Archival Response to the Challenge of Long Term Preservation: Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Era of Digitization

Abstract

One of the simplest and most straightforward definitions of the Archives is that it is a place where archival material is preserved. In addition to all the other tasks that Archives should perform, preservation and protection of archival materials should always be the major commitment. In a world in which we exist, the constant change is the only permanent and inevitable phenomenon. The old Greeks used to say panta rei. There is expression in Bosnia - time creates, time destroys. Men’s fight against transience and oblivion has begun from the first moment when he understood the inevitability of death. This struggle has never stopped and is reflected in art, philosophy, science and everyday life. Archive is just one of the places where it is most evident. Although the information in digital form is theoretically impervious to the passage of time, the media on which they are kept are far away from immortality. It is not even necessary to wait for them to perish physically - they quickly become unusable due to the appearance of newer, better, but incompatible formats. Just try to access a file saved some fifteen years ago, stored on 5 or 8 inch floppy. Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, possessing over 400 valuable funds, has not managed to keep pace with similar institutions across Europe in the digitizing process. There is a constant problem of the lack of adequate IT equipment and professional employees. The fire that last year stormed one of the most important depots put in the foreground the strategy of keeping electronic copies in multiple locations.