Chapter Zero

The documentary fund of an organization also called the organization´s archive, is comprised of all the documents received and produced during the organization's existence. Some organizations build databases to record case databases, and for this purpose, they collect documentation of different types, formats, and storage mediums.

The digital world has meant an essential opportunity to preserve and disseminate document information. To speak of digital archives is to talk of archives in a format and support that implies technological challenges and opportunities for copying, dissemination and analysis of information. Digital documents can be digital natives, i.e., created in a digital format (text, image, audio) support (external hard disk, external hard disk, USB, DVD, etc.). Thus, when talking about digital archives, we are talking about parts of the archive in these formats and storage mediums.

Talking about digital archives should not divert the view of the complete archive. Each organization has a documentary collection that constitutes a unit. One of the main bases for working with archives is preserving integrity. The archival exercise is a way of understanding the information from its production context.

Thus, the document is not understood individually but as part of a production logic in archives. Thus, to begin working with an archive, it is necessary to understand the collection as a whole and relate it to the activities and functions of the organization. This way, it is possible to understand the context in which a document is produced or received.

This internal logic of the organization is called a classification table. This table is an exercise of categorizing the documents respecting their origin and original order (to understand with what logic they have been preserved in a specific order). With this table, the general inventory, the detailed description of the content and state of preservation, and, if necessary, digitization can be carried out.

For this reason, archival work cannot begin with a single document but rather with groups of documents that account for the organization's actions, and understanding these actions allows us to understand the context of the document. The context of the document provides information that enriches the meaning and understanding of the document beyond the information it contains.

So, if you come across this manual and want to digitize or organize your digital documents but have never worked with your organization's archive, please start by doing so. Then, when you desire to approach a part of this archive to digitize or organize it, you can place these documents within this general logic. Some recommended tools to take these first steps:

Living archives toolkit .GIJTR and ICSC

Living-Archives-Toolkit-6x9-EN-final.pdf (gijtr.org)

ESP

(Manual Memoria Abierta)

Oral archives