Studiing Modern Archival Science in Croatia

Abstract

By definition, archival science is a set of knowledge about archival material and archival activity. Archival scienceis a young science because it has been developing for the past hundred years. More recently, theory, practice and methodology have been formed. When we talk about archival material, we need to know that it’s not just a pile of old paper preserved in the dark archive storage rooms. Archival material is a record in continuity - from the moment it is created, until the moment someone searches for that record. Today it is a common belive that archives are the memory of society and a part of cultural heritage. Today, documents are mostly generated in electronic form. From a practical point of view, modern archival science deals with answers to contemporary issues such as: How to organize digitalisation of archival material? How to keep digital content in the long run? How to organize digital archives? How to care for data security? These are just some questions that will have to be answered by the generations that come - young archivists. To be able to protect contemporary archives for the future we will have to find abwers to above questions, than only by protecting the present we will be able to preserve it for the future.