An Analytical Study on Digitisation of Archival Materials and its Aftereffects with Special Reference to Kolkata Archives

Abstract

Archiving is the traditional approach of keeping records in protective ways to help in information retrieval and decision-making policies. Archival materials are of both conventional and non- conventional documents and they are unique in nature, because they are usually unpublished ones .. To get information or to go through a particular piece of information from archives, one needs proper authenticate permission for the same as they are valuable. With the strong implementation of Right to Information Act and the continuous up- gradation of technologies, archives are opting for online services or digital services. This demands the transformation of hardcopy records into digital form which causes hindrances in proper and secure maintenance of archival records. This study has discussed after surveying 22 such different types of archives of Kolkata through questionnaire method – indicating 1) what type of documents they are holding; ii) how these archives are digitising the materials iii) what type of risks they are facing in digitising, and
iv) how to deal the dilemma arising between securing records from mishandling and proving records or information to the users as per RTI. The collected data from these archives have been depicted through different tables for analysis and discussion. It is found that scanning is the most common method used for digitisation purpose. Due to digitisation physical conditions of archival materials are also getting damaged. This study is expected to add value regarding the aftereffects of digitisation process on archival materials.