

Some of the items have been donated, while others are the property of such organisations as the Bermuda National Trust, St. George's and Hamilton Historical Societies. Recently purchased is a special cabinet to store the Archives' large collection of original glass plate negatives -- presently stored in massive, custom-made wooden boxes. "We need to copy them first, so that the public can use the copies,'' explains Ms Gervais.

The public are welcome to visit this fascinating room, says the archivist.

"We do have to take great care of the things entrusted to us, so we provide white gloves and pencils for people to make notes. No pens allowed!'' There is also a walk-in vault where Bermuda's most important documents, including classified government records, are held in safekeeping. "These would be the first things to be rescued in case of fire or some disaster,'' says Ms Gervais.

If, by its very nature, the Archives department is steeped in history, modern technology is everywhere evident. Photocopiers, microfilm facilities, VCR recorders (to view archival film -- much of it providing pictorial views of early tourism. Much of this is now being conserved in London and, where necessary, converted and copied for VHS use). A huge collection of cumbersome film reels are also awaiting shipment to New York, to be conserved and re-mastered for video format.

It is the computer, however, that will soon undoubtedly come into its own: Lists of contents are already in process of computerisation. "There are three stages in the life of a document,'' explains Ms Gervais, "what we call `active', `semi-active' where, in both cases, some are eliminated and `inactive', where documents deemed to be of historical value will be retained for reference in the Archives. The biggest change, of course, is that Government departments are increasingly using computers and relying on electronic data, so we have to figure out how to preserve that. How do we safeguard the images? This is a new aspect of information management which, by the way, is now known as knowledge management! As an archivist I have to be aware of current practices and to plan for the future.'' Ms Gervais, a specialist in photographic archival procedures, says that a future requirement in the Archives will be a freezer in which colour negatives and prints may be stored. She is also actively working on a `disaster plan' to ensure that people such as firemen and Police are fully aware of the specific nature of the building and its contents.

"We are also very keen to have some exhibitions to show what we have. At present, however, we have only a staff of five, so that could prove difficult.

Bearing that in mind, I would say that the Bermuda Archives has done a really wonderful job. I was very impressed with the standards here.''