IT and archives : challenges, threats and opportunities

Abstract

Purpose: Archives world-wide have managed to embrace the benefits of Information Technology (IT) in order to preserve records and also reach bigger audiences. At time this has been done through international collaboration with organizations that specialize on the reprographics, interpretation and rendering content online. Method/approach: The method used in our paper is based on case studies from the National Archives of Malta and demonstrates the benefits of international collaboration in digital curation in archival settings. Results: The cases indicate that there are benefits that go beyond the financial management dimension and that the learning experience and bridge building are beyond monetization. Conclusions/findings: International collaboration in the field of digitization provides huge opportunities and benefits to the sector as the sharing concept results in a critical mass of content, expertise and promotes excellence and accessibility.