History of eArchiving
The eArchiving initiative is based on the outcomes of the E-ARK project (2014 - 2017) and the eArchiving Building Block (2018-2021). The project, which involved a number of European national archives, e-government agencies, digital preservation software developers and research institutions, aimed to synthesise best-practices from across Europe and develop a core set of interoperability specifications for archival operations.
The project also updated a number of archival software components to meet the specifications, and carried out a number of operational pilots to verify the cross-border validity and interoperability of the specifications. After the successful conclusion of the E-ARK project in 2017, the European Commission included its outcomes into the CEF programme to become the basis of the eArchiving Building Block.
Within CEF the initial specifications and open-source software components were enriched with training, implementation guidance services, service desk etc..
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Big Picture
The eArchiving Initiative provides core specifications, software, training and knowledge to help people store information for longer.
See Also
Lists of archives, repositories, and digital preservation solutions that have demonstrated conformance according to the E-ARK specifications.
The four projects that were funded under the CEF-TC-2020-2: eArchiving call released by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) under the Telecom Work Programme.
eArchiving support desk provides users information on the eArchiving specifications.
The eArchiving Glossary gives an overview about the main terms used in the context of the eArchiving initiative including the specifications and tools.
The eArchiving initiative counts on organisations and institutions to share knowledge and build the eArchiving community.
The eArchiving Conformance Seal is a sign of quality of digital archiving, long term preservation, and data management following standards and best practices.
We are building on the synergies of relevant projects within the Digital Europe programme.
eArchiving offers training resources to promote understanding of eArchiving services and simplify long-term access to information.
The eArchiving Knowledge Centre aims to provide easy access to information on eArchiving tools.
In order to create and adapt your archive, or develop your own application, you can refer to our technical specifications to ensure it conforms with the eArchiving standards.
Make sure your development of components or end-to-end solutions preserve data safely and in line with European standards, so your clients can trust your applications.