Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

*|*

# 52012DC0513

**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 /\* COM/2012/0513 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

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 recommendation[2].
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

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.

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 Information[3]

Encouraging
public use of the information contained in archives is part of the mission of
national archival institutions. However, re-use of archives[4] 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.

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 2010[5]
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.

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:

–
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)
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.

(5)
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.

(6)
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.

(7)
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.

(8)
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.

[1]               OJ L 312, 29.11.2005, p.55

[2]               Progress Report to the Council SEC(2008)2364;
COM(2008)500

[3]               OJ L345 31.12.2003, p. 90.

[4]               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.

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

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

[Top](#document1)