Digital preservation of electronic records in the Croatian State Archives, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and Library and Archives Canada: the importance of education of information specialists

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to give insight, by a comparative analysis, of the publicly available documentation on the digital preservation of records in the Croatian State Archives, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and Library and Archives Canada, and through the process of establishment of digital archives, point to the necessity of scientific and operational knowledge on information technologies and digital preservation. Methodologically presented activities and projects for the development of tools for digital preservation of records in digital archives, point out, above all, the potential education of archivists, who must be able to provide quality in-personal and on-line information service. Planning, strategy and the establishment of a digital archive are processes that, besides being organized and systematically implemented, require highly educated experts from multiple scientific areas. The use of international standards for the long-term data preservation that need to be secured within the defined guidelines and measures for the preservation process plan, which are to follow all components of the electronic file processing system in the archives, is presented. The directives on solving problems related to long-term storage and access to electronic archive material in today’s environment should also be in accordance with the terms set by the legal frameworks. Given the importance of this issue, as well as its goals, the role of digital archives within state administration, e-government development and online access to information in databases, is crucial for scientific, operational and functional management of the system by experts who know how to ensure plan for development of policy on institution documents management.