REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL SUMMARY EUROPEAN ARCHIVES GROUP ARCHIVES IN EUROPE FACING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL ERA 2nd Progress Report to the Council
Date: 2012-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: digital archiving, digitisation, technical cooperation

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.9.2012  
COM(2012) 513 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

SUMMARY 

EUROPEAN ARCHIVES GROUP 

ARCHIVES IN EUROPE 
FACING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL ERA 
2nd Progress Report to the Council 

{SWD(2012) 263 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

SUMMARY 

EUROPEAN ARCHIVES GROUP 

ARCHIVES IN EUROPE 
FACING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL ERA 
2nd Progress Report to the Council 

Background 

In  November  2005  the  Council  of  Ministers  adopted  a  Recommendation  on  increased 
cooperation in the field of archives in Europe.1 The Recommendation asked for the creation of 
a European Archives Group (EAG) comprising experts designated by the Member States and 
the  EU  institutions  to  ensure  cooperation  and  coordination  on  general  matters  relating  to 
archives. The Council furthermore recommended a number of priority measures that the EAG 
should follow-up.  

In  2008  the  EAG  submitted  a  Progress  Report  to  the  Council  on  the  implementation  of  the 
2005  recommendation2.  In  the  report  the  EAG  noted  that  digital  recordkeeping  is  changing 
the relations between archives services and records creators as well as the role that archives 
and archivists fulfil in public administration and society. The report concluded that archives 
services  should  examine  their  role  in  more  detail  and  assess  the  significance  of  existing 
archival concepts, procedures and processes. 

Four  years  after  its  first  Progress  Report,  the  EAG  is  submitting  a  follow-up  report.  The 
Report was adopted by the European Archives group at its meeting in Copenhagen on 30 May 
2012. 

Co-operation in the field of archives in Europe 

The  European  Archives  Group,  created  in  early  2006,  has  continued  to  promote  and 
coordinate  cooperation  between  archives  at  the  European  level,  notably  where  this  can 
provide  real  added  value.  The  EAG  meets  twice  every  year.  Since  the  second  semester  of 
2009  the  meetings  are  organised  jointly  with  meetings  of  the  European  Board  of  National 
Archivists (EBNA) and hosted by the EU Presidency. 

The EAG has continued to provide general orientations and guidance on the implementation 
of the priority actions of the Recommendation, notably: 

Preservation and disaster prevention 
European interdisciplinary co-operation on electronic documents and archives 

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2 

OJ L 312, 29.11.2005, p.55 
Progress Report to the Council SEC(2008)2364; COM(2008)500 

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The establishment and maintenance of an internet portal for archives in Europe 

The EAG has furthermore examined the challenges for archives in the digital era identified in 
the 2008 Report. Its findings and recommendations are  presented in the attached  report and 
summarised below. 

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Archives in the digital era 

The widespread use of ICT is changing the role that archives fulfil in society. The European 
Archives Group has examined the challenges that these changes pose for archives, notably in 
the following areas.  

• 

The changing role of Archives 

National Archives are actively looking at their current and future responsibilities in the digital 
world.  The  National  Archives  will  work  to  balance  their  mandate  and  responsibilities  with 
other  interests.  To  this  end  they  will  seek  to  cooperate  more  closely  with  other  information 
management networks and bodies, including e-government agencies.  

• 

On-site versus online access to archives 

Access  to  archives  across  Europe  is  changing  as  internet  technologies  become  more 
widespread  and  as  the  archives  put  more  material  online.  The  question  is  what  priority 
national  archives  should  give  to  the  different  types  of  access.  Archives  need  to  identify  the 
needs  of  their  users  to  define  the  balance  between  on-site  and  online  services  and  decide 
which services should be developed.  

• 

Archives and the Directive on the Re-use of Public Sector Information3 

Encouraging  public  use  of  the  information  contained  in  archives  is  part  of  the  mission  of 
national archival institutions. However, re-use of archives4 by the private sector raises various 
issues  such  as  authenticity,  intellectual  property  rights,  data  protection,  charging  policy  and 
the balance between public and private services.  

• 

Digitisation 

Digitisation and online publication allow archives to make more material available both to the 
academic community and to a wider public. It also facilitates the re-use of information from 
archives.  However,  making  information  available  online  is  not  a  cost-free  activity  and  the 
capacity of National Archives to digitise their collections may in part be motivated by funding 
possibilities.  

• 

Costs and funding 

Finding adequate ways of funding digitisation is crucial to opening online access to Europe’s 
archival  heritage.  Archival  institutions  therefore  believe  it  is  important  to  develop  a  shared 
European funding agenda in addition to a European digitisation programme.  

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OJ L345 31.12.2003, p. 90. 
In  December  2011  the  European  Commission  proposed  a  revision  of  the  Directive  on  Public  Sector 
Information  (PSI),  which  will  bring  archives,  museums  and  libraries  into  the  scope  of  the  Directive, 
even if the obligations facing them are not as extensive as they are for other public sector bodies.  

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Conclusions 

The role of archives is changing because of their involvement in modern information society 
and the digital information chain. This is not just a technical issue but intricately linked to the 
involvement  of  archives  in  e-government.  At  the  same  time  archives  retain  many  of  their 
traditional responsibilities as custodians, information providers and guarantors of authenticity.  

Archives  are  relied  upon  to  provide  authentic  and  trustworthy  sources  for  the  retrospective 
accountability  of  administrations.  In  order  to  fulfil  their  responsibilities  it  is  necessary  that 
National Archives are involved in setting the rules for digital records management at the early 
stages of the document life-cycle. Archives should do more to be involved in governing the 
business  processes  of  government,  not  just  from  a  technological  perspective  but  also  by 
creating  new  visions  about  the  archival  institutions  themselves  and  their  connection  to 
government. 

Digital preservation and providing access to born-digital material are core responsibilities of 
National  Archives.  The  transfer  of  increasing  amounts  of  born-digital  records  increases  the 
need  to  create  a  sustainable  technical,  organisational  and  knowledge  infrastructure  to  keep 
digital  material  permanently  accessible  and  ensure  its  reliability.  This  will  require  a  notable 
effort  from  archives  whereby  sharing  experiences  and  developing  common  strategies  are 
essential ingredients. 

The National Archives recognise the importance of ensuring that citizens across the EU have 
online  access  to  the  rich  archival  heritage  in  Europe.  The  Brussels  Declaration  on  Digital 
Access  to  Archives  in  20105  underlines  their  intention  to  make  the  fullest  possible  use  of 
digital technologies to promote open access to Europe’s archival holdings. It should be noted 
however that this poses specific qualitative requirements on the descriptive information and 
the ability of archives to guarantee the authenticity of digital records. 

Archives  in  Europe  are  working  together  to  face  the  challenges  of  the  modern  information 
society even as they strive to continue to fulfil their traditional responsibilities to governments 
and citizens. Archives already have a two decade long history of cooperation in Europe. They 
will  continue  to  learn  from  each  other  and,  wherever  possible,  cooperate  to  develop  new 
standards, practices and solutions in order to take the next step to becoming a full partner in 
modern information society.  

The  National  Archives  will  examine  how  they  can  work  together  more  closely  to  meet  the 
challenges  ahead  and  create  a  new  concept  for  the  next  years  of  cooperation.  They  will 
coordinate  their  efforts,  between  themselves  and  with  the  EU  institutions,  via  the  European 
Board  of  National  Archivists  and  the  European  Archives  Group.  In  addition,  the  National 
Archives  will  seek  to  engage  more  closely  with  other  bodies  involved  in  information 
management and e-government. The National Archives aim to be a full partner in EU policy 
development on open data and online access to information. 

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The Brussels Declaration was adopted by the European Board of National Archivists in Brussels on 19 
November 2010. 

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Decisions and recommendations 

Decisions 

(1) 

The  National  Archives  will  work  together  to  create  a  shared  digital  agenda  for 
archives which links European objectives with national ambitions and efforts. They 
will  investigate  how  the  archives  can  contribute  to  a  sustainable  Archive  Portal 
Europe Foundation after 2015. The EAG will seek to promote a common policy for 
archives  in  the  growing  European  information  area  and  will  examine  how 
fundamental  archival  values  can  find  their  place  in  the  new  digital  developments. 
Special  attention  will  be  given  to  interoperability,  long  term  accessibility  of  data, 
persistent identifiers, open data and appraisal. 

(2) 

The National Archives will cooperate to bring online by 2015: 

– 

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The  main  sources  that  help  citizens  to  better  understand  relations  between 
countries and administrations in the history and construction of Europe as well 
as the diversity of national cultures, traditions and identities. 

The archival "showpieces" of each Member State. 

Collections relating to major historical events and anniversaries. 

(3) 

The  National  Archives  will  cooperate  more  closely  with  other  bodies  in  order  to 
ensure  that  archival  interests,  such  as  preservation  and  access,  are  balanced  with 
other interests, such as data protection. For example, they undertake to draft a Code 
of Conduct for archives in the framework of the proposal for an EU Data Protection 
Regulation that will be discussed with other interested parties. 

Recommendations 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

National  Archives  should  be  partners  for  governments  in  setting  standards  for  the 
management of electronic records. They will continue to work together with other 
public and private sector organisations in the DLM Forum with a view to promoting 
the further development of guidelines and standards, such as MoReq2010. 

Common  standards  for  online  services  should  be  shared.  The  developing  role  of 
social  networking  and  its  potential  influence  on  the  provision  of  archival  services 
needs to be examined. 

Archives  organisations  should  work  collaboratively  to  overcome  barriers  and 
encourage greater re-use of information from archives. There is a need to develop 
a  common  model  from  existing  best  practice  in  Europe  that  can  be  used  as  a 
framework for archives which do not yet have a policy for re-use. The model should 
include  how  to  license  content  for  re-use  and  guarantee  authenticity  as  well  as 
options for charging or free access. Archives should share experiences with libraries 
and  museums  and  conduct  further  research  on  what  customers  and  potential 
customers are looking for. The EAG should promote best practices in this area and 
act  as  the  advocate  for  the  sector,  stressing  that  archives  contain  rich  content  with 
potential for re-use. 

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(7) 

(8) 

National  Archives  should  share  their  knowledge  and  experience  and  exchange 
information about approaches to digitisation of archival material. The development 
of a Europe wide strategy, including models and common standards for digitisation, 
would  assist  individual  archives  to  put  digitisation  programmes  in  train  and 
contribute  to  greater  interoperability  between  countries.  It  is  also  necessary  to 
examine  the  funding  of  digitisation  programmes.  Should  archives  charge  for 
additional services such as online access, and if so in which cases? The EAG should 
make  recommendations  on  digitisation  for  online  access  and  encourage  the 
development of appropriate strategies. 

The transfer and preservation of increasing amounts of born-digital records calls for 
intensified  cooperation  and  exchange  of  best  practices  and  solutions  between 
National  Archives.  Where  possible  they  should  develop  common  concepts  and 
solutions,  taking  account  of  existing  projects  in  this  field.6  It  is  necessary  to  better 
quantify the funding required for born-digital archive material so that archives have a 
better  grasp  of  how  much  it  costs  and  how  limited  budgets  need  to  be  balanced 
between  traditional  and  digital  media.  The  cost  of  preserving  born-digital  records 
should  be  assessed  with  greater  precision,  e.g.  through  improved  cost  models,  in 
order  to  provide  the  National  Archives  with  better  instruments  to  forecast  the 
necessary funding over time. 

6 

For example projects such as PLANETS, PRESTOSPACE and Digital Preservation Europe. 

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