Abstract:

In the last few years, the digitization of the archival-documentary heritage has become a leading priority worldwide for all institutions committed to its safeguarding. The benefits couldn’t be clearer and they can be seen in many aspects: better storage, safeguarding and promotion, Internet accessibility, etc. As a EU member, Bulgaria is no exception to this trend. The Bulgarian institutions of the so-called GLAM sector are definitely aware of the benefits to digitization and they take part in the digitization process of records and their uploading online.

The main aim of the proposed paper is the presentation of the digitization carried out so far in three leading Bulgarian institutions of memory: the Central State Archive, the National Library St. St. “Cyril and Methodius” and the National Museum of History. The three institutions are leading in their professional activity and should demonstrate good practices for regional institutes – archives, libraries and museums. What has been done so far will be presented and a comparative analysis will be carried out. The emphasis on the introduction of digitization in the three leading Bulgarian institutions is to identify their adopted standards and good practices in digitization.

One important outcome of the research will be the analysis of the quantitative indicators in relation to the digitization of archival-documentary heritage. The institutions will be compared, both among each other and with similar institutes from other European countries. The aim is to gain a more realistic picture of the success of the Bulgarian institutions in terms of digitization and access to information resources through the Internet. The strengths and weaknesses of the digitization of archival heritage in Bulgaria will be outlined.

In conclusion recommendations will be made hopefully of practical use to institutions in continuation of their work on digitization: acquaintance with international good practices, working with unified standards, improvement of communication among them, exchange of experts and experience, etc.

Keywords:

Archives, libraries, museums, records, digitization, digital collections, access to information.