MEMORY
OF THE WORLD
Preserving
and sharing access to our documentary heritagePRIVATE
Abdelaziz
ABID
Information
Society Division
UNESCO
October 2004
Documentary heritage in
libraries and archives constitutes a major part of the memory of the peoples
of the world and reflects the diversity of peoples, languages and cultures.
But that memory is fragile.
A considerable proportion
of the world's documentary heritage disappears through "natural"
causes: acidified paper that crumbles to dust, leather, parchment, film
and magnetic tape attacked by light, heat, humidity or dust. The cinema, for
instance, is in danger of losing most of the works that have made it the art
of the century. Thousands of kilometres of film could just fade away unless
they are restored and preserved as soon as possible. Nitrate fires in
In addition to insidious
causes of decay, accidents regularly afflict libraries and archives. Floods,
fires, hurricanes, storms, earthquakes... the list of disasters which are
difficult to guard against except by taking preventive measures is very long.
The recent catastrophe in
It would take a long time
to compile a list of all the libraries and archives destroyed or seriously
damaged by acts of war, bombardment and fire, whether deliberate or accidental.
The Library of Alexandria is probably the most famous historical example,
but how many other known and unknown treasures have vanished in
There is no escape from
the destructive forces of nature: you cannot stop an earthquake or a flood,
but it is a sad reflection that the most grievous losses have generally been
the result of human action, whether through neglect or wilful destruction.
Preservation and Access
Recognizing that urgent
action was required to stem the disappearance of vast parts of the world's
documentary memory, in 1992 UNESCO launched the "Memory of the World"
Programme to protect and promote that heritage.
The first objective of
the Programme is to ensure the preservation, by the most appropriate means,
of documentary heritage which has world significance and to encourage the
preservation of documentary heritage which has national and regional significance.
A twin objective is to make this heritage accessible to as many people as
possible, using the most appropriate technology, both inside and outside the
countries in which it is physically located.
Preservation of the documentary
heritage and increased access to it complement one another. Access incites
protection and preservation ensures access. For example, digitized materials
can be accessed by many people and demand for access can stimulate preservation
work.
Another element of the
Programme is to raise awareness in the Member States of their documentary
heritage, in particular aspects of that heritage which are significant in
terms of a common world memory.
Finally, the Programme
seeks to develop products based on this documentary heritage and make them
available for wide distribution, while ensuring that the originals are maintained
in the best possible conditions of conservation and security. High quality
text, sound and image banks could be compiled and made available on local
and global networks and reproductions could be derived in many forms such
as compact discs, albums, books, postcards, microfilms, etc. Any proceeds
from the sale of related products will then be ploughed back into the Programme.
Programme scope and structure
The scope of the Programme
is, therefore, vast and involves a variety of partners, ranging from students,
scholars and the general public to owners, providers and producers of information
and manufacturers of end products. An International Advisory Committee for
the "Memory of the World" Programme was appointed by the Director-General
of UNESCO to guide the planning and implementation of the Programme as a whole
and make recommendations concerning fund-raising, fund allocation and the
granting of the "Memory of the World" label to the projects selected,
including those not receiving financial support from the Programme. The Statutes
of this Committee, approved by the Executive Board of UNESCO in May 1996,
provide in particular for close co-operation with competent NGOs such as IFLA
and ICA and stress the need to facilitate access to endangered documentary
heritage by the greatest number, using state-of-the-art technology.
The IAC consists of 14 people appointed in their
personal capacity by the Director-General of UNESCO. The IAC normally meets
every two years and the Bureau, consisting of the Chairman, three Vice-Chairmen
and the Rapporteur, meets more frequently to advise the Director-General between
the main meetings.
So far the Committee has
held six meetings (Pultusk, Poland, September 1993 ; Paris, France,
May 1995, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, September 1997, Vienna, Austria, June 1999
Cheongju, Republic of Korea, June 2001 and Gdansk, Poland, August 2003). At
its first meeting it recommended that the concept of documentary heritage
be extended to include, besides manuscripts and other rare and valuable documents
in libraries and archives, documents in any medium: in particular, audio-visual
documents, computerized recordings and oral traditions, the importance of
which varies from region to region. In all these fields there is a need for
protection, sometimes as a matter of urgency if we are to prevent collective
amnesia and set up world wide cultural exchange.
At the national level,
it is recommended that a committee be appointed, firstly to identify the most
significant documentary heritage, to select projects according to the criteria
agreed upon and submit them to the International Advisory Committee and, thereafter,
to follow them up. The committee should include experts capable of making
an active contribution to the projects and users' representatives. Persons
submitting projects must ensure that the rights of the owners of the holdings
or collections are protected. In addition, each project will set up its own
scientific committee of specialists to determine the general thrust of the
project and to supervise its organization. "Memory of the World"
National Committees have been set up in 54 countries (Afghanistan, Albania,
Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde,
Chile, China, Colombia, Congo (DR), Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Saudi
Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand,
Tunisia, Uruguay and Venezuela) and others are considering the creation of
such a Committee. Jordan and Syria have indicated that existing national institutions
are already performing the role of National Committees.
Lastly, whenever the need
arises, a regional committee may select projects of a regional nature, taking
local characteristics into consideration, with a view to submitting them to
the International Committee.
An example of efficient
regional follow-up to the establishment of the Programme is the Experts meeting
held in December
The participants
agreed to take steps to ensure that Member States establish a mechanism at
national and regional levels to identify projects receivable under the
"Memory of the World" Programme, as well as to establish individual
country inventories of documentary heritage materials, prepare a programme
for the preservation and conservation of such materials, and establish promotion
and marketing strategies to generate resources to finance the programme. The preservation of the Tibetan manuscripts
and the palm leaf collections in various countries, were given priority.
Further consultations in the region resulted
in the setting up of the 'Asia/Pacific Regional Committee for the Memory
of the World Programme' that held its first meeting in Beijing, China,
from 17 to 21 November 1998. It was hosted by the State Archives Administration
of China. 17 representatives from 8 countries were present at the meeting.
As defined by UNESCO, the Asia/Pacific
region includes 43 countries, in each of which the Regional Committee
should help establish an active National Committee. Because of the vast size
of the Asia/Pacific region, it was agreed that the region was to be divided
into four sub-regions and each to be represented either by the Chairman or
a Vice Chairman of the Committee. The Secretariat is based in Malaysia at
the National Archives on an experimental basis.
The Asia/Pacific Regional Committee’s objective
is to promote, facilitate and monitor the implementation of the Memory of
the World Programme within the region, and to represent the region’s perspective
at the international level. In particular, it will support and facilitate
nominations and encourage adequate representation of the region’s documentary
heritage in the Memory of the World Register. It will also support and complement
the work of the National Committees and, where appropriate, encourage or initiate
nominations.
A number of activities were proposed:
l Contact
and encourage the 43 countries to submit more nominations for the World Register
through the Regional Committee;
l Promote
public awareness of the Memory of the World Programme and the work of the
Committee through the following activities: publication of a pamphlet introducing
the Committee and giving an overview of the Memory of the World Programme;
compilation of detailed and comprehensive guidelines covering, inter alia,
selection criteria and submission technique for the Memory of the World Register
(material in these proposed guidelines will form the basis for a Workshop);
staging a TV promotional programme and designing a Web site for the Committee
within one year.
Another Regional Memory
of the World Committee has been created during a meeting of regional preservation
experts held in Pachuca, Mexico, in June 2000. It aims to federate Latin American
and Caribbean initiatives for the preservation of documentary heritage and
to strengthen the collaboration between experts and institutions in the region.
Some 20 experts from Latin
America and the Caribbean attended the meeting, where together they reviewed
the development of the Memory of the World Programme in the region and made
recommendations for the improvement of conservation as well as digitization
of and access to documentary heritage..
It was during this session
that the Pachuca Declaration was adopted. The declaration pledges the commitment
of participants to:
l Promote and
ensure the preservation of documentary heritage of international, regional
and national significance, using the most appropriate technology;
l Raise Member
States’ awareness of their own documentary heritage, especially any part which
holds significance in terms of common regional memory;
l Formulate and
adopt national strategies which allow to define, safeguard and give access
to the regional documentary heritage;
l Propose mechanisms
in favour of co-operation and mutual exchange of knowledge between
professionals of preservation of the historical documentary heritage.
The Regional Memory of
the World Committee held meetings in Quito, Ecuador and Managua, Nicaragua
in 2002 and 2003 that resulted in the creation of a regional Memory of the
World register and a number of nominations for the international register.
A Sub-regional meeting
on the "Memory of the World", held in Budapest from 9 to 10, March
1995 reached similar conclusions. The meeting was attended by participants
from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
While digitization is a powerful tool to facilitate access and thereby help
to preserve the originals, participants stressed that it has limits and cannot
replace conventional preservation work. During the meeting, a co-operative
sub-regional project was designed. It is expected that the project will enable
the participating institutions to test digitization techniques and equipment
and assess the related financial, legal and dissemination aspects. A training
session took place in this context in the National Library in Prague in November
1996.
A Regional Consultation on the Conservation,
Preservation and Promotion of the documentary Heritage of Central Asia was
held in Tashkent in September 1997, immediately before the meeting of the
IAC. Representatives of the five Central Asian States - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - met to discuss improving their links
with the Memory of the World Programme. During the meeting they also explored
ways of working together for their mutual benefit. They were considering the
formation of a loose co-operative regional scheme called ‘Memory of Central
Asia’. This scheme was finally established during a meeting held in Almaty,
Kazakhstan, in April
On the occasion of the 6th Meeting
of the International Advisory Committee, a Regional meeting for the Baltic
Sea countries was held in Gdansk on 30 August 2003.
An International Conference
on "Memory of the World" was held in Oslo from 3-5 June 1996. Some
150 delegates from 65 countries participated in the Conference, which highlighted
the results achieved by the Programme and the need for regional and national
plans for preservation and access. The Conference adopted a resolution urging
all countries to establish "Memory of the World"
Committees and to become active participants in the Programme. The Proceedings
are available from UNESCO and can also be copied from its Web Site.
A Second Memory of the World Conference took
place in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico from 27 to 29 September 2000. The aim
of the Conference was to develop nearer collaboration between the Memory of
the World Regional and National Committees as well as National Commissions
world wide, to promote and implement the Memory of the World Programme particularly
in Latin America and the Caribbean and to review and redefine the selection
criteria for nominations in the Memory of the World Register and. The Conference
was attended by 123 participants from 43 countries and it attracted excellent
media coverage. The inauguration of the "Memory of the World" First
Day Stamp issued by the Mexican Post Office on this occasion was followed
by a short film Sentinels of Silence introduced by Carlos Fuentes about
the Mexican heritage. The attraction of mass media's attention to issues addressed
by the Memory of the World Programme was discussed. It was pointed out that "what
is not in the media does not exist". Therefore it is recommended for
the further promotion of the Memory of the World Programme:
· to
identify in each country journalists who are dealing with issues promoted
by the "Memory of the World" Programme;
· to
identify the public -people having certain background in the domain of preservation,
safeguarding and digitization of documentary heritage;
· to
create a public debate and involve people;
· to
find topics and stories attracting media in each country;
· to
disseminate UNESCO's conventions and legal instruments via National Commissions
at national level and to strengthen the collaboration with NGOs;
· to
consider creating
"Memory of the World" book, film and disc awards.
Memory of the World Registers
There are three types of
register: international, regional and national. All
registers contain material of world significance and a given item may appear
in more than one register.
This international register lists documentary heritage
which has been identified by the 'Memory of the World' International Advisory
Committee as meeting the selection criteria for world significance, similar
in some ways to UNESCO's World Heritage List. However, the nomination and
registration of documents under the "Memory of the World" label
will have no legal or financial implications.
In its meeting in Cheongju City, Republic of
Korea in June 2001, the IAC reviewed 42 nominations received from 23 countries.
21 collections from 11 countries have been added to the Memory of the World
Register on recommendation of the Committee. The selected collections include
such famous items as the Gutenberg Bible held by the State and University
Library of Lower Saxonia, Göttingen, Germany and the Endeavour Journal of
James Cook preserved at Australia National Library in Canberra. Previous registrations
include the Records of the Qing's Grand Secretariat, held by the First Historical
Archives of China, the Masterpieces of Fryderyk Chopin, held by the Fryderyk
Chopin Society in Warsaw and the Eric Williams Collection of the Library of
the University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. A number of nominations
were considered more appropriate for national or regional registers as no
sufficient evidence of world significance could be found in the nominations.
In its meeting in Gdansk, from 28-30 August 2003,
the IAC reviewed 41 nominations of library and archive collections from 27
countries. 23 documentary collections from 20 countries were selected
for inscription on the Memory of the World Register. These include the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 and documents pertaining to slavery
in the Caribbean held in Barbados.
Twelve
countries enter the Register for the first time: Barbados, Brazil, Chile, France,
Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tajikistan,
Thailand, and Uruguay.
This brings the total number of entries on the
Memory of the World Register to 89 collections from 45 countries.
Individual countries are
encouraged to set up their own documentary heritage registers in parallel
to the international register. National registers identify the documentary inheritance
of the nation. The national registers will increase awareness of the importance
of the national documentary heritage and the need for a co-ordinated and integrated
policy to ensure that endangered documentary heritage is preserved. Groups
of nations like the Scandinavian countries or the Baltic States may compile
regional registers to list documentary heritage which is integral to their
collective memory. Regional registers may vary in character: for
example, they may be a form of cooperation between national registers, or
they may list documentary heritage of regional influence which does not appear
on national registers. They may afford opportunity for minorities and
sub-cultures to be appropriately represented.
Selection criteria
Each register – international, regional or national
- is based on criteria for assessing the significance of documentary
heritage, and assessing whether its influence was global, regional
or national. The following criteria are framed in terms of the international
register, but also apply (with logical variation) to regional and national
registers.
Assessment is comparative and relative. There can be no absolute measure
of cultural significance. Accordingly, there is no fixed point at which documentary
heritage qualifies for inclusion in a register. Selection for inclusion in
a register will therefore result from assessing the heritage item on its own
merits against the selection criteria, and in the context of other items already
either included or rejected.
When considering documentary heritage for inclusion
in the Register the item will be first assessed against the threshold
test of: authenticity. Is it what it appears to be? Has
its identity and provenance been reliably established?
Second, the
IAC must be satisfied that the nominated item is of world significance. That
is, it must be: unique and irreplaceable, something whose disappearance
or deterioration would constitute a harmful impoverishment
of the heritage of humanity. It must have created great impact over a span
of time or within a particular cultural area of the world. It may be representative
of a type, but must have no direct equal. It must have had great influence
- whether positive or negative – on the course of history.
Thirdly,
world significance must be demonstrated in meeting one or
more of the criteria set out below. Because significance is comparative, these
criteria are best illustrated by checking them against items of documentary
heritage already inscribed on the Register.
1 – Time: Absolute age, of itself, does not
make a document significant: but every document is a creature of its time.
Some documents are especially evocative of their time, which may have been
one of crisis, or significant social or cultural change. A document may represent
new discovery or be the “first of its kind”.
2 – Place: The place of its creation is a key
attribute of its importance. It may contain crucial information about a locality
important in world history and culture; or the location may itself have been
an important influence on the events or phenomena represented by the document.
It may be descriptive of physical environments, cities or institutions since
vanished.
3 – People: The social and cultural context of
its creation may reflect significant aspects of human behaviour, or of social,
industrial, artistic or political development. It may capture the essence
of great movements, transitions, advances or regression. It may reflect the
impact of key individuals or groups.
4 – Subject and theme: The subject matter may represent particular
historical or intellectual developments in natural, social and human sciences,
politics, ideology, sports and the arts.
5 – Form and style: The item may have outstanding aesthetic,
stylistic or linguistic value, be a typical or key exemplar of a type of presentation,
custom or medium, or of a disappeared or disappearing carrier or format (such
as illuminated mediaeval manuscripts, palm leaf manuscripts, obsolete video
or audio formats).
Finally, the following matters will also be taken into
account:
It was agreed that a high degree of selectivity along
with a high degree of rigour adds to the credibility of the
Memory of the World label.
· The question of weighing the criteria differently for different
types of documents was raised. For example, the documents collected by a political
figure in his/her lifetime may require more stringent assessment against Criterium
1 - Influence - than other types of collection. Similarly, documentary films
may need to be tested more stringently against Criterium 5 - Subject/Theme
- while Criterium 6 - Form and Style - may need to be applied more strictly
for entertainment films. In many instances, the IAC may seek specific specialist
advice from the appropriate NGO.
· The following stance on archival fonds
is of fundamental importance: The IAC recognizes that all archival fonds are
generated organically by state administrations, corporate bodies and individuals
in the course of their normal activities. The IAC considers, however, that
the Memory of the World Register cannot include all the records in public
and private archives, no matter how important those bodies or individuals
may be. A large proportion of the records are concerned with local, national
and, sometimes, regional issues.
Repositories should nominate for inclusion
on the World Register only those documents that are clearly of world significance.
The nomination may consist of a complete fonds, a
sous-fonds, series or groups of records or even a single document within a
collection.
· The
three levels of Memory of the World registers – international, regional and
national – do not denote levels of “importance” but rather the geographic
sphere of the value and importance of the heritage concerned. In a fundamental
sense all are equally important, that is why they merit inclusion. Decisions
on acceptance or rejection of all nominations should take into account this
three-level structure regardless of whether the relevant national or regional
register has yet been formally established.
· There cannot be “open-ended” nominations:
all proposals must relate to fixed and finite documents or groups of documents.
Once added to the Register, the document group cannot be varied or redefined
over time. Having accepted this principle, however, the fugitive nature of
some materials – such as audio-visual carriers – has to be recognized: sometimes,
what survives over time may be the content rather than the decaying original
carrier. There may need to be format change within a group of documents after
it is included on the Register.
· Memory
of the World is an open and inclusive programme: it is important to allow
individuals, as well as organizations within and outside the UNESCO umbrella,
to nominate items for the Register. We have so far tended to use a “top down” approach:
perhaps we now need a wider approach. We could involve UNESCO national commissions
and national Memory of the World committees in offering comment on revised
criteria. This also matters as national Memory of the World registers are established: criteria for all registers at national, regional
and international levels need to be mutually consistent in their definition
and operation.
· We should avoid political correctness,
which is not a criterion for evaluating a nomination, but rather deal objectively
with the merits of each proposal for nomination, in its own right. We receive
and respond: we may stimulate, too, but should not distort (a specific example
of stimulating activity in
· We must be pragmatic also in reading
the political and cultural context of nominations. Adding a nomination to
the Memory of the World Register not only recognizes the importance of the
documentary heritage involved, but may also be instrumental in obtaining the
release of government funds for preservation work, or in generally raising
the status of the documentary heritage in the country or locality concerned.
(These are key objectives of the Memory of the World programme.) As a body
concerned with cultural rather than political values, the IAC should focus
on the cultural value of the material under consideration, and while being
aware of relevant political or other agendas attaching to it, be primarily
concerned with the timeless cultural issues.
· There is a need for ongoing dialogue with
the UNESCO World Heritage programme to ensure compatibility in our approaches
to documentary heritage contained within a designated World Heritage site.
· There
is a need for special guidelines to be developed for dealing with the organized
records of major political figures, musicians and scientists: there are many
hundreds (thousands?) of such collections and it would be impractical and
undesirable to have such material dominate the programme. A “time test” – restricting
eligibility to non-contemporary materials – may be one useful approach. Other
formats or collection types may also require special guidelines – for instance,
exhibitions (as opposed to collections) and databases.
Pilot projects
The Programme has established several experimental
pilot projects. These have resulted in a number of interesting CD-ROMs, web
sites and publications:
Prague
A digitization programme was launched by the National Library in
The Radzivill Chronicle
Written in old Russian, this monumental work reveals
the history of
The increasing fragility of the original manuscript, together with its
pre-eminence in the Russian literature, has left BAN sharing a dilemma faced
by libraries around the world in charge of the care and wise use of cultural
treasures. The handling of the Radzivill Chronicle, itself, must be restricted
to preserve its material well-being. At the same time, the scholarly and
scientific enterprise to which the Library is dedicated argues for access
to this important document for serious research. This is why the Library
has turned to a digital medium - to display the manuscript in full colour
while preserving the original. A prototype Photo CD is produced with the
support of UNESCO and the Library of Congress, as a pilot project and a demonstration
of the use of digital media in the service of preservation.
Saint Sophia
Devised by a group of Bulgarian and French writers, the "Saint Sophia"
project is an attempt at a multimedia edition of Bulgarian manuscripts
on an interactive compact disc. The disc evokes the symbolic figure of Saint
Sophia, patron saint of
The documents selected include primarily the facsimile reproduction,
in the form of digital images, of Bulgarian manuscripts, including the oldest
known: the eleventh-century Book of Apostolic Epistles of Enina. They
are supplemented by reproductions of illuminations, frontispieces and decorative
motifs, and by photographs of various historic and archaeological sites.
There are also printed transcriptions in Old Bulgarian of certain manuscripts
and, where available, their translations into modern Bulgarian, English and
French.
The Sana'a manuscripts
In 1972, after heavy rain, a section of the wall of the Great Mosque
of Sana'a collapsed. Work on the roof brought to light manuscripts which
had been concealed in the ceiling in ancient times. They are parchment and
paper fragments representing approximately one thousand different volumes,
the oldest of which date back to the first century of the Hegira. Most are
extracts from the Koran and are of considerable interest for the linguistic,
religious and paleographic study of the literature of the early centuries
of the Hegira and of the Arabic language. The fortuitous and extraordinary
discovery of these documents and their unique character constitute a remarkable
event which will mobilize efforts and expertise on an international scale.
Thanks to the active participation of
Research work on illuminated fragments and on bindings was carried out
with a grant from the Getty Institute. This work, together with papers read
at congresses and articles in academic journals, shows just how remarkable
the collection is. The Yemeni authorities concur in the view that the collection
is the equivalent of a historic building of exceptional heritage quality.
A UNESCO mission visited Sana'a at their request to consider including a
pilot project on the Yemeni collections in the "Memory of the World" Programme.
A National Committee for the project has been set up to identify the
most suitable documents. A demonstration disc based on a selection of manuscripts
including some of the Koranic fragments has been published, in co-operation
with the Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Centre
(RITSEC), Cairo, Egypt. This CD-ROM offers an introduction to the Arabic
calligraphy illustrated by Yemenite manuscripts, especially the Koranic fragments.
Descriptions and comments are provided in Arabic, English and French.
Memoria de Iberoamerica
The project, submitted to UNESCO by the "Asociación de Bibliotecas Nacionales
de Iberoamerica" (ABINIA) is concerned, in its first stage, with protecting
the nineteenth-century press published in Latin America and improving access
to it for historians and interested members of the public.
ABINIA had previously organized a series of activities on the occasion
of the Five Hundredth Anniversary of the Encounter between Two Worlds, in
response to the desire to encourage appreciation of the documentary heritage
of the Iberian world.
Among these activities was the compilation of a database indexing 90,000
books from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, a travelling exhibition
and the reissue of the most important historical works in the context of
the Five Hundredth Anniversary. The national libraries of twelve countries
(Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Puerto Rico, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela) are taking part in the project
on the nineteenth-century press. It has led to the drawing up of a computerized
inventory of some 6,000 newspaper titles and other press organs.
The second phase of the project is to arrange for the conservation of
the listed collections and their transfer to microfilm and digital form with
a view to exchanges between national libraries, the organization of exhibitions
and special publications.
Manuscripts of the Kandilli
Observatory
The aim of this project is the preservation of a collection of about
1300 works on astronomy in three languages (Turkish, Persian and Arabic)
held in the Library of Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute
at Bogaziçi University in Istanbul.
UNESCO's contribution covered the preparation and publication of the
catalogue of these manuscripts and the production of a CD-ROM consisting
of the catalogue and sample pages from most of the manuscripts.
Memory of
Russia
This project deals with preserving and improving access to the collection
of 15th and 16th Century Slavic manuscripts held by the Russian State Library
in
African Postcards
The old postcards chosen for this project constitute a pictorial treasure
and are related to the 16 countries of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS). These postcards are very rare because they are scattered
in many countries, mostly in Europe. Only their presentation on a CD-ROM
or a Web Site could bring them together, at least partially, under one theme
or in an historical and geographical framework. The CD-ROM, prepared in collaboration
with the Association Images et Mémoires and ICG-Mémoire Directe, features
3.000 postcards, which represent only a small percentage of the existing
50.000 for the same period (1890-1930) and the same countries. This first
achievement should pave the way to even more sophisticated initiatives.
Treasures of Dar Al Kutub
This project, reproducing on CD-ROM a selection of precious manuscripts
of the National Library in
Manuscripts of
Vilnius
University
This project is in many ways similar to the preceding one. It concerns
collections of manuscripts, incunabula and old atlases kept at the Vilnius
University Library and its aim is to illustrate, through a series of CD-ROMs
and on Internet, European contributions to scientific advancement between
the 15th and the 18th century.
Photographic collections
in Latin America and the
Caribbean
The huge number of photographic collections scattered around the world
led the promoters of this project to limit its scope, in a first stage, to
Latin America and the
Through the stock of prints often stored in inadequate preservation conditions,
it is the whole life of the nations which re-surges with its important moments
and the portraits of those who have influenced the course of history.
The coupling of a CD-ROM containing 3.000 to 5.000 prints illustrating
the main stages of the history of some ten countries of Latin America and
the Caribbean and of a presentation on the Web of a representative sample
of images (video quality) with comments in English, French, Portuguese and
Spanish, will enhance the value of this fragile heritage, in danger of disappearing.
It is hoped that this will then help libraries and archives to ensure that
preservation of their photographic collections is a priority.
Virtual Matenadaran
The Matenadaran is one of the oldest book-depositories in the world.
Its collection of about 17.000 manuscripts includes almost all the areas
of ancient and medieval Armenian culture and sciences - history, geography,
grammar, philosophy, law, medicine, mathematics-cosmography, theory of calendar,
alchemy-chemistry, literature, chronology, art history, miniature, music
and
theatre, as well as manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Greek, Syrian, Ethiopian,
Indian, Japanese and others. In this center of cultural heritage many originals,
lost in their mother languages and known only of their Armenian translations,
have been saved from loss.
The history of the Matenadaran dates back to the creation of the Armenian
alphabet in 405. This centre of manuscripts has a history of centuries and
the history continues now as well. The Virtual Matenadaran has been set up
in the context of Memory of the World.
This CD-ROM represents a collection of book miniatures of
The Bibliotheca Corviniana
King Mathias of
In the wars this library was partly destroyed, partly scattered all over
the world. Today 216 so called Corvinas are known, out of which Hungarian
libraries preserve 53 items, the Austrian National Library possesses 39 volumes,
different Italian libraries own 49 items and the rest is in French, German,
English, Turkish, USA collections. Their reunification in a digital version
of the Bibliotheca Corviniana and its registration on the Memory of World
Register of documentary heritage would mean the recreation of a unique presentation
and overview of what was the common cultural heritage of the Renaissance
in the 15th century
All these projects were
funded under the UNESCO Regular Programme. A number of other projects received
funding under the Participation Programme or from extra-budgetary sources.
These include the safeguarding of manuscripts of Antonìn Dvoràk and Bedrich
Smetana, held by the Museum of Czech Music in Prague; the setting up of a
database on the preservation conditions of documentary heritage in Estonia,
inventory and preservation of manuscripts in Mauritania, provision of equipment
in Algeria, Armenia, Cuba and Poland, and of regional training courses in
Caracas, at the Centre for Preservation of Paper of the National Library of
Venezuela and in Prague, at the Digitization Centre of the National Library
of the Czech Republic; reproduction and repatriation in Antigua of historical
records held in foreign repositories; publication of "Libro de los Pareceres
de
Two other projects received extra-budgetary funds: these
are the Slave Trade Archives project, funded by
Technical framework
From the examples mentioned
above, it emerges clearly that the two basic principles which guide the "Memory
of the World" Programme are the preservation of documents, holdings and
collections and the democratization of access to them. The two principles
are intrinsically linked, since access is conducive to protection and preservation
ensures access.
The essential steps for
carrying out any project in the "Memory of the World" programme
are: selecting and preparing the documents, ensuring that they are placed
in a suitable physical environment, photographing them where necessary, digitizing
them, describing and annotating them, providing the staff to perform these
tasks with appropriate ad hoc training where necessary, translating bibliographical
descriptions or even the texts themselves where necessary, and ensuring that
the resulting product is distributed as widely as possible.
Provision has been made
for the establishment of two sub-committees, the first to make regular assessments
of the technology that might be used by the Programme and the second to study
methods for marketing and selling the Programme's products throughout the
world. The first Committee held four meetings devoted to preservation and
digitization of documents. It reviewed recent developments in digitization
and prepared technical guidelines with a table showing, for each type of carrier
(texts and still images on the one hand and sound and moving images on the
other hand) the recommended digitization standards for access. It was suggested
that a programme of digitization of documents is the best compromise between
the conflicting demands for wider access to collections and for greater protection
of the documents.
The Sub-Committee also
considered a draft recommendation that digital copies of manuscripts and old
printed material under "Memory of the World" use the Hypertext Mark-up
Language (HTML 2.0) as the basic presentation tool in order to provide the
widest possible access. Through HTML discs can be searched using any Internet search software.
The technology can also be adapted for use on other carriers (sound recordings, photographs, newspapers, etc.) and,
of course, for documents placed on the World Wide Web.
As to the preservation of the originals, a ‘Guide to Preservation Standards’
which is available both in paper edition (CII-98/WS/4) and on the Web
site provides a compilation of the most relevant standards. It covers the following
sections:
-
Paper and other traditional materials (such as leather, parchment, palm-leaves,
etc.)
-
Photographic materials
-
Mechanical carriers (including phonograph cylinders, microgroove discs,
etc.)
-
Magnetic materials (such as magnetic tapes and disks)
-
Optical media (audio CDs, CD-ROMs, video discs, optical tapes, etc.)
-
Electronic publications (off-line and on-line publications)
-
Electronic records and virtual information (such as E-mail messages and
personal computer files)
Each section introduces
the general problem, draws the list of relevant standards, relating them to
each other and pinpointing gaps, provides implementation guidelines and checklists
and discusses
A CD-ROM on preventive
preservation and conservation has been prepared in co-operation with IFLA.
This disk displays a comprehensive documentation both in English and French,
with illustration material on degradation factors affecting library and archival
materials as well as preventive measures to be taken. The disk is expected
to be used in all sorts of education and training programmes. Large extracts
will also make available on the 'Memory of the World' web site.
A number of training activities
are being arranged in the context of the Programme. Two training workshops
on preservation and conservation in Africa were held in 1999 and
l to provide the participants with an understanding of the
nature of paper and characteristics and other media and the need for their
preservation;
l to impart practical
knowledge of restoration of documents to participants;
l to provide adequate time for meaningful discussion of specific
problems faced by participants in their home countries.
From the discussion in
Harare and Praia it appeared that the situation in many countries is quite
serious where in some cases directors of libraries and archives are not very
much interested in preservation and conservation and only a lower priority
was given to them in the scheme of things.
A workshop entitled "Safeguarding the African Documentary
Heritage" was held in February
Regional
Workshops on Preservation of and Access to Southeast Asia Documentary
Heritage took place in
A similar workshop will be held in
Lastly, so that UNESCO
can play its role to the full as co-ordinator and catalyst, three inventories
in the form of regularly updated databases are being created in co-operation
with IFLA, ICA and other competent professional bodies such as FID, FIAF,
FIAT and IASA.
1) Inventory
of library collections and archive holdings which have suffered irreparable
destruction since 1900: This inventory, published as "Lost Memory
- Libraries and archives destroyed in the twentieth century"
(CII-96/WS/1), is an attempt to list major disasters that destroyed or
caused irreparable damage to libraries and archives during the present century.
Thousands of libraries and archives have been destroyed or badly damaged in
the course of fighting during the two world wars, notably in France, Germany,
Italy and Poland. War has also been the cause of untold destruction to libraries
and archives more recently in former Yugoslavia and in many other countries.
The document, prepared by J. van Albada (ICA) and H. van der Hoeven (IFLA)
lists lost documentary heritage in more than 100 countries. This inventory
is not meant to be a sort of funerary monument but is intended to alert public
opinion and sensitize the professional community and local and national authorities
to the disappearance of archival and library treasures and to draw attention
to the urgent need to safeguard endangered documentary heritage.
2) World
list of endangered library collections and archive holdings: To date
more than 60 countries have proposed collections and holdings to be included
in the list of endangered documentary heritage. The International Association
of Sound Archives has conducted a survey carried out by George Boston, in
the context of this exercise that shows that the most endangered carriers
are not necessarily the oldest. In the audio domain, substantial numbers
of acetate discs and tapes are lost each year. All unique acetate recordings
at risk need to be copied swiftly to a new format. A database called
"Endangered Memory" is being constituted with answers to the questionnaire
distributed since 1994. This database presently contains 128 answers from 59
countries.
3) Inventory
of ongoing operations to protect documentary heritage: Documentary heritage
has been lost in the past and will continue to disappear in the future. The
aim of "Memory of the World" is to ensure that significant material
is identified and saved. Today's technology enables us to identify the location
of important documentary heritage and gain access to it. This inventory,
prepared under contract with IFLA by Jan Lyall, lists major preservation
activities currently in progress. The information in this document (CII-96/WS/7)
was obtained through a questionnaire which was widely distributed in English,
French, German, Japanese and Spanish, using the IFLA Preservation and Conservation
(PAC) network. The survey was intended to collect information from libraries
with collections of national significance in order to identify problems in
various parts of the world and to obtain a snapshot of current preservation
activities. More than 200 responses were received and keyed into the computer.
This database, as well as the previous one, running on CDS/ISIS, will be
updated regularly and the data analysis facilitated by use of IDAMS, a statistical
package developed by UNESCO and featuring an interface with CDS/ISIS. The
two lists will constitute the indispensable basis for the Programme along
with the "Memory of the World" Register.
Furthermore, in recognition of the impact of cinema
throughout the world, it was decided, as part of the centenary celebration,
to compile and publish, in the context of the "Memory of the World"
Programme, a list of approximately 15 films each country considers to
be representative of its most significant film heritage. This list is available
free of charge from PGI under the title "National Cinematographic Heritage" (CII-95/WS/7).
A world wide survey on digital collections and their preservation has
been conducted in cooperation with IFLA. There is a great deal of uncertainty
regarding the preservation of digital information and professional circles
have become increasingly anxious about the safeguard of these new documents.
The aim of this IFLA/UNESCO project is two-fold. First, it intends to list
the main digitization programmes that are being conducted throughout the world.
This database contains so far 271 collections. This list will allow
UNESCO to identify those collections which could become part of the “Memory
of the World”
Programme, and lead to the constitution (either through direct access
to a data base or by way of links to library web sites) of a global virtual
library, at least for those documents belonging to the “public domain”. Secondly,
it aims at identifying and assessing the various preservation policies and
strategies concerning digital collections.
Finally, UNESCO has published
guidelines on the Programme's technical, legal and financial framework and
its working structures. This text is available in all UNESCO official languages,
free-of-charge, under the title "Memory of the World- General Guidelines
to Safeguard Documentary Heritage" (CII-95/WS-11). A new edition was
published in 2002 and is available online.
Legal Framework
Documentary heritage in
war
A major diplomatic conference
held in
These provisions will offer
the international community an opportunity to take measures to counter the
alarming new tide of damage and loss due to armed conflicts since 1990. The
recent, and sometimes intentional, destruction of heritage in Afghanistan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq and Somalia, among other places,
has led to calls to improve this protection. Such destruction represents an
inestimable loss to the common heritage of humanity and to the cultural development
and identity of local communities.
UNESCO, together with some
other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, has conducted
a review of the 1954 Convention and found several aspects in which it could
be strengthened. More precise provisions were brought to the concept of
"military necessity" and better heritage protection in situations
of civil and domestic conflicts. There is also a significant demand for the
adoption of an improved system of sanctions to punish perpetrators of crimes
affecting cultural heritage and for the creation of a body to supervise the
implementation of the Convention.
The International Council
of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS),
the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), which have established the
International Committee of the Blue Shield as a coordinating body, provide
the experts who try to protect cultural heritage under threat.
Partnership agreements
and ethical issues
Working in partnership
in an international context means that a legal framework is an absolute necessity
if "Memory of the World" is to be managed in a properly accountable
manner. The framework must nevertheless remain sufficiently flexible to guarantee
the originality of each project and take account of the diversity of national
legislation.
It is essential that the
rights of the owners of the collections and holdings in a project are respected
and that the relationship between the owners and the technical and commercial
partners is clearly defined, particularly with regard to the division of rights
among the various parties, the allocation of rights of ownership to the images
produced and the sharing of the profits from the sales of products made from
images. It also seems clear, however, that excessive protection which might
limit access to the documents would run counter to one of the Programme's
fundamental principles. The International Advisory Committee recommended,
at its second meeting, that UNESCO pay careful attention to legal questions
affecting the intellectual heritage in the new context of the increasing use
of electronic storage media in libraries and archives, in particular to provide
for freedom of access within the limits set by national and international
legislation.
The Infoethics 2000,
the third UNESCO Congress on Ethical, Legal and Societal Challenges of
Cyberspace took place in Paris from 13 to 15 November 2000 discussed
the areas of public domain, multilingualism, globalization, privacy, confidentiality
and security in cyberspace. It has contributed to building up a consensus
on ethical, legal and societal principles applicable in cyberspace. Numerous
international consultations are showing that clear policy guidelines are
needed in the increasingly open, interactive and global information context.
Such guidelines should cover all aspects of the global information networks
- technological and economic, but also educational, scientific, cultural
and social. The latter will ultimately have a deeper and more fundamental
significance in achieving an Information Society for All. Every citizen in
the world should have the right to meaningful participation in the Information
Society which has become an integral part of society as we know it today,
with all the rights and obligations that this entails.
Financial context
All projects carried out
so far were funded under the UNESCO Regular Programme or its Participation
Programme. More projects are awaiting funding. These include, for example
the restoration and preservation of 7000 hours of audio material of Chinese
folk music, preservation of Tamil palm-leaf manuscripts in India, preservation
of Vietnam film heritage, preservation of Lao manuscripts, preservation of
a Jewish musical collection in Kiev, safeguarding of manuscripts of ancient
cities in Mauritania, etc. Extra-budgetary funding for some of these projects
has been pledged. This includes Norwegian funding for the preservation of,
and enhanced access to, the slave trade archives in Africa and Latin America
and the Caribbean and funding from
Each "Memory of the
World" project is an entity in itself, especially as far as finance is
concerned. While profit can never be a prerequisite for carrying out a project,
each project must strike a financial balance between, on the one hand, the
investment needed for digitizing, reproducing, and distributing products and
for preparing the reproduced collections and holdings for conservation and,
on the other, initial contributions from local or outside funds and royalties
from possible sale of products. This balance will not be achieved without
the participation of sponsors and technical and financial partners. The search
for partners is an important, not to say decisive, phase of all "Memory
of the World" projects.
Some projects are being
funded by governments with no financial implication for UNESCO. A good example
is the archives
of the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC). An international conference on the Dutch East
Indian Company Archives project was held in The Hague and Leyden on 10 and
11, December 1998 following Resolution 28 adopted by the 29th session
of the General Conference of UNESCO. This meeting was organised by the National
Commission of the Netherlands and attended by participants from all concerned
countries, including Permanent Delegates to UNESCO of the Netherlands, India,
Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The archives of the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC)
represent a unique source of information about the 17th and 18th century
history of many countries and cultures of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
The history of the East India Company is not merely the of a large Dutch business
conglomerate symbolized by many large architectural monuments such as warehouses,
meeting halls or ship wharves. The records of this Company deal with its operations
in Asia, and thus shed considerable light on Asian history as well. The aim
of the project is safeguarding the extensive material heritage this trading
company has left behind in the
During the Conference it is announced that the
Government of the
The Sub-Committee on Marketing
held its first meeting in
Sources: "Memory of the World" Programme
- First Meeting of the International Advisory Committee,
"Memory of the World" Programme - Second Meeting of the International
Advisory Committee,
(CII-95/CONF.602/3)
"Memory of the World" Programme – Third Meeting of the International
Advisory Committee,
"Memory of the World"
Programme –Fourth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee,
"Memory of the World"
Programme –Fifth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee,
"Memory of the World"
Programme –Sixth Meeting of the International Advisory Committee,
"Memory
of the World" - General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage. Paris,
UNESCO, 1995 (CII-95/WS-11) and revised edition,
2002
"Memory of the World" - Lost Memory - Libraries and Archives destroyed
in the Twentieth Century. Paris, UNESCO, 1996 (CII-96/WS/1)
"Memory of the World" - A survey of current library preservation
activities. Paris, UNESCO, 1997 (CII-96/WS-7)
Proceedings of the First International "Memory of the World"
Conference,
"Memory
of the World" Programme- Safeguarding the Documentary Heritage: A Guide
to Standards, Recommended Practices and Reference Literature Related to the
Preservation of Documents of All Kinds.
Paris, UNESCO, 1998 (CII-98/WS/4)
"Memory of the World" Programme - External Evaluation. Paris, UNESCO, 1998 (CII-98/WS/5)
For further information please visit UNESCO's web site: http://www.unesco.org/webworld