TITLE PAGE | CONTENTS | NEXT SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS - 30 May 1996

Archiving the Records of Contemporary Science
Liège 1996


Conference Statement

A meeting of archivists and historians of science in Liege discussed issues relating to the documentation of contemporary science and the problems and opportunities that have arisen in recent years in relation to records creation and recordkeeping. These issues were examined with a particular reference to records in electronic systems.

Some of the key themes of the meeting were:

Particular attention was paid to the differences in current recordkeeping practices between strategic fields of research, such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and sciences that are far from the market, like mathematics.

The meeting emphasised the importance of developing archival techniques that will ensure the integrity, authenticity and credibility of records generated electronically.

The meeting expressed concern that the extent of this problem is not adequately known and that significant further research is required to enable the development and implementation of appropriate strategies.

The meeting recognised the importance of using the ICA, IUHPS DHS and ICSU to bring the results of the meeting to the broader communities of archivists, historians and scientists.


Published by the Australian Science Archives Project on ASAPWeb, 12 September 1996.
Prepared by: Tim Sherratt
Updated by: Elissa Tenkate
Date modified: 25 February 1998

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