Almost every association has some sort of archive system for their old files and records. This archive is probably filled with minutes leading back to the start or the organization and other files that someone in history thought would be important one day. Everything in that archive is something that someone saw value in. This is important to keep in mind when both choosing what to put in the archive and utilizing it.
If your association is at a crossroads on membership growth, comb through some of the old minutes and see what has been tried before. Did any of those attempts work? If so, apply them to today and give them a try. If not, you know not to waste your time on that option.
Historical records can also be a resource for your members. There could be useful tools or processes documented in the archive that your members might find value in. With that being said, the records need to be accessible for members. Create a tab under the members-only section on your website to store these documents. Once you have made them accessible, you also need to make sure that members know what all they have access to. They will never dig through there if they don’t know what they are looking for. Give them some information on what is in there and where to find it.
Digging through your organization’s history can teach you a lot about how everything came to be what it is today. Take the time to do so and you might be able to add some value you to the group.