Abstract
Preservation and Access
Programme scope and structure
"Memory of the World" register
Selection criteria
Pilot projects
1) Prague
2) The Radzivill Chronicle
3) Saint Sophia
4) The Sana'a manuscripts
5) Memoria de Iberoamerica
6) Manuscripts of Kandilli Observatory
7) Memory of Russia
8) African Postcards
9) Treasures of Dar Al Kutub
10) Manuscripts of Vilnius University
11) Photographic collections in Latin America and the Caribbean
Technical framework
Legal and financial context
The paper outlines the main features of "Memory of the World",
a UNESCO Programme to safeguard endangered documentary heritage,
democratize access to it, increase awareness of its significance
and distribute, on a large scale, products derived from it. Criteria
to list documentary heritage on the "Memory of the World"
Register and to select projects are set out, together with a brief
account of the Programme's technical, legal and financial framework.
A number of pilot projects are briefly described. They consist
mainly in digitization programmes and a CD-ROM series featuring
a selection of manuscripts from the National Library in Prague,
the Radzivill Chronicle in Saint Petersburg, medieval manuscripts
concerning the symbolic figure Saint Sophia, patron saint of the
capital of Bulgaria, a collection of Yemenite manuscripts including
the Koranic fragments at Sana'a, a preservation project of astronomical
manuscripts of Kandilli Observatory in Istanbul, a selection of
manuscripts from the Egyptian National Library and another selection
from Vilnius University Library reflecting in turn medieval Arab
and European scientific advancement, a few thousand photographs
from the nineteenth century illustrating the history of some ten
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, an inventory of
nineteenth century Latin American newspapers and their state of
preservation and an ambitious project called "Memory of Russia".
For both individuals and peoples, memory is an integral part of
existence.
The memory of the peoples of the world is of vital importance
in preserving cultural identities, in linking past and present
and in shaping the future. The documentary heritage in libraries
and archives constitutes a major part of that memory 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 kilometers of film could just
fade away unless they are restored and preserved as soon as possible.
Nitrate fires in France and Mexico, for example, have caused important
losses.
As well as insidious causes of decay, accidents regularly afflict
libraries and archives. Floods, fires, hurricanes, storms, earthquakes...
the list is very long of disasters which are difficult to guard
against except by taking preventive measures. The recent catastrophe
in Japan immediately comes to mind. One thinks also of the earthquake
which did such heavy damage to Japan in 1923, including the destruction
of 700.000 volumes of the Imperial University Library in Tokyo.
Among the losses were records of the Tokugawa Government and many
manuscripts and old prints. Worldwide distress was also caused
in 1966 in Italy when the river Arno flooded library basements
in Florence. More than two million books suffered water damage
and restoration is still under way.
It would take a very 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 China, Constantinople,
Warsaw, or more recently in Cambodia, Bucharest, Saint Petersburg
and Sarajevo? There are so many more, and sadly the list cannot
be closed - not to mention holdings dispersed following the accidental
or deliberate displacement of archives and libraries.
There is no help against 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 through willful destruction.
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 making 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 facilitates 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 all
sorts of 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.
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, the
allocation of funds 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 Committee held two meetings (Pultusk,
Poland, September 1993 and Paris, France, May 1995). It recommended,
at its first meeting 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, audiovisual 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 cultural exchange.
The Programme should make governments aware of the need to protect
their documentary heritage, release potential for action, support
the activities of professional, national, regional and international
organizations and stimulate initiatives.
At the national level, it is recommended that a committee be appointed,
firstly 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 membership should include experts
able to make 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 26 countries (Austria,
Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Colombia, Croatia,
Cuba, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Nepal, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia,
Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Venezuela and Zaire) and others are
considering the creation of such a Committee. Jordan and Syria
have indicated that national institutions are already performing
the role of National Committee.
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 1994,
in Kuala Lumpur for the definition of an Asian component of the
"Memory of the World" Programme. Participants from 20
countries discussed problems facing custodians of national documentary
heritage materials which are generally endangered because of neglect,
adverse physical and climatic conditions, political instability...
The two meetings agreed to take steps to ensure that Member States
establish a mechanism at the 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 preservation
and conservation of such materials, and promotion and marketing
strategies to generate resources to finance the programme.
Two years later, another regional experts meeting for Asia/Pacific
was organized jointly by UNESCO and the National Archives of Malaysia,
in Kuala Lumpur from 12-14 December 1996. The summary country
report presentation of the participants gave the meeting some
insights on the status and conditions of documentary heritage
materials in different countries in the region. These were then
used as a basis for preparing the recommendations and follow-up
actions required. The recommendations include the setting up of
National and Regional Committees, where appropriate; formulating
resource mobilization strategies to finance the promotional and
awareness-raising activities; identification of a few pilot projects
for the consideration of the International Advisory Committee;
and the establishment of an Interim Secretariat for the Regional
"Memory of the World" Programme Co-ordinating Committee,
namely the National Archives of Malaysia. The preservation of
the Tibetan manuscripts and the palm leaf collections in various
countries, were given priority by the meeting.
Similar conclusions were reached by a Sub-regional meeting on
the "Memory of the World", held in Budapest from 9 to
10 March 1995. 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 could not 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.
The First 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.
The participants in the Second Meeting of the International Advisory
Committee, held in Paris in May 1995, agreed that a "Memory
of the World" Register be developed. This Register will list
all documentary heritage which has been identified by the 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.
The "Memory of the World" Register, a compendium of
documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audiovisual materials,
library and archive holdings of universal value, will be a significant
document in itself, as well as an inspiration to nations and regions
to identify, list and preserve their documentary heritage.
Individual countries are encouraged to set up their own documentary
heritage registers in parallel to the "Memory of the World"
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.
A nomination form was sent out on 2 February 1996 to all
UNESCO's Member States and international professional associations,
inviting them to identify documentary heritage nominated for the
"Memory of the World" Register. 36 countries have proposed
the nomination of elements of their documentary heritage for the
Register.
Each register - World, Regional and National - must be based on
clearly-defined criteria for assessing the cultural value of documentary
heritage. Documentary heritage is of world significance if it
has had a major influence on the history of the world,
transcending the boundaries of a national culture; if it reflects
in an outstanding way a period of momentous change in world affairs
or makes an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the
world at a particularly important time in its history;
if it contains important information about a place which
made a crucial contribution to major developments in world history
or culture; if it has a special association with the life or works
of a person or people who have made an outstanding contribution
to world history or culture; if it gives particularly valuable
information on an important subject or major theme of world
history or culture; if it is an important example of an outstanding
form or style; if it has outstanding cultural
and social or spiritual value which transcends a national
culture.
In addition to these seven major criteria, two further criteria
should be taken into account. These may enhance the world significance
of documentary heritage, though they are not sufficient in themselves
to establish its value: the significance of documentary heritage
may be enhanced if it has a high degree of integrity or
completeness or if it is unique or rare.
The criteria will be tested by the International Advisory Committee
and weighting factors will be developed to reflect the relative
importance of the criteria. The criteria for documentary heritage
to be entered on National or Regional Registers are to be decided
by the relevant National or Regional Committees. It is recommended,
however, that the World Register criteria be used as a model.
Proposals for documentary heritage to receive resources through
the "Memory of the World" Programme may be made by National
and Regional Committees, Governments, NGOs, the International
Advisory Committee or other professional bodies in the country
or region. Documentary heritage proposed for support will be of
World Register status. Support will require the documentary heritage
to meet criteria to be set by the International Advisory Committee.
Restrictions on access to documentary heritage will not systematically
prevent entry on a Register but may reduce the possibility of
receiving support through the "Memory of the World"
Programme.
Furthermore, the Pultusk meeting recommended that some degree
of priority be given to operations affecting several countries,
national projects with a regional or international dimension and
projects carried out in co-operation or in partnership, while
not overlooking minorities and their cultures. Particular attention
will be paid to reconstructing the memory of peoples in the case
of collections or holdings that have been displaced or scattered.
A digitization programme was launched by the National
Library in Prague, in co-operation with a private firm, Albertina
Ltd. A demonstration CD-ROM was first published in 1993, featuring
some of the most precious manuscripts and other documents in the
historic collections of the National Library, with annotations
in Czech, English and French. In addition, a CD-ROM series has
been starting with the release of the first two discs in early
May 1995. Digitizing the most beautiful manuscripts and old prints
of the National Library will facilitate access to these treasures
without exposing the originals to heavy use, thus contributing
to their preservation. In addition, while colours and ink react
with paper, parchment, silk and other traditional media, digital
information does not fade with the passing of time and could be
easily transferred from CD-ROM to more durable media to come in
the future.
Written in old Russian, this monumental work reveals the
history of Russia and its neighbors from the fifth to the early
thirteenth century in pictorial form, representing events described
in the manuscript with more than six hundred colour illustrations.
Known to the scholarly community according to its ownership in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Radzivill, or Kenigsberg
Chronicle, is the most ancient surviving example of the art of
Russian illuminated chronicle. It is a fifteenth century copy
of a thirteenth century archetype held by the Library of the Russian
Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg (BAN). The Radzivill Chronicle's
combination of text and illustration places this manuscript in
the company of such acknowledged masterpieces as the Madrid copy
of the Greek Illuminated Chronicle of Ioann Scilipa, the Vatican
copy of the Bulgarian Translated Chronicle of Konstantin Manassia,
the Budapest copy of the Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle, and
the copies of the Big French Chronicles. Among these, the Radzivill
is distinguished for the richness and quantity of its illustrations.
The increasing fragility of the original manuscript, together
with its preeminence in the Russian literature, has left BAN to
share a dilemma faced by libraries around the world charged with
the care and wise use of cultural treasures. Handling of the Radzivill
Chronicle, itself, must me 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 color
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.
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 Sofia,
capital city of Bulgaria, in Bulgarian history, literature and
civilization from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries.
The documents selected include primarily the facsimile
reproduction, in the form of digital images, of Bulgarian manuscripts,
including the oldest one 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 some manuscripts
and their translations into modern Bulgarian, English where such
translations exist, and French.
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 make this
find a remarkable event which will mobilize efforts and expertise
on an international scale. Thanks to the active participation
of Germany, a plan of work on the fragments was begun, which led
to the construction of a House of Manuscripts, the restoration
of some 12,000 fragments of parchment (out of 15,000), their storage,
identification and classification and the training of Yemeni restorers
and photographers.
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.
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 traveling 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.
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.
This project deals with preserving and improving access
to the collection of XVth and XVIth Century Slavic manuscripts
held by the Russian State Library in Moscow. It also includes
the archives of many of the major Russian authors such as Dostoevsky
and Pushkin.
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
represents only a small part of the 50.000 which exist for the
same period (1890-1930) and the same countries. This first achievement
should show the way to even more sophisticated ones.
This project, reproducing on CD-ROM a selection of precious
manuscripts of the National Library in Cairo (Dar Al Kutub), offers
a guided tour among the splendors of the Arab culture and its
contribution to the enhancement of knowledge in numerous scientific
fields.
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 XVth and the
XVIIIth century.
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 Caribbean and
to public collections of the XIXth century held in national archives
and libraries.
Through the prints stored in the stocks, often in inadequate
preservation conditions, it is the whole life of the nations which
resurges 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.
All these projects were funded under the UNESCO Regular Programme.
A number of other projects received funding under the Participation
Programme. These include the safeguarding of manuscripts of Antonìn
Dvoràk and Bedrich Smetana, held by the Museum of Czech
Music in Prague; 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 la Real Audiencia de Guatemala
1573-1655"; reproduction of the hand-written card file of
the 11th-17th century Russian language to CD-ROM to promote access
to this collection...
Some thirty other projects are under consideration. These include,
for example, a project in Albania, the restoration and preservation
of 7000 hours of audio materials 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... Extrabudgetary funding for
some of these projects is being negotiated. This includes Norwegian
funding for the preservation of, and enhanced access to, the slave
trade archives in Africa and funding from the European Union for
the preservation and promotion of heritage collections in a number
of Mediterranean countries. The last project will be implemented
by the Centre de conservation du livre à Arles, France,
in close co-operation with UNESCO.
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 where necessary, or even
the texts themselves, and ensuring that the resultant 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" as well as other types of documents (sound
recordings, newpapers, etc.) use the Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML 2.0) as the basic presentation tool in order to provide
the widest possible access.
As to the preservation of the originals, a publication will compile
annotated lists of the most relevant standards. It will cover
the following sections:
- Paper and other traditional materials (such as leather,
parchment, palm-leaves...)
- Photographic materials
- Mechanical carriers (including phonograph cylinders, microgroove
discs...)
- 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)
- Virtual information (such as E-mail messages and personal
computer files)
Each section will discuss the general problem, draw the list of
relevant standards, relating them to each other and pinpointing
gaps, provide implementation guidelines and checklists and discuss
Third World issues such as climatic and financial conditions,
grassroot and traditional preservation techniques and minimum
standards.
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: A database called "Endangered Memory"
is set up on the basis of a questionnaire distributed since 1994.
This database presently contains information on 128 library collections
and archive holdings proposed by 59 countries for inclusion in
the list of endangered documentary heritage. Moreover, 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.
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, published as ''Memory of the World- a survey
of current library preservation activities'' (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 input 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 on 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 at not cost from PGI under the title "National
Cinematographic Heritage" (CII-95/WS/7).
Finally, UNESCO has published guidelines on the Programme's technical,
legal and financial framework and its working structures. This
text is to 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).
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 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.
INFOethics, an International Congress on Ethical, Legal and Social
aspects of Digital Information was held from 10 to 12 March 1997,
in Monaco. The Congress proposed, in particular, the setting-up
of an international commission on INFOethics, the launching, under
the auspices of UNESCO, of a large-scale co-operative effort among
all professions concerned with the archiving, preservation and
conservation of digital information, an initiative that would
result in the elaboration of a professional code of conduct; it
stressed the importance of authors moral rights in the new environment
of global flow of digital information. UNESCO's objective here
is to develop a scale of values in cyberspace, to reinforce the
free flow of information and to head off any over-reaction that
might lead to excessive regulations of the communication networks.
Finally, with regard to financial support, an international fund
is being set up within UNESCO to finance some of the Programme's
projects. These will include, as a priority, projects with a regional
or international dimension. Other projects which meet the agreed
criteria could use the "Memory of the World" label without
necessarily receiving aid from UNESCO or the fund. A UNESCO special
account has been opened for the "Memory of the World"
(Ref. 406 INT 61).
Each "Memory of the World" project will be 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.
The Sub-Committee on Marketing held its first meeting in Oslo,
in July 1996. The Group outlined a fund-raising strategy for the
Programme, together with a promotional and marketing plan and
a legal framework. The meeting agreed that there was a possibility
for "Memory of the World" to seek partnership with major
companies active in creating and preserving memory and knowledge.
It was also stressed that the Programme needed to be marketed
first for the professions, through their associations and publications.
The participants also suggested that famous writers and winners
of literary prizes should be invited to rally the Programme and
publicize its aims and achievements.
Conclusion
As soon as it was launched, the "Memory of the World"
Programme began to arouse great interest. Requests for assistance,
sometimes even appeals for help, regularly reach UNESCO. It is
a daunting task and only the mobilization of all the parties concerned
can translate declarations of intent into a vast world workshop
to rescue, reproduce and disseminate endangered documentary treasures.
For further information please visit UNESCO's web site: http://www.unesco.org/webworld
Sources: "Memory of the World"
Programme - First Meeting of the International Advisory Committee,
Pultusk, Poland, 12-14 September 1993. Final Report. Paris, UNESCO,
1993 (PGI93/WS/17)
"Memory of the World" Programme -
Second Meeting of the International Advisory Committee, Paris,
France, 3-5 May 1995. Final Report. Paris, UNESCO, 1995
(CII-95/CONF.602/3)
"Memory of the World" - General Guidelines
to Safeguard Documentary Heritage. Paris, UNESCO, 1995 (CII-95/WS-11)
"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 (CII-96/WS7)
Proceedings of the First International "Memory
of the World" Conference, Oslo, 3-5 June 1996. Edited for
UNE SCO by Stephen Foster.
Oslo, 1996