“Memory of the World” Programme

EXTERNAL EVALUATION

Prepared for UNESCO

by

Guy Petherbridge

Christopher Kitching

Clemens de Wolf

Information and Informatics Division (CII/INF)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

May 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. THE EVALUATION PROCESS 7

1.1 Introduction 7

1.2 Evaluation Terms of Reference 7 1.3 Members of the evaluation team 8

1.4 Evaluation Methodology 8

Evaluation parameters 9 Evaluation report format 9 Evaluation activity: Group 10 Evaluation activity: Individual 11

2. MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: PROCESS 12

2.1 Main lines and Institutional set up of the Programme 12 Programme origins and evolution 12 Programme objectives and their change through time 14 Programme administration 17 Programme documentation and accountability 18 Programme funding 18

2.2 Programme Committees 20

International Advisory Committee 20 Structure 20 Activities 21

Sub-Committee on Technology 21 Sub-Committee on Marketing 23 National and Regional Committees 24

2.3 Relationships with NGOs and Other Key Stakeholders 26

2.4 Methodology and Technical Framework 27 The World Register 28 National and Regional Registers 31 Pilot projects 31 Regional consultations 32 Official languages and translations 32 Legal, intellectual property and ethical considerations 33 Training 34

3. MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: PRODUCTS 35 3.1 Promotional Material and Devices 35 Memory of the World Web Site 36 3.2 Memory of the World Publications 37

3.3 CD-ROMs 38

4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 42

4.1 Introduction 42

4.2 Relevance 42 Positive perceptions 42 Problems and challenges 44

4.3 Impact 45

4.4 Internal mechanisms for review of the Programme 47

4.5 Structure and staffing of the Programme 47

4.6 Greater co-ordination with external and internal bodies 50

4.7 Changes in objectives since inception of the Programme 50

4.8 Perceived cultural bias 50 4.9 Challenges of changing technologies 51 5. APPENDICES 53 Appendix A Bibliography and references 54 Appendix B Summary of respondents concerning 57 processes and structures Appendix C Summary of respondents concerning 61 products and output Appendix D Broadening the scope of the Memory 63 of the World Programme Appendix E CD-ROM pilot projects 64

Executive Summary Recognising 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. Since then the Programme, guided by an International Advisory Committee, has undertaken a broad range of activities to advance its objectives. An external evaluation of the Programme was carried out between June and November 1997 by the following team against specific Terms of Reference: Professor Guy Petherbridge (co-ordinator) (Australia), Mr Christopher Kitching (United Kingdom), and Mr Clemens de Wolf (The Netherlands). The evaluation methodology involved surveys of all key internal and external Programme stakeholders, a review of internal and public documents, and observation of Programme activities. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMME PROCESS The evaluation team’s overall findings with regard to Programme administration are that it has been established and run in accordance with UNESCO standing orders and regular procedures, and that appropriate structures have been established for its promotion and management. However, the Programme is critically under-staffed and under-funded. The evaluators and all survey respondents are in strong agreement that UNESCO must address this resourcing problem with some urgency if the Programme is to achieve its potential. Many survey respondents also compared the staffing (one Programme Officer only) and funding of the Memory of the World Programme with that of UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme. While this comparison may not be considered entirely appropriate from UNESCO’s internal organisational perspective, it is a strongly held professional perception with strong political overtones, which the evaluators recommend UNESCO take very seriously. The evaluators fully support the International Advisory Committee's actions in revising and defining the Programme, launching specific initiatives and products to test its potential, and in assessing technical, financial and legal problems. It appears that effective action has been taken to follow up virtually all of the recommendations arising from the meetings of the IAC and its Sub-Committees, although a number of long-term issues remain unresolved. However, the evaluators consider that greater transparency is desirable in the process of appointments to the IAC and its Sub-Committees, and that the Committees' composition needs to take full account of all the media and key stakeholders represented by the Programme. The two Programme Sub-Committees (on Technology and on Marketing) have grappled determinedly with complex technical and marketing issues and have provided an effective forum in which conflicting professional and stakeholder views can be discussed and resolved, and in which specific strategies and products are proposed to advance the Programme. UNESCO has invited Member States to form National Memory of the World Committees and to establish their own Memory of the World Registers. The Programme also promotes the concept of Regional Memory of the World Committees. The initial response to UNESCO’s invitation, however, has been disappointing - only a minority of Member States have replied. The evaluators have been advised of a number of significant hindrances to the establishment of National Committees. Reasons vary from country to country. While progress in the formation of National and Regional Memory of the World Committees has been slow, they should continue to be promoted. Once established, it is important to nurture these committees. The IAC is mandated to seek co-operation with competent international non-governmental organisations. However, while the Memory of the World concept was initiated with the close involvement of these NGOs, there are concerns about their effective involvement in its implementation. There are also some important differences inherent in the distinctions between the various archive and library professional groups which require harmonisation. The evaluators’ investigations indicate that the Programme participants are fully aware of the importance of these international stakeholder bodies and seek mechanisms to effectively engage them. Where this has not happened, limitations on available resources are usually the cause. Clearly, the NGOs are major stakeholders and must be a part of the process. More conscious effort should be applied to developing useful and essential relationships and co-operative mechanisms.

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EVALUATION OF PROGRAMME PRODUCT The evaluation team generally found the Programme's published promotional material to be informative, well produced and well focused. It notes, however, much greater potential for the effective use of other promotional mechanisms including exhibitions, conferences and the film and broadcasting media. The IAC has formally recommended to UNESCO that suitable funding be provided to ensure the Memory of the World Programme be better publicised. The evaluators support broader promotional strategies and the funding imperative. The Memory of the World Programme has developed a number of paper-based publications, the principal of which can also be downloaded from its web site. All are authoritative and professionally put together. Nevertheless, a greater emphasis is recommended on peer review before publication, on adequate cataloguing information, on accurate translations, and on the periodic updating and reissue of Memory of the World publications. The evaluators noticed that significant criticisms were raised by respondents with regard to the marketing, availability and distribution of Memory of the World publications and recommend more effective mechanisms to address these concerns. A key strategy in the growth of the Programme has been the development of pilot projects involving the production of CD-ROMs of significant items or collections, and in some cases their associated conservation treatment. In studying individual CD-ROM projects, the evaluation team felt that they had served a useful purpose in demonstrating the potential of digitisation as a means of widening access to and understanding of the documentary heritage. Viewing the set as a whole the team found some inconsistency in standards of presentation, translation and access, in the provision of basic bibliographic data and in essential help data. Nevertheless, however valuable this initiative proves for widening access, it can never (in the team’s view) be a proper substitute for preservation of the original documents, nor does it seem likely to the team that sales of CD-ROMs will generate sufficient revenue to be the main answer to the Programme's funding problems. The considerable investment involved in producing CD-ROMs of documentary holdings must be balanced against the short-term value of the product, the need to preserve the product itself and the need for a reliable migration strategy to a future access format. A definition of usability protocols and testing regimes and a critical review of existing products with guidelines for further projects is essential. While CD-ROMs and newer alternative standalone technologies are likely to continue as access mechanisms for some time, there is a growing tendency for information to be accessed online from central data repositories. The rapid uptake of the Internet in the last few years is becoming a key factor for accessibility to cultural content. In keeping with current trends, the Memory of the World Programme has created its own web site. From simple beginnings it is evolving multiple functionalities serving the needs of both clients and the Memory of the World administration. The Memory of the World web site design, structure and navigation follow most currently accepted norms. Currently the site mainly serves information gathering and client feedback with links also to related sites. The web site also is being used increasingly to add efficiency to Memory of the World Programme administration by allowing external access to its key publications, and by allowing internal participants secure access to documents. The IAC has formally recommended that the expansion of the concept of WWW cultural heritage networks be urgently considered. The evaluators endorse this direction. The evaluation team note that, although the site is becoming an increasingly effective tool for communications and information dissemination, it will be many years before the Internet can be considered as a means of universal access to the documentary heritage. Nevertheless, the Memory of the World web site has a good foundation and, despite the legitimate concerns of those with no or limited access to the Internet, it is an essential information tool for those who can use global communications networks. It is recommended that its potential be further explored and developed. The evaluators recommend a thorough professional review of the site in order to provide further recommendations for its development.

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Notwithstanding the contribution of the Memory of the World Programme’s ‘virtual’ web presence to its objectives, it should not be viewed as the Programme itself. It should not be defined as its prime goal and it should not be overestimated as a tool. KEY PROGRAMME ISSUES Both preservation and access were promoted from the start as the two principal and complementary Memory of the World Programme objectives. Nevertheless, the evaluators note a significant and ongoing dilemma in resolving competing demands of preservation and access in the Programme’s implementation, particularly as a consequence of the emphasis on new technologies as a means of enhancing access and as a hoped-for means of creating funds through the sale of digital products. The Programme is particularly mindful of its legal and ethical contexts. While it is apparent that Memory of the World Programme participants are mindful of their responsibility to address the fundamental issues involved, the evaluators stress the need for the practical implementation of the solutions proposed. Particular attention must be focused on the protection of rights of creators and content owners and to the perpetuation of public domain access to information in new technology environments. Notwithstanding the tremendous effort and diligence of all those responsible for moving the Programme forward, the under-resourcing of its administrative and specialist needs is clearly of major concern. The recent General Conference of UNESCO saw a plea for an increase of resources available to the Programme both in terms of budget and human resources. The evaluation team endorses the strategic recommendations aimed at more effective funding generated through official Programme activities and strongly supports the overwhelming call from Programme stakeholders for UNESCO to budget for a stronger, larger Secretariat. At the same time, the governments of individual nations also need to be made more aware of their individual responsibilities to put their own resources into the protection of their documentary heritage. The Sub-Committee on Marketing has outlined fund-raising strategies for the Programme, which have generally been commended by all surveyed. However, they have only been implemented to a limited degree, primarily because of resource constraints. These recommendations form an invaluable pool of ideas, which the evaluators commend and endorse. Although the issues surrounding selection criteria to the Memory of the World Register are complex and central to the Memory of the World concept, the IAC is actively addressing them. The evaluators strongly support their initiatives. The Sub-Committee on Marketing has also noted that there were many other projects at regional and national levels seeking to achieve broadly the same objectives as the Memory of the World Programme and that steps should be taken to affiliate them or ‘label’ them selectively as Memory of the World projects. This is a recommendation, which the evaluation team wholeheartedly endorses. The International Advisory Committee has agreed that any training performed within the Programme should be project and task-orientated, and that general professional training will continue to be part of PGI activities. Notwithstanding this policy, the evaluators stress an essential need to maintain preservation and conservation capabilities globally through training and education. The Programme should develop appropriate strategies to support training. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS While the full evaluation report contains a range of major and minor recommendations, the following are considered as critical to the successful ongoing evolution of the Programme: Process ? It is recommended that UNESCO should provide greater resource support to the Programme

and increase the permanent Programme Secretariat staff to a minimum of four persons who will be responsible for core Programme duties. It is suggested that this staffing include two senior and two support officers, and that one of the senior officers be an experienced specialist well versed in the broad spectrum and particularities of the global documentary heritage. As the Programme further develops serious consideration should be given to a Director level appointment to manage its activities.

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A priority for the enlarged Secretariat should be the implementation of outstanding strategies

developed by the IAC and its Sub-Committees, with a particular emphasis on those of the Sub-Committee on Marketing. A meeting of NGOs and other key stakeholders to define with greater exactitude the nature of their partnership with the Memory of the World Programme (as recommended elsewhere in this evaluation) should also be progressed by the Secretariat.

The core Programme duties should encompass the following:

• Undertake representational, administrative, planning and reporting functions of the Memory of the World Programme within UNESCO

• Provide support to the International Advisory Committee, its Bureau, Sub-Committees and other subsidiary bodies

• Co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies, including liaison with the principal NGOs and other key stakeholders associated with the Programme

• Undertake, supervise and co-ordinate surveys and research into the status of preservation of the world's documentary heritage and its access and the assessment of related needs

• Negotiate and facilitate project development and funding with Member States, potential funding agencies and others

• Identify, negotiate and design projects in co-operation with national/regional institutions and non-governmental organisations as well as individuals

• Manage equitable intellectual property/copyright/moral rights arrangements in support of Programme objectives

• Liaise with national, regional and international documentary heritage education and training initiatives and programmes in support of the Programme's objectives.

? It is recommended that the strategic and technical advice already formulated within the

existing Programme structure should be more systematically pursued and implemented than has hitherto proved possible with the Programme's limited resources, and that the solutions to the Programme’s problems, which have already been highlighted internally should also be very largely pursued internally, drawing on the advice of the IAC and its Sub-Committees, but with appropriate input from the relevant NGOs. This is particularly the case with regard to future funding and marketing, where many entirely sensible suggestions are already on the table awaiting action.

? It is recommended that those Member States that have not yet founded National Memory of

the World Committees and have not passed nominations so far should be encouraged to do so via their national UNESCO representatives and the NGOs associated with the Programme.

? It is recommended that the external evaluation report be communicated in full to the

international NGOs working in this field and to other relevant UNESCO Programmes for comment. It is also recommended that the future of the Memory of the World Programme should then be openly discussed at a meeting which brings together the principal interested parties from both within and outside UNESCO, so that the commitment and respective responsibilities of each partner organisation can be clearly understood, and, if possible, information be made available globally in a more centralised form.

? It is recommended that a specific marketing consultant be employed at least on a short-term

basis by the Programme, and that the person so appointed should work closely with the Programme’s staff and the Sub-Committee on Marketing to see how its already clearly formulated ideas on marketing and funding strategy could most appropriately be taken forward.

? It is recommended that UNESCO should discuss with the relevant NGOs the notion of

‘badging’ or otherwise accrediting other programmes with related objectives, whether national, regional or international, recognising them as being in the spirit of its Memory of the World objectives.

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Product ? It is recommended that UNESCO mount a greatly increased publicity campaign, by means of

world wide press coverage and exhibitions. ? It is recommended that the IAC or its Sub-Committee on Technology impose uniform

standards for data capture and presentation and assure best practice testing and approval of individual products before they are publicly launched.

? It is recommended that the IAC establish, in consultation with the NGOs, rigorous selection

criteria for any products involving the copying of documents, to ensure that those selected do indeed conform to the Programme's priorities, that there is no duplication of effort where copies of the original documents already exist, and that UNESCO funds are not committed unnecessarily where there is a prospect of a direct commercial operation or otherwise viable funding mechanism.

Publications ? It is recommended that publications, which the Programme wishes to be seen as

authoritative, be subject to peer review and scrutiny before publication. There is scope here for involving the NGOs as partners.

? It is recommended that, as already foreseen by the IAC, publications be kept under regular

review to ensure that they remain up to date and meet changing external circumstances.

? It is recommended that, as already foreseen by the Sub-Committee on Technology, the Programme promotes the development of effective indexing and search engines to keep its output readily accessible for reference.

? It is recommended that UNESCO put in place a process to maximise access to information

about all Memory of the World publications and develop an efficient distribution mechanism. ? It is recommended that UNESCO accommodate the continuing need for output in non-

electronic form about the Memory of the World Programme for those who have no Internet connectivity.

Web Site/ New Technologies ? It is recommended that an expert review of the Memory of the World web site be

commissioned, to report on its information infrastructure, communications, marketing potential and archiving requirements.

? It is recommended that the IAC and its Sub-Committee on Technology keep under

continuous review the most appropriate technical means for the continued advancement of the Programme, and where necessary the migration of its captured data onto new media or platforms. Programme output should be appropriately archived.

? It is recommended that an ongoing future strategy capability must be integral to the

Programme so that it is prepared for new developments in technology.

It is recommended that further work should be done on the Programme’s web site to increase its use as an information, research and marketing tool. The site should also be linked to other relevant cultural heritage and related web sites and to that for the World Heritage Programme to increase the consciousness of the affinity in objectives.

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CONCLUSIONS There appears to be a general consensus amongst those directly involved and responsible for the documentary heritage that the Memory of the World Programme is a most relevant and timely initiative of major international significance. UNESCO is probably the only body in the world that can promote this idea so universally.

Whilst the protection of tangible cultural goods is well established through UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme - the situation of documents is largely unknown. The Memory of the World Register has the potential to serve a similar and complementary function to the World Heritage list, constituting a tool to draw attention to the Programme, to its aims, to stimulate funding and to multiply endeavours towards the safeguarding of the documentary heritage.

However, the Programme has not yet achieved the impact originally hoped. Despite all that has been done, a large part of the world, including many of the professionals and professional bodies most concerned has little or no knowledge of the Programme. A number of factors are responsible and have been identified.

As a general assessment, the Memory of the World Programme is moving to the realisation of its objectives. The evaluation team was impressed by the overwhelming commonality of opinion amongst the Programme’s stakeholders as to:

? Its relevance and its uniqueness

? Its potential critical international role in awareness raising among public and decision makers

? The necessity to fund and create more effective mechanisms for the administrative operations of the Programme and its specialist support requirements

? The need to market the Programme more effectively

? The need to better accommodate differing regional circumstances and perspectives

? The need to reconcile concerns amongst the archival community that all archival materials have inherent “Memory of the World” status with other perspectives that accept a focus on ‘standard-bearing’ items and holdings as having a special or symbolic universal, regional or national significance which entitles them to the bestowal of a Memory of the World label

? The need to reassess original assumptions relating to new technologies in relation to preservation and access and the forms in which products will be marketed and disseminated, and to be in a state of informed readiness for technology changes affecting the Programme, and the need to be open to innovative new ways to shape and progress the Programme’s key objectives.

In summation, it is the evaluators’ view that the single most important step that UNESCO could take to ensure that the Memory of the World Programme reaches a ‘critical mass’ to grow exponentially and be seen by potential sponsors as a truly global endeavour, would be to identify and help bring into effective partnership all key stakeholders, particularly the associated NGOs, and those national, regional and international programmes which are already contributing (officially or unofficially) to the Programme’s overall objectives. A prerequisite for this endeavour, of course, is increased Programme staffing and resourcing.

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1. THE EVALUATION PROCESS 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Recognising 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. 1.1.2 Preservation of the documentary heritage, and increased access to it, complement one another. Access facilitates protection and preservation ensures access. For example, digitised 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. 1.1.3 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. The compiling of high quality text, sound and image banks is envisaged - made available on local and global networks. Reproductions from these documentary resources 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 ‘Virtual Memory of the World’ web site presently being established is intended to demonstrate the potential of the new communication and information technologies to enhance universal access to the treasures lying in libraries and archives all over the world. 1.1.4 Some five years into this Programme the management of UNESCO requires expert external opinion and suggestions regarding the future development of the Programme. Under contract No 402.054.6, UNESCO initiated an evaluation of the Memory of the World Programme covering the period 1992-1997, to be carried out by an external team. 1.1.5 Implementation of the evaluation has been the responsibility of the Information and Informatics Division (CII/INF) through Mr Abdelaziz Abid (PGI Programme Officer responsible for the Memory of the World Programme), in close co-operation with the Central Programme Evaluation Unit (BPE/CEU). 1.2 Evaluation Terms of Reference The Terms of Reference of the external evaluation were to: • Analyse the main lines of the Memory of the World Programme, assess its results, relevance,

and impact on promoting documentary heritage, raising awareness of its importance and the need to preserve it and enhance access to it

• Assess the methodological and technical framework of the Memory of the World Programme,

its general guidelines, pilot projects and technical standards • Examine its institutional set-up, and the work of the International Advisory Committee and its

Sub-Committees together with the existing National Committees • Develop action-orientated recommendations with regard to future strategy for the

implementation of the Memory of the World Programme and its practical implications • Develop forward-looking recommendations regarding funding and marketing of the Memory

of the World Programme

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• Provide detailed recommendations as to future development of the Virtual Memory of the

World web site. 1.3 Members of the evaluation team The external evaluation team members contracted to undertake this work were: • Professor Guy Petherbridge (co-ordinator) (Australia): Chief Executive Officer, Impart

Corporation/Starlit Multimedia Centre; Chairman, National Council, Association of Co-operative Multimedia Centres; Director, AusHeritage; formerly National Director, Advanced Media Technologies, Australian Archives; and Director, Preservation and Conservation Education Programs, Columbia University

• Mr Christopher Kitching (United Kingdom): Secretary, Royal Commission on Historical

Manuscripts; Chairman, British Standards Institution Committee on Archive Preservation; and Board Member, Institute of Historical Research, London University

• Mr Clemens de Wolf (The Netherlands): Head, Collections and Research, Koninklijke

Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands; Chairman, National Preservation Office; and Member, Commission on the Law Preserving National Heritage, State Advisory Council on Culture.

1.4 Evaluation Methodology Evaluation parameters 1.4.1 The UNESCO evaluation contract laid out the following parameters for the process: “The evaluators will examine and digest published documentation and internal files on Memory of the World. They may wish to select a set of representative projects and activities, analyse their strengths and weakness and draw lessons for the future.” “The first task of the evaluators will be to agree on a methodology and workplan. A division of labour then has to be worked out. The evaluators will meet at UNESCO Headquarters in June 1997 to elaborate a detailed workplan for the evaluation. Due to the limited budget, no field missions are envisaged. However, the evaluation should be carried out in close co-operation with the IAC and its Sub-Committees, as well as with National Committees.” “The evaluation report presenting conclusions and recommendations will be submitted to the Director-General by the end of November 1997. He will decide on the suitability of presenting it to the Executive Board of UNESCO.” 1.4.2 The evaluation was thus intended to be concurrent and formative in nature, focusing on impact as well as process. 1.4.3 The evaluation was by specialists representing a broad range of documentary heritage and information disciplines (archival, library, audio-visual and new technologies, expertise in both early and modern media, and knowledge of international and regional issues). The parameters defined by the contract were supplemented by advice from the Memory of the World Programme Officer. Evaluation goals and objectives were well defined and there was an agreed timetable of implementation. The evaluation task was also considerably aided by the fact that the Programme’s objectives are quite explicitly stated in its key documents and pursued with a particular focus by the responsible Programme Officer. 1.4.4 The Programme Officer encouraged the evaluators to provide ongoing feedback to the Programme during the evaluation process. The evaluation took place against the background of the Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Memory of the World Programme held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, September 29 - October 1, 1997. This was the first formal meeting of this body since it was established as a standing committee by the Executive

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Board of UNESCO in May 1996 (previously it had the status of an interim committee). As, amongst other responsibilities, the purpose of the meeting was to review the progress of the Programme to date, to refine its activities in the light of experience, and to suggest ways of raising extra-budgetary funding to support the aims of the Programme, its activities paralleled to a degree the work of the evaluation team. Thus the evaluators provided a detailed mid-evaluation work-in-progress report to the Programme at the time of the IAC meeting in Tashkent. 1.4.5 The evaluation attempts to assess as systematically and objectively as possible the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme’s activities in light of its objectives and specifically in the context of the Terms of Reference. 1.4.6 The evaluation process was intended to be as simple and straightforward as possible. As costs and time were limited, the logistics of the process had to be streamlined, focusing on data collection, data processing and reporting. The techniques of evaluation pursued were primarily interview and questionnaire surveys, review of both internal and public documents, and observation. Questions and responses were communicated by fax, post, email, telephone and face-to-face. 1.4.7 The survey and interview methodology was one in which there were no structured list of questions; rather these were open-ended - leaving it entirely to the respondent to frame replies and therefore to provide answers that were individualistic and authentic. The evaluators were impressed by the general commonality of opinion amongst respondents regarding the worth of the Programme, its impact, the challenges it faces and initiatives needed for a constructive future evolution. 1.4.8 In the evaluation report the responses have been edited. In order, however, that the Memory of the World Programme administration has access to the full data, the original written survey responses in their entirety have been provided for the Programme’s files. 1.4.9 Programme documents referred to, or used in, this evaluation report, are listed in the relevant appendices. 1.4.10 As indicated, there have been certain constraints and limitations in the parameters and execution of the evaluation. Consequently, the Memory of the World evaluation has gathered data primarily from the ‘converted’ - from stakeholders but not from users (except in so far as the NGOs involved in the Memory of the World Programme represent users - as do the members of the evaluation team themselves). The evaluation process did not survey or question those who submitted proposals for Memory of the World status. This meant that there was limited scope to assess the effects of the Programme on its ultimate recipients and others with a vested interest beyond the immediate stakeholder group actively engaged with the Programme. However, the team is satisfied that constraints inherent in the process did not impede the evaluation study significantly. 1.4.11 The evaluation was primarily qualitative rather quantitative in character. No Programme cost-benefit or financial disbursement analysis or examination was carried out, as this was beyond the Terms of Reference - except in relation to the degree to which existing resources allocated by UNESCO could continue to sustain the essential operation of the Programme. There was no requirement on the evaluation team to determine whether Programme funds were properly spent. There was also no attempt or requirement to assess costs and benefits of alternatives to the Programme. Evaluation Report Format 1.4.12 In considering the scope of the Terms of Reference as a whole, the evaluators felt that the underlying reporting objectives necessitated the following report structure: 1. Evaluation Process 2. Memory of the World Programme: Process 3. Memory of the World Programme: Products 4. Conclusions and Recommendations.

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1.4.13 Some Terms of Reference are addressed in more than one section, as they carry a range of implications. The analyses contained in these separate sections are then integrated into the conclusions and recommendations - intended to express the key outcomes of the evaluation process, including the assessment of relevance and impact of the Programme. Evaluation activity: Group 1.4.14 The whole evaluation team met in Paris on 1 June 1997. Further investigative work was undertaken on 2-3 June by the team co-ordinator. Discussions were held with Mr Abdelaziz Abid (Memory of the World Programme Officer); Mr Ansgar Eussner (UNESCO Central Evaluation Unit); Ms Joie Springer (Programme Officer, General Information Programme), Mr Philippe Quéau (Director of Information and Informatics) and Mr Henrikas Yushkiavitshus (Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics - CII). 1.4.15 In Paris the team studied the Programme documentation to date, samples of its published and electronic output and its files. They agreed on an outline structure for the evaluation report, a questionnaire for internal stakeholders, and a workplan to progress the evaluation. They subsequently progressed a fact finding and analysis process, including correspondence and personal meetings with individuals directly or indirectly involved with the Memory of the World Programme and other stakeholders internationally and in the states or regions where individual evaluators are based. 1.4.16 A survey document was circulated in July 1997 to all International Advisory Committee members, to all IAC Observers, and to all the National Committees of the Memory of the World Programme. The group surveyed included representatives of the NGOs associated with the Programme. As the evaluation team was encouraged to interact dynamically with those involved in the Programme during the course of their work (rather than function solely as observers), it seemed sensible to engage the input of the International Advisory Committee and others on the occasion of the Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme in Tashkent. Responses to the evaluation document were thus requested prior to that meeting in order to produce a report on evaluation work-in-progress and some interim observations by the team. 1.4.17 The survey requested views (general or in detail) on the strengths and weaknesses of the Memory of the World Programme, as well as specific comments on any or all of the issues covered by the Terms of Reference. Any recommendations as to alternative, innovative ways to accomplish the Programme’s objectives were also sought. 1.4.18 Of 40 individuals contacted, 26 replied in writing or in face-to-face interviews (or both). Although most replies were individual in nature, they included a number on behalf of (or referred to) the relevant NGOs. Follow up information and discussion was also undertaken by Professor Guy Petherbridge with all present at the IAC Tashkent meeting which he attended. The total response, either individually or on behalf of stakeholder organisations ultimately totalled 32. To this input must be added responses to brief questionnaires distributed to ICA and IFLA by Mr Kitching and Mr de Wolf described below. 1.4.19 An analysis of survey responses and the results of other contacts by the evaluation team as well as preliminary evaluation positions were included in the report presented to the Memory of the World Programme Officer at the Tashkent meeting (entitled UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, External Evaluation Work-In-Progress Report, Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, Tashkent, September 29 - October 1, 1997). 1.4.20 Throughout the evaluation process the team communicated internationally via email, fax, letter and teleconferences. The team was helped considerably in its task by the generous response of all contributors in answering many questions and providing documentation. Of special assistance was Mr Abdelaziz Abid, Memory of the World Programme Officer, who has brought a very high level of professionalism, commitment, persistence and skilled diplomacy to the progress of the Memory of the World Programme.

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Evaluation activity: Individual

1.4.21 Mr Clemens de Wolf attended the IFLA Conference in Copenhagen, 30 August - 5 September 1997. He addressed the Standing Committee on Preservation and Conservation about the Memory of the World evaluation and distributed 18 copies of a short questionnaire (based on the survey request mentioned above) to which he received 14 responses. He also had several meetings with individual experts and professionals, among others with the Secretary-General and the Professional Co-ordinator of IFLA, and with representatives of CPA, ECPA and IFLA-PAC.

1.4.22 Mr Christopher Kitching attended a meeting of the Programme's Sub-Committee on Technology, held in London May 1997. He also attended the ICA Executive Committee meeting, Edinburgh, September 1997, which he addressed, in the presence of the ICA President Mr Wang Gang, about the MOW Evaluation. An open discussion was held. He also met with Mr Joan van Abada who was subsequently to represent ICA at the Programme's meeting in Tashkent.

1.4.23 Mr Kitching also attended the concurrent ICA Round Table on Archives in Edinburgh, distributing a short questionnaire (also based on the survey request mentioned above) about the Programme to over 100 delegates. This asked if they had heard of the Memory of the World Programme, if it was active in their country, and what they thought about its aims, objectives and products. There were about 30 responses, but other delegates gave their view viva voce in the course of the meeting. He also attended a presentation on Memory of the World by Mr Abdelaziz Abid to the UK Society of Archivists' Conference, held in London, September 1997. He also had other meetings with individual experts and professionals.

1.4.24 Besides co-ordinating team activity and undertaking additional investigations at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Guy Petherbridge met in Australia with Mr Ray Edmondsen, International Advisory Committee member, and Dr Jan Lyall, Memory of the World observer and specialist who played a key role in developing Memory of the World criteria and co-authored one of its major studies. He also had other meetings with individual experts and professionals. Professor Petherbridge attended the Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, in Tashkent, September 29 - October 1, 1997, where he met with all participants in pursuing evaluation input. As a new media specialist, he also undertook a primary role in the evaluation of the new technology aspects of the Memory of the World Programme.

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2. MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: PROCESS This section, devoted to the process of establishing and running the Memory of the World Programme, addresses evaluation requirements: • To analyse its main lines • To examine its institutional set-up • To examine the work of the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees

together with the existing National Committees • To assess its methodological and technical framework, its general guidelines, pilot projects

and technical standards. 2.1 Main Lines and Institutional Set-up of the Programme Programme Origins and Evolution 2.1.1 The origins, objectives, and the history of the Programme to date are already thoroughly and articulately summarised in various sources elsewhere, for example in the Programme's own published General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage, and in a résumé entitled 'Memory of the World - Preserving our Documentary Heritage' by Mr Abdelaziz Abid (latest update September 1997), to which those requiring more detailed information are referred. 2.1.2 Therefore, this part of the evaluation report does not attempt needlessly to repeat existing expositions and summaries in any detail. Rather, it seeks to confirm that the aims and operations (including the key policy and strategic decisions) of the Programme and its management are traceable through appropriate official documentation. 2.1.3 During UNESCO's General Conference in 1991, the Member States, and especially the new ones, expressed their anxiety about their documentary heritage because, as they rightly stated, nations which do not care about the past do not have a future. As a result of the concern expressed, and following a meeting in 1992 with representatives of the International Council of Archives (ICA), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Association of Sound Archives (IASA), an initial proposal to establish a UNESCO ‘Memory of the World’ Programme was put to the Director-General of UNESCO. He decided to launch the Programme and to initiate preparatory activities immediately. 2.1.4 An international committee, appointed by the Director-General, held its first meeting in September 1993 in Pultusk, Poland, and defined the Programme as a new approach to preserving the recorded memory of humanity, to facilitating access to this documentary heritage and to assuring its widest possible dissemination. Special emphasis was put on the contribution which the use of the most appropriate new technologies might make to the programme. The meeting also recommended that UNESCO assume the role of co-ordinator and catalyst for the programme and draw it to the attention of governments, international organisations and public and private foundations. In April 1994 each Member State was invited to set up a "Memory of the World" National Committee, to identify and select projects, to follow them up and to raise all or part of the necessary funds for their implementation. The membership of a National Committee may include, among others, librarians, archivists as well as users and those responsible for the related library collections and archive holdings. 2.1.5 In a further move to provide the programme with the impetus and momentum which it clearly deserves, the International Committee, at its second meeting in Paris in May 1995, recommended the creation of a Memory of the World Register. This list was to include documents, manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library and archive holdings that are of universal value. It is thus similar in some way to UNESCO's World Heritage List. In February 1996 a nomination form for the inscription of documentary heritage was sent to all National Commissions, together with selection criteria governing documentary heritage to be considered for entry on the "Memory of the World" Register. On several occasions, the need to clarify further the criteria for selection of such works was stressed. The "Memory of the World" Conference held in Oslo in June 1996 rightly urged all countries to establish "Memory of the

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World" National Committees and to become active participants in this programme and all concerned professionals to co-operate in establishing priorities and in developing projects for "Memory of the World" initiatives and in exploring innovative approaches for funding. At its 149th session held in May 1996, the Executive Board adopted the Statutes of the International Advisory Committee of the "Memory of the World" Programme to guide the planning and the implementation of the Programme as a whole. 2.1.6 Technical guidelines to safeguard documentary heritage have been prepared for UNESCO by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), in close co-operation with the International Council on Archives (ICA) and other NGOs. These guidelines are being distributed in the six working languages of UNESCO. A world survey on archives and library collections damaged beyond repair this century has been carried out for UNESCO by ICA and IFLA. 2.1.7 The Programme concept involves co-operation at three levels: at the national and the regional level, where partners need to be brought together to work for the identification and selection of projects, their follow-up and the raising of funds for their implementation; and at the international level, UNESCO which plays a co-ordinating and catalytic role, as well as a promotional and fund-seeking one. 2.1.8 The evaluation team has reviewed and endorses the documentation of the Programme’s establishment and ongoing administration. This evidences all its successive phases, including: • A consultation with experts held in Paris in June 1992. • A preliminary meeting of international experts, held at Pultusk, Poland, in 1993, and a second

similar meeting held in Paris, 1995, as a result of which formal Statutes were drafted for the constitution of an International Advisory Committee for the Programme. These Statutes were subsequently approved (Document: 149 EX/Decisions p.15), and the IAC meeting which took place in Tashkent - contemporary with this evaluation - was the first official meeting of the formally constituted Committee. The Bureau of the PGI’s inter-governmental council was invited to suggest names for the Committee, and from the resulting shortlist the Director-General selected those to be invited to serve on the IAC.

• Sample meeting papers, Minutes and Reports of the IAC’s Sub-Committee on Technology,

which has held four meetings to date, and of the Sub-Committee on Marketing, which has held a single meeting.

• Meetings designed to promote the programme in different geographical regions and to draw

attention to its need to attract funds, held on a regional or sub-regional basis as discussed below.

• The programme first international conference, held in Oslo in June 1996, attended by 150

delegates from 65 countries. 2.1.9 The evaluation team also reviewed publications and other products prepared or sponsored by the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committee on Technology, which are further described and evaluated elsewhere in this report. 2.1.10 The team, as a group and individually, held detailed discussions and written communications throughout the evaluation process with the Programme Officer, Mr Abdelaziz Abid, concerning his work for the Secretariat of the Programme, supporting the International Advisory Committee, its Sub-Committees and its projects including notably: (1) the initiation of world, regional, and national registers under the auspices of the Memory of the World Programme, in collaboration with the National Commissions of UNESCO, (2) the processing of pilot projects approved by the IAC and the planning of future project applications, and (3) the development of publicity and outreach activities, including the Memory of the World web site.

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Programme Objectives and Their Change through Time 2.1.11 The Programme's objectives have been variously stated in different documents, and sometimes stated slightly differently at various points within a single document. This may reflect a degree of competition for priority between the stated objectives, and indeed the evaluation team continued to sense, in the course of its meetings and correspondence with UNESCO officials, members of the NGOs concerned and the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees, that different people had different aspirations for the Programme. 2.1.12 The Programme’s overall objectives were initially, and succinctly, summarised as ‘to preserve the recorded memory of mankind and to facilitate the democratisation of access to it’. (Document 27 C/5 Approved, 1994, p.119). 2.1.13 Both preservation and access were promoted from the start as the two principal and parallel objectives, with studies commissioned from ICA, IFLA and IASA to identify the particular problems of the heritage at risk in their respective spheres of interest, and expert consultations to investigate new technologies, and particularly digitisation, as a possible means of promoting access. 2.1.14 Speakers at the regional meetings and the 1996 Oslo International Conference have repeatedly emphasised the urgency of the need to tackle the underlying risks to the preservation of the documentary heritage. For all the issue is how to address the challenge in effective terms - without preservation there can be no access. 2.1.15 The evaluators note a significant and ongoing Programme dilemma in resolving what sometimes become competing (rather than complementary) demands of preservation and access in the Programme’s implementation, particularly as a consequence of the emphasis on new technologies as a means of enhancing access and as a hoped-for means of creating funds through the sale of digital products. 2.1.16 All documentary heritage professionals share a viewpoint that the way forward is through better quantification of the preservation problem itself, awareness raising amongst the public and decision-makers, and the development of strategic approaches and funding resources to address the various problems faced. The development of preservation and conservation techniques and technical systems are less the issue (great progress having been made in these regards in recent decades) - the real obstacle is creating the mechanisms needed to put appropriate response programmes in place. It is already clear that the NGOs and many other national, international and private organisations, sometimes with the direct involvement of UNESCO are already playing a vital part (and, of course in many cases, have done so for some time). All, however, face essentially the same problem of scarcity of resources in proportion to the dimension of the preservation need to be addressed. Funding is the greatest requirement but the shortest in supply. 2.1.17 Although preservation continues to be stressed as the prerequisite for access, much of the project work associated with the Programme, and much of the discussion of the IAC and its two Sub-Committees, has been devoted to the promotion of access through new technologies, particularly through digitisation of analogue holdings, and their conversion to mass digital media such as CD-ROMs or the Internet. 2.1.18 Notwithstanding the compelling vogue for exploiting the exciting potential of these new technological media, the Sub-Committee on Technology in particular has been at pains to stress that there are other dimensions to preservation than digitisation, and that preservation may command a higher priority than access. Most respondents to the evaluation survey shared this perception. 2.1.19 Even within what might be called the two core Memory of the World Programme objectives - preservation and access - some re-thinking and fresh definitions have been necessary. For example, as a combined result of the initial research by the NGOs, and of discussions with these and others including FID, FIAF and FIAT and at the regional meetings it became clear that:

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• While initial criteria for selection of documents for Memory of the World Programme focused on those ‘at risk’, it is apparent that the list of documents in this category is so vast internationally that this criterion alone could not stand as the basis for UNESCO involvement, but additional criteria would need to be developed to give the Programme real meaning, and

• The definition of ‘documents’ must embrace all media, including sound, film, electronic and

oral sources. 2.1.20 Whilst the former modification in effect scales down the scope of the Programme to some extent, the latter greatly expands it and has significant funding and other implications. 2.1.21 The work of the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees, as well as the input of participants at the regional meetings and the Programme’s first international conference, have led to other progressive changes to the Programme’s original objectives. These are perhaps most easily understood in the context of the actual work so far undertaken. The IAC, for example, has developed several interrelated strategies to give effect to the Programme. These are further evaluated below, but the evaluators consider that they may be fairly summarised as follows: • Support of fact-finding surveys to establish the need for action (by UNESCO or others) • Support of awareness-raising activities such as conferences, regional meetings, the

publication of guidelines on standards and good practice; direct publicity including the development of pages on the UNESCO web site, etc

• Support for pilot projects designed for example to demonstrate the potential, and assess the

limitations, of CD-ROMs as a medium for preservation of images of the documentary heritage, and for its wider dissemination

• Establishment of a central Memory of the World Register to record and document, on a

selective basis, those individual documents, holdings or fonds considered to be of outstanding significance to the world heritage

• Establishment of national Memory of the World registers, with similar objectives but at a

national rather than a world level • Resolution of strategic, technical, legal and other problems standing in the way of the

Programme's development. 2.1.22 The Memory of the World Programme Officer currently summarises the Programme’s objectives (with important glosses which the evaluators have marked in italic) as: 1. To facilitate preservation by the most appropriate techniques of the world’s documentary

heritage 2. To assist in enabling access to it, without discrimination against any users; 3. To increase the awareness world-wide of its existence and significance, and 4. To promote the Programme and its products to the widest possible public. (Memory of

the World - Preservation of our Documentary Heritage). 2.1.23 For the sake of comparison, the summary of objectives and aims in the Terms of Reference for the present evaluation were as follows: • To ensure the preservation of documentary heritage that has world significance; this includes

historical manuscripts, written, film and sound archives • To make this heritage accessible to as many people as possible using the most appropriate

technology, and by means of derived products made available for wide distribution.

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2.1.24 In the Draft Budget for the 1998-1999 biennium (Document 29 C/5 draft, Paris 1997, p. 77), although the Programme objectives remain broadly the same, UNESCO’s role is now defined, as ‘to provide technical backstopping and training services for Member States’, to co-operate with the specialised NGOs in formulating national and regional strategies; to promote a policy of digitisation and on-line access for products; and to encourage National Commissions and national Memory of the World committees to play an increasing role. 2.1.25 In conclusion, therefore, the evaluators have detected the following principal changes in Programme objectives since its inception: • First, some diminution of the ‘at risk’ criterion, which although firmly present in the IAC

Statutes appears and disappears in other statements of objectives. There has been a tendency to move almost imperceptibly towards the protection and promotion of the most outstanding examples of the world's documentary heritage whether at risk or not.

There should be room for both objectives within the Memory of the World Programme as the evaluation team conceives it, but the evaluators draw UNESCO’s attention to this apparent tension. The element of risk should certainly remain in consideration when determining priorities between heritage materials considered within the Programme.

• Secondly, the opening up of the Programme to documents of all archival media.

The evaluation team strongly supports this change of scope. Whilst there are countless billions of paper documents in need of preservation, archives and libraries world-wide are faced with equally huge problems with regard to documents on newer media, which in some cases are deteriorating more rapidly. Many custodial institutions, moreover, hold archives or special collections in all these media (and more).

• Thirdly, a change of emphasis, perhaps unintentional, from preserving original materials to merely safeguarding the information which they contain.

The evaluation team recommends that the balance between preservation and access be

carefully reconsidered to avoid an over emphasis, and perhaps over-dependence, on the newest technology.

• Fourthly, a marked new ‘product-orientation’, i.e. with greater attention being paid to the

production and dissemination of tangible products bearing the Memory of the World logo.

The main risk associated with this development is that the products will become an end in themselves, tending to glamorise the written heritage because the more immediately attractive items will have the biggest potential sales. The evaluators concede that the raising of world awareness of the importance of the documentary heritage is an important objective in its own right, and may have a powerful secondary impact in encouraging governments and individuals to take more pains over its preservation. Sight should not be lost, however, of the primary and complementary objectives of preservation of, and access to, the documentary heritage.

• Fifthly, there has been a general realisation that UNESCO cannot, and should not, be the

primary funder of these product-driven initiatives, but rather should encourage others, in partnership, and under the Memory of the World 'badge', to take on much of the responsibility, with UNESCO acting more as a catalyst than a prime mover. Steps in this direction have already been taken, with the Norwegian Development Agency (NORAD) funding the Slave Trade Project to help preserve both documents and oral tradition by providing training, equipment and technical assistance to a number of African countries, and with the European Union supporting a project aimed at preserving and promoting the written heritage of a number of Mediterranean countries.

The evaluators recommend that UNESCO extend both its concept and its reporting of the Memory of the World Programme to embrace all its parallel activities in the field of document preservation; that there be close collaboration between those administering the respective Programme budgets in this field; and that there be direct sharing of data between Programmes (including, for instance, the World Heritage Programme), including where

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necessary the linkage and cross-referencing of web sites to ensure that the whole range of UNESCO activities in the field is more easily discernible.

The evaluation team notes that it has been clearly stated that the Memory of the World Programme ‘is not intended to replace UNESCO’s traditional activities in the field of preservation and conservation of archive and library holdings, but to complement them with vigorous action to raise awareness, stimulate initiatives and develop partnerships to carry out projects under the emblem ‘Memory of the World’ (Memory of the World - Preserving our Documentary Heritage). The progress report given to the IAC Tashkent meeting drew attention to the support given to a number of projects, through the Participation Programme, for the safeguarding, reproduction and repatriation of archives, the provision of equipment and regional training of staff.

Programme Administration

2.1.26 The Memory of the World Programme management structure consists of an International Advisory Committee and Sub-Committees and a Secretariat (at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters), with answerability to the Assistant Director-General and ultimately the Director-General of UNESCO.

2.1.27 The Programme is supported from the Paris headquarters of UNESCO by one full time Memory of the World Programme Officer and a part-time secretary. While the Programme Officer, Mr Abdelaziz Abid, has performed excellently in setting up and progressing this Programme, he has to work extremely long and unsociable hours to keep abreast of the work and it is inevitable that processing backlogs will arise from time to time. This tiny initial staffing complement may have been appropriate in the early, pump-priming days of the Programme, but as the Memory of the World Programme begins to develop and more and more applications for entry on the world register are received it is clear to the evaluators that the Programme is critically under-staffed. The evaluators and all surveyed in connection with the evaluation are in strong agreement that UNESCO must address this problem with some urgency if the Programme is to achieve its potential.

Many survey respondents also have negatively compared the staffing and resourcing of the Memory of the World Programme with that of UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme. While this comparison may not be considered entirely appropriate from UNESCO’s internal organisational perspective, it is a strongly held professional perception with strong political overtones, which the evaluators recommend UNESCO take very seriously.

The UNESCO World Heritage Programme which focuses on historical, cultural and natural sites and landscapes, has a much greater staff complement and resources. About 30 persons work at the World Heritage Centre (the budget foreseen in the Draft Programme and Budget for 1998-1999 is some $4.5 million.

2.1.28 The evaluation team’s overall findings with regard to Programme administration are that it has been established and run in accordance with UNESCO standing orders and regular procedures, and that appropriate structures have been established for its promotion and management, in consultation with the relevant NGOs and UNESCO National Committees and Commissions.

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Programme Documentation and Record Keeping 2.1.29 As expressed above, the evaluation team has reviewed and endorses the documentation of Programme establishment and ongoing administration. Besides the creation and management of the papers and publications of the Programme office, the International Advisory Committee and Sub-Committees, the Secretariat has maintained an efficient record keeping system. The evaluators have been particularly impressed by the efficiency and speed of the Programme office in locating and transmitting documents required in the evaluation process and have heard similar comments from those directly involved in the evolution of the Programme. 2.1.30 There is a broader issue, however, of how to achieve more effective channels of distribution and dissemination of Programme publications and products which is addressed elsewhere in this report. Programme Funding 2.1.31 As stated above, the Terms of Reference of this evaluation did not contain any cost analysis or auditing requirements, except regarding the degree to which current resources could continue to sustain the essential operation of the Programme. 2.1.32 UNESCO’s separate budgetary provision for the Memory of the World Programme, was listed for the 1994/95 biennium under Major Programme Area IV.3.2: Libraries, Archives and the Safeguarding of the Memory of the World. Funding for the programme in the 1996/1997 biennium was approved under the same Major Programme, and co-operation was emphasised with the UNESCO national commissions and the related professional NGO organisations: IFLA, ICA, FID, FIAF, FIAT and IASA. 2.1.33 With effect from the 1998-1999 biennium, however, it is proposed to transfer the Programme to a different section of the budget within Major Programme IV, dealing with Access to Information and the New Technologies. This change coincides with a growing realisation that, after the pilot stage of the Programme, for budgetary reasons UNESCO must find the means of encouraging others to take over the funding of individual projects within the Programme. The evaluation team understands that the funding allocation to the Programme within this overall budget (on the recommendation of the Assistant Director General) is expected to be in the region of $600,000 for the biennium. 2.1.34 Resources are required both to fund the central operations of the Programme (primarily administration and marketing) and project activities. Notwithstanding the need for extra-budgetary funding, the Memory of the World Programme must figure significantly in UNESCO's own budget and priorities if it is to create a message that will influence others and stimulate the releasing of resources. 2.1.35 The recent General Conference of UNESCO saw a plea for an increase of resources available to the Programme both in terms of budget and human resources. It was stressed that the Secretariat of the Programme needs to be strengthened in order to provide all support expected by the many partners of the Programme. However, despite an increase in the budget allocated to the Memory of the World Programme foreseen in the Draft 29 C/5, it is clear this remains incommensurable with the huge amounts needed to cope with the needs. UNESCO’s position, therefore, is that it is merely a catalyst in the work of preserving the documentary heritage and improving access. “The Programme is what Member States and the participants in the Programme do and achieve.” 2.1.36 An international fund is also 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. 2.1.37 Each Memory of the World project is to be considered as an entity in itself, especially as far as finance is concerned. While profit can never be a prerequisite for carrying out a project, the Programme administration considers that each project must strike a financial balance between, on the one hand, the investment needed for digitising, reproducing, and distributing products and

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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, aspect of all Memory of the World projects. 2.1.38 The Sub-Committee on Marketing held its first meeting in Oslo, in July 1996. The Sub-Committee outlined a fund-raising strategy for the Programme, together with a promotional and marketing plan and a legal framework (see further discussion below). So far its recommendations, which have generally been commended by all surveyed, have only been implemented to a limited degree, primarily because of funding constraints. 2.1.39 While the Programme has indicated that funds can be contributed to its activities in its promotional brochure and in some of its publications, response has been limited. The Programme’s first extra-budgetary resources of magnitude will be provided by Norway to fund work on the Slave Trade Archives Project, providing assistance with the preservation of historical documents and oral tradition on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. It aims at providing training, equipment and technical assistance to National Archives and other institutions holding documents in Angola, Benin, Ghana, Mozambique and Senegal. The rules of NORAD currently prevent it from funding work in the Americas, so that the project only covers the African records of the slave trade. Consequently the Programme is seeking other funding partners who could work in co-operation with NORAD to expand the project to include the American element of the trade. The generosity of Norway in funding this activity is an example that, hopefully, will be followed by other countries. 2.1.40 The Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO has been talking with a commercial fund-raising company, Sponsor Service, about the possibilities of attracting sponsors to the Memory of the World Programme. UNESCO does not have the resources or specialist staff to undertake such specialised work. Professional support services in this regard would probably require as a fee some 10% of the income raised, although one respondent suggested that major sponsors be encouraged to include marketing and business development expertise from within their own organisation as part of a sponsorship package. 2.1.41 A suggestion was made at the IAC’s 1997 Tashkent meeting that upper limits to the amount of funding that UNESCO would be prepared to provide for any one project - expressed as a percentage of the total resources required - be determined. UNESCO also brought to the IAC’s notice that not all proposed activity need be funded out of Memory of the World and associated resources, but that some would be better directed to the UNESCO Participation Programme. 2.1.42 Governments of Member States should be persuaded to accept financial responsibility in safeguarding their respective national components of the Memory of the World Programme. The Programme must avoid giving the impression that it will have all the needed funds to support world preservation activities. In the context of Africa, for example, reports at the 1993 Pan African Conference on Preservation and Conservation of Library and Archive Materials indicated immense, complex and growing problems. As it is clearly not possible for UNESCO to provide adequate funds to every African country to solve problems related to Memory of the World Programme, strategic awareness-raising campaigns targeting national governments have been proposed. 2.1.43 The International Advisory Committee made a formal recommendation at Tashkent that suitable funding be provided to ensure that the Memory of the World Programme can be better publicised and to help search for extra-budgetary resources. 2.1.44 The evaluation team endorses the strategic recommendations aimed at more effective funding generated through official Programme activities and strongly supports the overwhelming call from Programme stakeholders for UNESCO to budget for a stronger, larger Secretariat.

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2.2 Programme Committees 2.2.1 The management structure comprises an International Advisory Committee, Sub-Committees, and a Secretariat, with answerability to the Assistant Director-General and ultimately the Director-General of UNESCO. It appears to have been appropriate to the project so far. However, notwithstanding the tremendous effort and diligence of all those responsible for moving the Programme forward, the under-resourcing of its administrative and specialist needs is clearly of major concern. 2.2.2 The National Memory of the World Committees which are an integral component of the Memory of the World concept (see below) are also very important if the Programme’s efforts are to bear satisfactory results. 2.2.3 While the Programme is of equal importance to the World Heritage Programme, in terms of the international cultural heritage, its Secretariat infrastructure can not be compared with it. This may be the reason for the relative slowness of the Memory of the World Programme’s progress and its comparatively low level of publicity. Those who work for the Programme could not do more than they have already achieved. Even if it is not an international convention it would still need a similar infrastructure to that of the World Heritage Programme to be successful to the extent the Programme really deserves. This issue was debated at the last Bureau Meeting of PGI in June 1997 (paragraphs 18-25 of the Report of the 24th Council Meeting). 2.2.4 In the context of the reality that many Sub-Committee members, as top experts in their respective fields, are heavily engaged in their own work and also in other national and international co-operative projects, and can only spend limited time on UNESCO activities, a suggestion was received that younger colleagues be contracted to undertake some of the work, such as setting up various texts, bibliographies, etc. International Advisory Committee Structure 2.2.5 As already noted, the International Advisory Committee, which began on an ad hoc basis, has now been properly constituted as a standing committee with its own Statutes (following a recommendation of the second interim IAC meeting in Paris in 1995). The IAC is to consist of 14 members and a limited number of observers. The Chair of the PGI Council and of Sub-Committees of the IAC are ex-officio members. The IAC consists of professionally qualified people chosen on the basis of their ability to contribute to the achievement of the Programme objectives and appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO after consultation with the National Commissions of the States concerned, and serving in their personal capacity. The term of office of IAC members’ is four years (renewable once). 2.2.6 The International Advisory Committee is responsible for advising UNESCO on the planning and implementation of the Memory of the World Programme as a whole and for making recommendations on raising funds, allocating them to projects, placing elements of the documentary heritage on the Memory of the World Register and granting the Memory of the World label to selected projects, including those which are not receiving financial assistance from the Programme. 2.2.7 It is the opinion of the evaluators that in terms of numbers the IAC membership of 14 plus observers reflects fairly the concern expressed in its statutes that a balance should be kept between the authority and expertise of the individual members, geographical representation, and representation of the various disciplines and schools of thought among the Member States. However, it has been suggested to the evaluation team that there is a case for greater transparency in the process of appointments to this Committee, including an explanation of the specific credentials of individual members or of their representative capacity where this is appropriate. The evaluators also note concerns raised that modern media and audiovisual disciplines might not be sufficiently represented in the spectrum of knowledge and responsibilities of individual members of the current Committee.

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2.2.8 The evaluation team fully supports the IAC's actions in revising and defining the Programme, in launching specific initiatives and products to test its potential, and in assessing technical, financial and legal problems. Its Sub-Committees have grappled determinedly with complex technical and marketing issues and have provided a forum in which conflicting views could be discussed and resolved and specific strategies and products proposed to advance the Programme. It appears that effective action has been taken to follow up virtually all of the recommendations arising from the meetings of the IAC and its Sub-Committees, although a number of long-term issues remain unresolved, as more fully discussed below. Activities 2.2.9 The first meeting of the interim International Advisory Committee in Pultusk, Poland, in 1992 emphasised that there should be co-operation and not competition with other international efforts in the field of preservation of the documentary heritage, and also that new technologies should be properly evaluated before there was any wholesale commitment to the use of one particular medium such as CD-ROM for the production of preservation copies of documents at risk. 2.2.10 The Committee agreed a series of criteria for determining which documents might be deemed of world, as distinct from regional or national, heritage significance. In summary, they were documents which combined some of the following attributes, namely that they: themselves had an influence on world affairs; reflected an important time in world developments; concerned a place that was itself of world significance; were associated with a person or people who have made a significant contribution to the history of the world; were, in a world context, outstanding examples of a particular form or style, subject or theme; or were of world cultural, social or spiritual value. Additional criteria were their completeness/integrity and rarity/uniqueness. 2.2.11 The interim IAC's second meeting in Paris in 1995 agreed that an International Memory of the World Register should be established under the auspices of the Memory of the World Programme. UNESCO Member States would be invited to nominate key archives and documents which they felt to be of universal value, but on a highly selective basis - only a few nominations from any individual country - to prevent the Register becoming unworkable or over-weighted towards particular countries or regions. It is now intended that the IAC will evaluate the nominations for the Register and make recommendations to the Director General as to what should be included. The first formal recommendations, covering 38 projects in 22 countries, were accordingly made at the 1997 Tashkent meeting of the IAC. 2.2.12 In parallel, regional and national registers are being established, the latter through individual national committees of UNESCO which will determine their content (see below). 2.2.13 As stated above, the evaluators fully support the International Advisory Committee's actions in revising and defining the Programme, launching specific initiatives and products to test its potential, and assessing technical, financial and legal problems. 2.2.14 The evaluation team commends those who have already given freely of their time and skill to serve on the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees - and the diligence with which they have addressed the issues before them. 2.2.15 The IAC meets every two years. Opinions have been expressed, however, that meetings or electronic consultations of the International Advisory Committee should happen more frequently. Sub-Committee on Technology 2.2.16 A technical sub-committee was established in 1994 to advise and evaluate the options available for the preservation of the world’s heritage, including notably the creation of surrogate copies of documents at risk, and to make recommendations to the International Advisory Committee. It brings together experts in the field of preservation and digitisation, from libraries and archives and from business. It covers audiovisual and electronic media as well as the more traditional documentary media.

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2.2.17 The Sub-Committee on Technology has met four times, most recently in London in 1997. It has itself been aware of the difficulty of completing its work in any rapid time frame, when this is dependent on international meetings of experts who are already fully committed on other fronts. This, however, seems to the evaluation team to be inevitable as long as such work has to be undertaken by expert volunteers. It is better to take longer in order to produce sound advice rather than to risk compromising the integrity of the Programme by rushing into print with inadequate counsel. 2.2.18 This Sub-Committee was given three tasks by the IAC - to prepare a guide to standards, recommended practices and reference literature related to the preservation of documents of all kinds; to investigate the harmonisation of access to digital documents within the context of the Memory of the World Programme and to review the existing documentation on digital standards. 2.2.19 The Sub-Committee on Technology considered first the applicability of digitisation of documents to the overall Programme. Its report was accepted by the IAC and published in 1995 as Appendix D to the Memory of the World: General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage. It is intended that this be issued as a separate document in the future. The next task, begun in Prague and taken further in London, was to investigate existing standards for preservation and access. This resulted in an important product, Safeguarding the Documentary Heritage. A Guide to Standards, Recommended Practices and Reference Literature Related to the Preservation of Documents of All Kinds, presented in draft to the International Advisory Committee at its third meeting in Tashkent in 1997. 2.2.20 The group responsible for a system for harmonising access to electronic documents are developing Document Type Definitions (DTDs) within the SGML language to create the necessary HTML protocols to package information. This is designed to permit the access to information using any Internet search software and thus avoid the danger of the name of the Memory of the World Programme being exploited by commercial software providers. The first results of this initiative have recently been released internally. A related activity is the production by the National Library of the Czech Republic and a commercial partner, Albertina icome Praha, of an interactive CD-ROM (with a web browzer interface linking to Internet resource sites) providing detailed technical guidance on the digitization of rare library materials, including a proposal for an SGML- based data container. 2.2.21 A suggestion has been made that future publications of the Sub-Committee be bound separately from the guidelines for the Programme. This would enable the documents to be updated more easily when necessary. 2.2.22 The Sub-Committee on Technology has emphasised, among other things: • That digitisation is not the right, or the only, approach for every preservation need • That digitisation is not the primary focus of the Programme: the preservation of the original

documents will in many cases be the first priority • That where digitisation is undertaken, high standards of resolution are essential for the

images, and • That, in the case of electronic texts, the use of standards such as HTML to make them

searchable and intelligible is highly desirable. 2.2.23 It is clear from the published work of the Sub-Committee on Technology to date, from the working papers from its meetings, and from the attendance of one of the evaluation team at a meeting of the Sub-Committee: • That the Sub-Committee has been well chosen to represent the necessary fields of expertise

for the fulfilment of this aspect of the Programme • That a great deal of important ground has already been covered by the Sub-Committee's

discussions and published or proposed output; and that this stands up well to external expert scrutiny

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• That its discussion papers have been well researched and documented and its Secretariat efficiently handled

• That Sub-Committee members have been at pains to identify, and learn from, existing work

undertaken in this field by other organisations and individuals, including the relevant NGOs, the European Union, the Commission on Preservation and Access and its European counterpart; and other UNESCO programmes such as the RAMP studies

• That there has been full and open debate on the competing priorities of preservation and

access; careful weight has been given to the importance of assessing the appropriateness of solutions and of technological applications to individual contexts; and in particular no a priori assumption has been made that digitisation is an end worth striving for in itself or that it should be seen as commanding a higher priority than the preservation of the original documents.

2.2.24 The evaluation team does not believe, as some have represented, that there is any question of the Sub-Committee's second-guessing or unnecessarily duplicating the work of the NGOs in this field, or that the NGOs themselves should directly provide all the technical expertise that the Programme requires. But the International Advisory Committee's attention is drawn to the need to ensure that the voice of its experts does adequately reflect the current international consensus in these matters, which may call for closer consultation with the NGOs. Sub-Committee on Marketing 2.2.25 The marketing sub-committee, which is also responsible for addressing legal issues, has met once - in Oslo in July 1996. It produced an important series of recommendations for awareness-raising, fund-raising, marketing and distribution, as well as legal and ethical issues (‘Memory of the World’: Notes from the First Meeting of the Marketing Sub-Committee, Oslo, 10-12 July 1996). These will need to be revisited periodically as the Programme takes shape. 2.2.26 The Sub-Committee’s recommendations form an invaluable pool of ideas which the evaluators commend and endorse. In the evaluation team’s view, however, the proper development of the Memory of the World Programme along the lines recommended by the Sub-Committee will require the commitment of substantial human resources, particularly for marketing and sponsorship. To give this effect, either the Programme’s own human resources must be commensurately increased or the responsibilities must be successfully devolved to other partners such as the NGOs or the national commissions of UNESCO. Fund-raising is self-evidently the most difficult task before UNESCO and the International Advisory Committee. Initial efforts at Programme fund-raising had very little result up to the date of this evaluation (with the notable exception of Norway’s generosity in funding the Slave Trade Archives Project through NORAD), with the result that whilst applications for project support continue to come in, there are few resources to advance them. In addition, marketing requires a clearer definition of the product. One survey respondent emphasised the need for a detailed five-year plan to show to potential sponsors. 2.2.27 As noted above, the International Advisory Committee at its 1997 Tashkent meeting recommended that suitable funding be provided to ensure that the Memory of the World Programme can be better publicised and to help search for extra-budgetary resources. 2.2.28 Some further recommendations by the Sub-Committee, which may prove eminently sensible in the long run, were not capable of immediate realisation because they depended on other things being in place first. For example, the Sub-Committee recommended that a small number of distinguished persons should be invited to become patrons of the Programme (dependent on sponsorship having been found to give the Programme a meaningful dimension; and on Programme committees being widely established). 2.2.29 It also identified target big businesses worldwide which might be approached for sponsorship. Whilst by no means questioning this proposal, the evaluators take the view that approaching business sponsors is a task requiring special skills and training for which, if any real progress is to be made, a specialist marketing consultant needs to be employed by the Programme. It is clearly not a task that can be undertaken alongside his other duties by the

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Programme Officer. It also should be noted that expert capabilities in business case formulation and international fund-raising are also required. The right strategic marketer may or may not possess these skills and additional specialists may need to be contracted. In the sponsorship context the evaluators also noted that some respondents could not see a big attraction in corporate sponsorship and observed that the standard methods of funding are drying up. 2.2.30 The Sub-Committee on Marketing also noted that there were many other projects (individual, collaborative and networked) at national levels seeking to achieve broadly the same objectives as the Memory of the World Programme and that steps should be taken to affiliate them or ‘label’ them selectively as Memory of the World projects. 2.2.31 This is a recommendation which the evaluation team wholeheartedly endorses, and indeed one which it reached independently before being given access to the Sub-Committee’s notes. The team would like to see the principle still more widely extended to cover other regional and international as well as national efforts in this field (See Appendix D). Indeed, the evaluators see a degree of co-ordination and formal collaboration as essential if there is not to be wasteful duplication of effort and dilution of available resources. 2.2.32 Marketing must also address awareness raising and other matters within the internal stakeholders of the Programme itself. In this regard a survey response queried whether sufficient activity is underway to inform specialist bodies (rather than major institutions), such as historical societies, research institutes, etc., which may be repositories of holdings eligible for Memory of the World status (at least at the regional or national level). 2.2.33 Better mechanisms are clearly needed to provide the Programme’s interested constituency with information about the Programme and its parties. Marketing activities might also extend to the development and dissemination of CD-ROMs containing Programme-related content such as its Reports and Guidelines, although eventually the Internet will make such a stand-alone process obsolete. Co-ordination of production quality, usability and related standards is a principal criterion here, and would provide an example to others wishing to produce new technology products as access vehicles for the Memory of the World Programme. 2.2.34 As stated elsewhere in this report, care will be needed to ensure that marketing does not become the principal end of the Programme in itself, with the focus shifting away from rescuing and recording the endangered heritage to promoting the more glamorous aspects of the world’s documentary heritage because products based on these can more easily attract sponsors. Concerns were also expressed to the evaluators that products should cater for real needs, either in terms of the public (e.g. awareness raising) or researchers. Cost also was an issue. 2.2.35 With heed to these provisos, however, the evaluation team supports the efforts that will now be made to sell the Programme's products and to reinvest any resulting income into the Programme. National and Regional Committees 2.2.36 UNESCO has formally invited Member States to form National Memory of the World Committees and to establish their own Memory of the World Registers. These National Committees are intended firstly to select projects according to the criteria agreed upon and submit them to the International Advisory Committee and, thereafter, to follow them up. It is intended that committee membership should include experts able to make an active contribution to the projects and users' representatives. 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 organisation. Persons submitting projects must ensure that the rights of the owners of the holdings or collections are protected. 2.2.37 The initial response to UNESCO’s invitation, however, has been disappointing. While there has been an expectation that the Programme would have received swift practical support from governments, institutions, librarians and archivists and other interested parties, this has not sufficiently materialised. To date, only a minority of Member States has replied. Memory of the World National Committees have been set up in 27 countries and others are considering the

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creation of such a Committee. In spite of the formal invitation, there is an impression that many countries are barely familiar with the Programme and their public not at all. 2.2.38 The evaluators have been advised of a number of significant hindrances to the establishment of National Committees. Reasons may vary from country to country. A number preferred to await approval of the Statutes for the IAC by the Executive Board of UNESCO. In some countries, it is difficult to form National Committees for the Memory of the World Programme because of internal structural complications. For example, in Tunisia, internal interdepartmental difficulties (different departments having different responsibilities for matters relating to the documentary heritage and relationships with UNESCO) had made the forming of a National Committee very slow although nominations are now being drafted. Jordan and Syria have indicated that they have national institutions which are already performing the role of a National Committee. Some countries have set up committees without informing UNESCO. None, however, have refused to set up a National Committee. 2.2.39 The role of the UNESCO National Commissions with regard to archives and to libraries and the Memory of the World Programme varies enormously, from the case where the national archives and/or library is represented on the National Commission of UNESCO (the directors of the national archives of Poland and Sweden, for example, chair their National Memory of the World Committees) and can therefore influence its thinking, to the opposite extreme where it has no contact. In some countries the archival profession is very little involved with the UNESCO National Commission (in some cases it is reported that the national archives had not been approached or briefed at all). Responses to the evaluation survey indicated that many senior archive and library professionals were not involved in, or were not made aware of, the efforts of the existing national committees. Indeed, colleagues from the same country were sometimes differently minded as to whether or not there was a National Committee in existence. 2.2.40 Once established, it is important to nurture these committees. Concern was expressed to the evaluation team that the dispersed nature of the Programme may contribute to the eventual decline of the National Committees, especially when resources are limited and there do not exist stable ways of inter-institutional co-operation. Concerns also were expressed that participants in a Committee may lose heart if their holdings are not taken into consideration by being accorded World Register status (this being stated as an important reason to quickly put into place the national Memory of the World register initiatives). 2.2.41 There are a number of procedural matters which also require resolution to stimulate and maintain momentum of the Memory of the World National Committees. For instance, it is not clear whether National Committees can use the Memory of the World emblem in localised versions for groupings of selected documents to National Registers, or if the decision must pass in every instance exclusively via the International Advisory Committee. The procedures to be followed for regional and national relationships and actions are not incorporated in the statutes of the International Advisory Committee. 2.2.42 The National Memory of the World Committees are very important if the Programme’s efforts are to bear satisfactory results. Unfortunately, there is some overlap in some areas of the world between the Programme and regional bodies with like objective which could be counter productive. For instance the 1993 Pan African Conference on Preservation and Conservation of Library and Archive Materials (representing 24 countries) agreed that the formation of National Preservation Committees in every African country was essential. The idea was supported by ICA and IFLA and JIPCA was formed. This body now assumes the responsibility to promote and co-ordinate preservation activities in Africa with JIPCA National Preservation Committees formed in Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Seychelles, South Africa, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Mali, Zimbabwe, Chad and Namibia (it is not known to the evaluators how effective these committees are). 2.2.43 While the wording of JIPCA’s Terms of Reference for their National Preservation Committees includes “Where appropriate, co-operate with UNESCO’s MOW Programme in identification of documentary heritage of world, regional and national significance; and the inclusion of selected materials in the appropriate world, regional and national register,” it is reported that there has been some confusion regarding the aims and objectives of Memory of the World’s National Committees in Africa and the JICPA National Preservation Committees.

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2.2.44 While progress in the formation of National Committees has been slow, they should continue to be promoted. Further efforts should be made through the UNESCO General Conference and the UNESCO National Commissions to gather up-to-date information on which countries have established a National Committee. It is hoped that after the IAC Tashkent meeting when the first World Register was published, the Programme will become more generally known and that most of the member states will set up their own committees (or advise UNESCO of what national bodies perform the de facto role of National Memory of the World Committees). 2.2.45 The evaluators are not persuaded that the National Commissions of UNESCO are in every case the best vehicles for promoting National Committees, which might perhaps be better taken forward in co-operation with the international NGOs, their regional branches, and the respective national or regional professional bodies. 2.2.46 The African example above illustrates the fact that there are regional key players which should be integrated and harmonised into the Memory of the World Programme. In this context the Programme also promotes the concept of Regional Memory of the World Committees. These bodies can influence the forming of National Committees and can also serve a major role in relating the IAC and its Sub-Committees to the National Committees. Regional Committees can also provide critical feedback to the Programme regarding the particular environments and constraints characterising different areas of the world. 2.2.47 Certain significant Programme initiatives have already taken place in the regional context. An Experts Meeting was held in December 1994, in Kuala Lumpur for the definition of an Asian component of the "Memory of the World" Programme (attended by participants from 20 countries). The meeting was attended by experts from 20 countries in Asia/Pacific and resulted in the establishment of an Interim Secretariat for the Regional "Memory of the World" Programme Co-ordinating Committee through the National Archives of Malaysia. A Sub-Regional meeting on the Memory of the World was held in Budapest from 9-10 March 1995. The meeting was attended by participants from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Prior to the International Advisory Committee Meeting in Tashkent a Central Asian regional meeting was held. 2.3 Relationships with NGOs and Other Key Stakeholders 2.3.1 Under the Statutes of the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme, the IAC is mandated to “seek co-operation with competent international non-governmental organisations such as the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)”. In practice the Programme is associated with the following NGOs: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International Council on Archives (ICA), International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT), International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), International Association of Sound Archives (IASA) and FID. 2.3.2 While the concept of the Memory of the World programme was initiated with the close involvement of NGOs representing the professions and institutions responsible for the documentary heritage internationally, there are some differences of opinion about the degree to which they have been effectively involved in the implementation of the Programme. The evaluators’ consultations with officers and other representatives of ICA and IFLA, reveal that these NGOs do not feel that their voice has been sufficiently heard or consulted throughout the development of the Programme, or that they have been made partners in the Programme to the extent that they feel desirable. 2.3.3 While organisations such as IFLA, ICA and IASA have been specifically commissioned to undertake key publications and other work for the Programme, some leading NGO members or officers play a major role in the International Advisory Committee or Sub-Committees, the NGOs are invited as observers to the International Advisory Committee meetings, and there is much support for the Memory of the World concept at the executive level of the NGOs concerned, it is clear that the Programme should address the perception that the NGOs are not yet sufficiently involved.

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2.3.4 There are also some important differences in ideology or world view inherent in the distinctions between the various professional groups which require resolution to effectively address the needs of the totality of the world’s documentary heritage. These matters are analysed below in discussions relating to the Memory of the World Register. 2.3.5 A negative comparison has been made between the way the Memory of the World Programme relates to the relevant NGOs and the way UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme operates. The World Heritage Programme is implemented in close co-operation with ICOMOS (in fact it is a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS programme). 2.3.6 The evaluators’ investigations indicate (having, for example, seen the Sub-Committee on Technology at work, where strong efforts are being made to base whatever is being done in practical and achievable operations which take full cognisance of what others are doing) that the Programme participants are fully aware of the importance of these international stakeholder bodies and seeks mechanisms to effectively engage them. Where this has not happened, resources are usually the cause - not enough funds or manpower to cover all the territory and networks necessary to exploit all the potential or to cater to the massive constituency of the Programme. 2.3.7 Part of the problem clearly derives from the fact that the Programme has yet not been able to create a critical mass of public and professional awareness and ownership of its mission and activities (for instance, responses to the questionnaires distributed by members of the evaluation team at IFLA and ICA meetings revealed that a significant number of members had inadequate or no knowledge of the Programme). 2.3.8 Clearly, the organisations representing the professions and institutions caring for, and ensuring access to, the world’s documentary heritage are major stakeholders and must be a part of the process. More conscious effort should be applied to developing essential relationships and co-operative mechanisms to promote efficiency and reduce duplication of effort. For the practical infrastructure of the Programme, the various associated NGOs, such as IFLA, FIAF, ICA, ICOM, etc., potentially have structures and networks that could be utilised to encourage, support, validate, and sponsor individual projects. These can complement UNESCO's own networks and National Memory of the World Committees, which have their own importance in national co-ordination and influencing national governments. 2.4 Methodology and Technical Framework 2.4.1 Besides the essential administrative, advisory, promotional and marketing infrastructure addressed above, fundamental to the current methodology and technical framework of the Memory of the World Programme are: • Processes involved in identification of significant documentary heritage • Processes involved in nomination to Memory of the World status • Preservation and access programmes, initially focusing primarily on pilot projects involving

the preparation, digitisation and digital access to heritage items or holdings • Processes involved in organising regional Programme participation. 2.4.2 The fundamentals of the methodological and technical framework of the Programme are defined by its guidelines and other publications which the evaluators assess as sound, flexible and workable. However, it must be kept in mind that the state of awareness and commitment to preservation and conservation and access to libraries, archives and related materials differs vastly between underdeveloped or developing regions on the one hand and developed countries on the other. 2.4.3 The two basic principles which guide the Memory of the World Programme are the preservation of documents, holdings and collections and the democratisation of access to them. The two principles are intrinsically linked, since access is conducive to protection and preservation ensures access.

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2.4.4 The Programme has defined the essential steps for carrying out any project in the Memory of the World" programme as: selecting and preparing the documents, ensuring that they are placed in a suitable physical environment, photographing them where necessary, digitising 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. 2.4.5 As already elaborated, 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. These have already produced a number of recommendations and publications underpinning the development of the Programme. 2.4.6 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 established in co-operation with IFLA, ICA and other competent professional bodies such as FID, FIAF, FIAT and IASA: (1) an inventory of library collections and archive holdings which have suffered irreparable destruction since 1900, (2) a world list of endangered library collections and archive holdings, and (3) an inventory of ongoing operations to protect documentary heritage. These will constitute an indispensable basis for the Programme along with the Memory of the World Register. 2.4.7 Furthermore, in recognition of the impact of cinema on the world, a list of approximately 15 films each country considers to be representative of its most significant film heritage has been published as part of the centenary of cinema celebration (National Cinematographic Heritage, CII-95/WS/7). The World Register 2.4.8 The IAC's meeting in Paris in 1995 agreed that a Memory of the World Register should be established under the auspices of the Memory of the World Programme. UNESCO member states would be invited to nominate key archives and documents which they felt to be of universal value, but on a highly selective basis - only a few nominations from any individual country - to prevent the Register becoming unworkable or over-weighted towards particular countries or regions. Detailed nomination forms have been developed to expedite the process. 2.4.9 The IAC at its third meeting in Tashkent meeting in 1997 began its role of evaluating nominations for the Register and making recommendations to the Director-General as to what should be included. 2.4.10 In parallel with the global Memory of the World Register, Regional and National Registers are to be established, the latter through National Memory of the World Committees which will determine their content. 2.4.11 The Programme needs a set of rigorous selection procedures to have credibility; otherwise anything can have Memory of the World status. To this end the Programme states that each register - World, Regional and National - must be based on clearly defined criteria for assessing the cultural value of documentary heritage. 2.4.12 The philosophy on which the selection criteria are based has been articulated. 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.

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2.4.13 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. 2.4.14 The criteria are tested by the International Advisory Committee and weighting factors are developed to reflect the relative importance of the criteria. It is acknowledged that the criteria require testing in actual, practice as the Programme evolves. Experience may lead to modifications. The criteria for documentary heritage to be entered on National or Regional Registers are intended to be decided by the relevant National or Regional Committees. It is recommended, however, that the World Register criteria be used as a model. 2.4.15 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. 2.4.16 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 (other routes for nominations of documents may have to be provided so that minorities would not suffer). Particular attention will be paid to reconstructing the memory of peoples in the case of collections or holdings that have been displaced or scattered. 2.4.17 The question of weighting the criteria differently for different types of documents has also been raised within the International Advisory Committee. 2.4.18 Although the above selection criteria have been defined with great professional care, debate is still ongoing about the bestowing of World Register status. This derives principally from within the archive profession where there is a significant body of opinion that considers that archives are, by their very nature, all part of the memory of the world. 2.4.19 An opinion was also expressed to the evaluators that for nominations to Memory of the World status a degree of flexibility is necessary as many nations have no National Committees or might have difficulties in getting nominations through government administrations. The Memory of the World Programme secretariat considers that all fonds and collections could be formally recognised as part of the Memory of the World if National Registers were created. The National Registers could also form a filtering process to control the nominations for inclusion on the World Register. 2.4.20 A concern was also expressed to the evaluation team that here may be too much emphasis on single documents or separate and small collections and that in many countries it may be natural and fruitful also to give attention to continuous (rather than purely historical) national information systems, like church books, land registers, land surveys, vital personal records series (e.g. church registers), cartographical holdings, etc. 2.4.21 The team also notes continuing evolution and dialogue regarding the criteria for selection of documents to the various categories of Memory of the World Register. In this regard it is noted that formal guidelines and statutes for the operations of National and Regional Committees in relation to the International Advisory Committee have not yet been articulated. Associated issues such as those relating to who has the prerogative of local Memory of the World labelling have also yet to be addressed. Whilst clear directions have been given to applicant as to the eligibility criteria, to date no criteria have been set to assist adjudication between possibly competing applications; this is clearly an urgent priority for the future.

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2.4.22 Since the initiation of the Nomination and Register concept, the selection criteria have been continually tested and are being adjusted to accommodate the diverse realities of the communities responsible for the world’s documentary heritage and a growing awareness on the part of the Programme administration of the underlying issues. New ideas, some of which have great potential for further growth and uptake of the Programme and stretch the boundaries of the concept, include: • Expand the concept of eligible documents to those that are in a continual state of growth from

an historical basis, rather than purely historical (as mentioned above in 2.4.20). • Recognise pre-existing preservation and access initiatives which fulfil the broad objectives or

reproduce in microcosm the Memory of the World concept (or parallel new initiatives such as the Memory of the World-recognised Latin American newspaper project, "Memoria de Iberoamerica", which spans twelve countries) as having accredited or affiliate status and permitting use of the Memory of the World label in some special configuration. Such programmes should be actively sought out by UNESCO and approached in this regard. The process should not be exclusively one way.

To take activities based in just one country as examples, Memory of the World status could embrace the well-established programme of the Pacific Manuscripts Microfilm Bureau, or major digitisation and related public Internet access initiatives such as that of the Australian Archives and Australia’s National Cultural Network. Another example might be the extensive documentary audiovisual collection being developed by the National Cultural Centre of Vanuatu, which leads the Pacific Island states in its ongoing recording of customs and is taking particular care to ensure the preservation of this unique record. Oral history initiatives also fall into this category, although the concept of their importance has already been acknowledged by the Programme.

2.4.23 Responses to the evaluation survey included a considerable degree of scepticism about the value of having a World Register at all. Some saw the work needed to set it up and maintain it as an unwelcome diversion of resources that could be more effectively applied in direct rescue and preservation measures. Some urged a more open-ended approach to the Register, feeling that it was a snub to have their recommendations rejected, that national experts were in the best position to determine what should represent their country within the world register, and stating that they failed to understand why numerical limitations to registration were necessary. These perceptions will need to be further addressed as the roles of regional and national registers and their respective committees are more clearly defined. The International Advisory Committee at Tashkent noted that all collections could be formally recognised as part of the Memory of the World if National Registers were created. 2.4.24 At the time of the evaluation team’s meeting in Paris, nominations for inclusion on the World Register were awaiting preliminary consideration by the International Advisory Committee meeting in Tashkent. When this review began 33 countries had already made preliminary proposals for the consideration of the IAC. Several new applications per week were being received and some 40 applications were awaiting processing. The evaluators examined sample applications both in hard copy and on-line at the Programme's office in UNESCO. Currently the decision on what goes forward to the International Advisory Committee is left to the Programme Officer alone. The nomination form clearly states the criteria and the covering letter requests selected images either in TIFF, GIF or JPEG formats or else as slides or photographs which can be scanned and returned. The ultimate intention is to maintain the Register, including sample images in electronic form, and make it available over the Internet. In the initial phase, applications are mounted on the Memory of the World web site. 2.4.25 Whilst the evaluators can see the value of digitisation of nominations as a promotional exercise, once the Director-General has approved specific nominations for entry on the Register, the IAC may wish to consider reserving electronic access to these definitive cases rather than mounting the nominations (which may require further work or evaluation, in which case premature publicity might raise false expectations, and failure to be accepted might cause annoyance or embarrassment).

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2.4.26 It is clearly impossible for the Programme Officer to evaluate all applications on a worldwide basis single-handed, and yet, as several of the respondents to the evaluation survey remarked, it is essential that strict selection criteria be applied and be seen to be applied. The tendency will be for each recommendation to come in with bold assertions of outstanding heritage importance, which patently require evaluation. One example reviewed (chosen without prejudice to illustrate the above point) stated that ‘The Vienna Dioscurides can be considered as the most important pharmaceutical source of the Ancient World’. Is this kind of statement susceptible to challenge? By whom? Who makes the correct decision? 2.4.27 The challenges of criteria and selection were directly addressed by the IAC meeting in Tashkent, which established three working groups respectively to: (1) refine and develop the criteria, (2) develop guidelines for the application of the criteria to specific circumstances and (3) develop procedures for the processing of incoming nominations. 2.4.28 The evaluators strongly support this initiative, and in particular the direct involvement of members of the IAC in this activity. However, the evaluators recommend that this be confined primarily to the level of guidance and policy making, it is clear that IAC members do not have time to be an executive operational body. An expanded Secretariat is essential to carry out the majority of the work involved in processing nominations and in providing detailed recommendations as to their status. 2.4.29 Hitherto there has been no process for expert evaluation, and the process has been mostly driven by the Memory of the World Programme Officer. It is therefore perhaps surprising that the International Advisory Committee already felt itself sufficiently informed to make its first recommendations for inclusion on the World Register at its Tashkent meeting. The evaluation team representative at that meeting noted that the selection process was too hurried and subjective to allow for quality and consistent judgements. 2.4.30 However, it is envisaged that application papers will in future be sent out for expert evaluation before being put to the International Advisory Committee and that two or three members (or others) nominated by the Committee will evaluate each application. The role of the newly appointed Bureau of IAC in this respect needs to be carefully defined. 2.4.31 Different tiers of evaluation seem to the evaluators to be required: • Administrative, to ensure that the forms have been suitably filled in and that the document/s

described broadly meet the Memory of the World criteria, and • Expert, to determine whether the items so represented are truly of world heritage

significance. National and Regional Registers 2.4.32 In its endeavour to raise awareness of the importance of preservation, UNESCO has urged individual Member States to establish their own Memory of the World Registers through the work of National Committees. Associated issues are discussed above in the section devoted to National and Regional Committees. 2.4.33 It is too early to assess the effectiveness of any regional or national registers, but the evaluators support the establishment of further committees, both national and (where practicable) regional, and the evaluation team recommends that their progress be monitored within the Programme over the next few years. Pilot Projects 2.4.34 A key strategy in the growth of the Programme has been the development of pilot projects involving the production of CD-ROMs of significant items or collections, and in some cases their associated conservation treatment. The digitisation and CD-ROM components of these pilots are discussed in Section 3.3 below. A list of projects completed and under way at the time of the evaluation is given in Appendix E.

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2.4.35 Some thirty other projects are under consideration. Extra-budgetary funding for some of these is being negotiated. This includes Norwegian funding for the Slave Trade Archives Project 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 at Arles, France, in close co-operation with UNESCO. 2.4.36 Comment was made to the evaluation team that, while there have been specific projects launched either as prototypes or on their own merit by UNESCO, these did not have any specific endorsement from the International Advisory Committee (although the members witnessed some demonstrations at their first two meetings). Although there has been some informal consultation on some projects, there has been no regular and formal one. It was noted, however, that the Programme was launched some five years ago in 1992, and that the Director-General could not wait forever while the Committee (which did not exist officially before 1996) defined the purposes and rules of the Programme, that some examples had to be shown to convince people and governments of the possibility and worthiness of such an effort, and that there were pressures from Member States to support specific projects. This perception that the Memory of the World Secretariat at UNESCO in Paris should not ‘jump the gun’ but should consult first before making decisions about projects, should increasingly become a non issue as co-ordination mechanisms are put in place between the IAC and Paris. 2.4.37 One respondent noted that the pilot projects are very heterogeneous. While this had its positive side (showing the diversity of the fields covered by the Programme) it was felt that it might have been more efficient to choose a field of application, or a theme, which would have strengthened up the pilot project phase. With specific regard to Africa, an observation was made that, because the state of awareness and commitment to preservation and conservation and access to libraries, archives and related materials are vastly different in Africa and developed countries, there may be a need for pilot projects to meet these peculiar situations, and in the process increase our knowledge of how to handle African situation. However, it was felt that such pilots must only be located in countries prepared to provide some financial and technical support in addition to external support. Regional Consultations 2.4.38 Programme growth and co-ordination has been promoted by a number of conferences of Memory of the World stakeholders, notably the Oslo conference, and regional meetings in Pultusk, Poland; Budapest, Hungary: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 2.4.39 Regional consultations and the international conference have enabled more case studies to be presented and the reasons for the risks to the world heritage to be more clearly evaluated. Official Languages and Translations 2.4.40 UNESCO has six official working languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian) The Memory of the World Guidelines have been translated from the original English into all working languages. The other Programme publications are available in English and French. All translations are made by UNESCO. 2.4.41 Given the position of international authority aspired to by the Programme, it is clearly of importance that faithful translations (particularly scientific and technical) are engaged in this process. The evaluators draw attention to the fact that in some cases translation errors have occurred or that non-native speakers have produced texts in languages other than their own which require considerable correction. 2.4.42 It is also recommended that the Programme allow Internet access to its publications in all UNESCO official languages.

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Legal, Intellectual Property and Ethical Considerations 2.4.43 The Programme is particularly mindful of its legal and financial context. Working in partnership in an international context means that a legal framework is an absolute necessity if the Memory of the World Programme 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. 2.4.44 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. 2.4.45 The interim 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. This should involve a Working Group of legal experts and of representatives of the NGOs and in co-operation with other interested parties including the European Commission, the G7 working party on ‘The Electronic Library’ pilot project, the Working Group on Intellectual Property of All European Academies and the US National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage. 2.4.46 These responsibilities include the ethical dimension which is currently being accorded particular attention within UNESCO which this year hosted INFOethics, an International Congress on Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Digital Information 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. 2.4.47 There is concern in UNESCO that, although the growth of cyberspace offered unlimited access to information, there was increasingly a trend to provide this at a financial cost to the user. Within the context of the Memory of the World Programme, the key issue is the right of access. UNESCO is striving for this right of access to as many fonds and collections as possible. In this way it is promoting a strong ‘public domain’, accessible on-line and off-line, and the concept that libraries and archives should be part of a ‘global information commons’. 2.4.48 A concern was voiced at the IAC meeting in Tashkent that this conference involved too narrow a range of participants. UNESCO has indicated that representatives of FID, IASA, FIAF, FIAT and other interested NGOs would be welcome to attend any future conference on the subject. The International Advisory Committee formally recommended at Tashkent that UNESCO invite Member States to (1) enhance accessibility to public domain information, (2) develop strong ‘global information commons’ accessible on-line and off-line, for educational, scientific and cultural purposes, and (3) help formulate national policies for the role of libraries, archives and documentation centres as gateways to the information society. 2.4.49 The Sub-Committee on Marketing also raised questions as to whether the owners of the physical media should be entitled to royalties. Another problem defined was how to share a percentage of a product when distributed online. In general it was agreed that use should be non-commercial. Permission to exploit a work commercially should be obtained from UNESCO. Any money gained from commercial exploitation should go to the owners to be used for preservation of originals. Unauthorised use should be discouraged. The Sub-Committee agreed that contractual arrangements were important to ensure fairness to all parties. It also felt that decisions should be made regarding rights administration. It was agreed that a contract or memorandum was necessary for each clearance. It was also agreed that guidelines and a code

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of ethics should be developed. For instance, wherever avoidable, UNESCO should avoid dealing with disputed material (e.g. property whose ownership is controversial). 2.4.50 The Sub-Committee on Technology is also concerned with the ethical dimension, particularly with regard to technology which allows images to be manipulated and improved. It was agreed that for primary data there should be no manipulation - the raw data should be available for scholars and researchers. 2.4.51 While from the above synopsis of Programme activity, it is apparent that its officers are mindful of their responsibility to address the fundamental issues involved, the evaluators stress the need for the practical implementation of the solutions proposed. Training 2.4.52 At the 1995 meeting of the International Advisory Committee it was agreed that any training performed within the Programme would be part of a specific project and would be task-orientated. General professional training would continue to be part of PGI activities. Notwithstanding this ‘division of labour’, the evaluators stress an essential need to maintain preservation and conservation capabilities globally through training and education. Despite the sophisticated state of development of preservation and conservation knowledge and expertise in some areas of the world, in many others the training of technicians and custodians in these fields is still extremely deficient and at a precarious level. 2.4.53 Although there has been some training activity with Programme support (regional training courses in Caracas, at the Centre for Preservation of Paper of the National Library of Venezuela and in Prague, at the Digitisation Centre of the National Library of the Czech Republic), this activity has been a relatively minor component of the Programme. The Programme should endeavour be cognisant of existing training programmes and develop strategies to support training.

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3. MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME: PRODUCTS This section addresses the following Programme evaluation requirements: • To assess its results, relevance, and impact on promoting documentary heritage, raising

awareness of its importance and the need to preserve it and enhance access to it • To assess its pilot projects • To examine the work of the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees

together with the existing National Committees. Whilst the previous section addresses issues of Programme process and procedures, this section assesses its tangible production to date. By products, the evaluation team intends the practical output of the Programme (directed to both its internal and public constituencies) as manifested in promotional material and devices (e.g. brochures, exhibitions, conferences, media productions, and the Memory of the World web site), and publications and new technology vehicles such as CD-ROMS and the Internet itself. It also covers the related output (as far as it is known) of Memory of the World National Committees and others supporting the Programme. In this context the evaluators also refer the reader to Appendix B and C which provide further contributions to the evaluation through the opinions of Memory of the World participants and stakeholders themselves. 3.1 Promotional Material and Devices 3.1.1 In this dimension the primary activity has been the development and dissemination of a colour promotional brochure. It has been mailed to all National Commissions, Permanent Delegations, UNESCO Offices and is also distributed on the occasion of relevant conferences, seminars, etc. held by UNESCO, ISESCO, IFLA, ICA, IASA and other associated NGOs. 4,000 copies were produced in English and 2,000 in French. The general response of the evaluators and those who provided input was that the brochure was informative, attractive and high quality. However, if part of its purpose is to appeal for Programme monetary support, this is not at once evident (although there is mention that contributions can be made to the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme). It is also expensive to produce and distribute in this A4 format (although sponsorship might negate this issue). 3.1.2 Exhibitions have also been suggested within the Memory of the World Programme as a means to advance professional and public awareness, but this avenue has not yet been exploited by the Programme office itself. However, more locally, it appears that some exhibition activity is beginning to take place, notably the exhibit “Preservation and Access: Originals and Copies,” organised in close connection with the 1st International Memory of the World Conference in Oslo in 1996. The IAC Tashkent meeting recommended further pursuit of this promotional strategy - and in particular a display about the Programme at the next General Conference of UNESCO. 3.1.3 Exhibitions could also provide a useful way to interpret for the public the value of those items and holdings which may be precious for the whole of humanity, but generally comprehensible only to specialists. 3.1.4 Programme growth has also been promoted by a number of conferences of Memory of the World stakeholders, notably the Oslo conference (attended by 150 delegates from 65 countries), and regional meetings in Poland, Hungary, Malaysia and Uzbekistan. However, these activities, while useful in Programme developmental terms have so far been by nature preaching to the converted. The Programme has not yet used the device of conferences for broader public awareness raising. 3.1.5 The Programme centrally has also not used the media for broad advancement of Programme publicity, but the IAC has recommended in two meetings the production of a promotional film or video. However, on a national level some activity has already been taking place (for example, the length documentary released in October 1997 by Uzbekistan national television on nomination of an important Koranic manuscript to the Memory of the World Register. There (as has been identified by the Sub-Committee on Marketing) is clearly much greater potential to be realised using radio, television and film for Programme promotional purposes.

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3.1.6 As noted above, the International Advisory Committee at its 1997 Tashkent meeting formally recommended to UNESCO that suitable funding be provided to ensure that the Memory of the World Programme can be better publicised. Memory of the World Website 3.1.7 The rapid spread of the Internet is becoming a key factor for accessibility - it is changing the world rapidly and will permanently change the ways we access cultural heritage. The World Wide Web is a most important factor in disseminating and supporting the Programme. Great advances have occurred since the Programme was established five years ago, necessitating often radically new ways of approaching the fundamental concepts of the Programme revolving around access to the documentary heritage through new technologies. Online access to digital or digitised holdings, online exchange of information between institutions and between them and their public and direct email access to those involved or clients of the Programme is becoming part of the accepted landscape. Significant and growing local or national networks allowing access to cultural holdings create opportunities for the Programme to exploit others’ activity in this regard through building an interconnected chain of networks with similar objectives. UNESCO, for example, is supporting a cultural network - HeritageNet - for the Central Asian countries. 3.1.8 In keeping with these current trends in globally networked access to data about organisations and initiatives, the Memory of the World Programme has created its own web site. From simple beginnings it is evolving multiple functionalities serving the needs of both clients and the Memory of the World administration. 3.1.9 Site design and structure follows most currently accepted norms. Navigation is simple and straightforward. There is increasing variety and interactivity in the site, but, as is the case with all such sites at the present time, its full potential in delivering actual reproductions of documentary items is limited by technological and transmission constraints (e.g. limited bandwidth, data storage capacity). These restrictions are particularly a problem in preventing full exploitation of the site for access to moving images of any duration. Any high degree of interactivity is also currently hindered by these constraints (and also by the cost of producing sophisticated interactive environments). 3.1.10 Currently the page is mainly an information-gathering site. Clients may access basic information about the Programme, find data (and search and view actual images - in thumbnail and enlarged form) about Memory of the World projects and nominations of holdings to Memory of the World status, view a virtual memory of the world environment and download Memory of the World publications. The site allows client feedback. There are also links to related heritage organisation web sites (including UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme) and those which provide professional and practical input into documentary preservation and the applications of new technologies. 3.1.11 Evaluation survey responses with respect to the web site were sparse compared to comments in other survey categories. This highlights the fact that the Internet is by no means the sort of ubiquitous global communications system that it has become to users in many developed countries. 3.1.12 The site increasingly also is being used effectively to add efficiency to Memory of the World Programme administration by allowing access to and downloading the Programme’s key publications (saving processing, postage, distribution and printing costs), and by allowing internal Programme stakeholders such as the International Advisory Committee economical web access to documents for administration purposes (as most effectively done to support the recent IAC Meeting in Tashkent) 3.1.13 The fact that the site can have a secure private (internal) side as well as a public (external) side offers considerable scope for allowing an organised virtual information and communications infrastructure to service the global operations of Programme administration (e.g. between the Paris office and IAC and Sub-Committee members).

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3.1.14 The site has a well-designed look and feel. However, it is noticeable that the graphic design of the site does not exploit the Memory of the World logo label which appears to have been very favourably accepted by Programme stakeholders. There are also some improvements which could be made in the management of the site - particularly noticeable is the fact that metadata information for each page is such that printouts do not have an automatic reference to the URL and the specific file and page. It was also noted that certain visual images on the site which were viewed by the evaluation team studied were not error-free (for example, an historical map had been presented upside down). 3.1.15 It should be noted that although the site is becoming an increasingly effective tool for communications and information dissemination, it will be many years before the Internet can be considered as a means of universal access to the documentary heritage because of the numbers of people who do not have the means to access it. Some representatives of the developing world emphasised that it was seen in their countries to be a very low priority to start preparing web pages, etc. when the majority of archival material was not even listed. At the IAC’s Tashkent meeting comment was made that the world was dividing into two new groupings of countries - those with access to good quality, cheap communications and those without such access, and that the Programme needed to ensure that the poorer states do not fall further behind. 3.1.16 In this context UNESCO advised that it was possible to make a specific application for help with software, hardware and training to be funded by UNESCO (although not via the Memory of the World Programme). UNESCO is also allowing its web site to be used to put up web pages for poorer countries unable to do this for themselves. UNESCO has also indicated that it offers UNESCO funding to assist the linking of existing national archival networks to make them more international (although the evaluators heard objections to this on the grounds that it assists the richer countries to improve facilities further when UNESCO should rather be helping the poorer). 3.1.17 The Memory of the World web site has a good foundation and, despite the legitimate concerns of those with no or limited access to the Internet, it is an essential information tool for those who can use global communications networks. It is recommended that its potential be further explored and developed. The evaluators recommend a professional review of the site (in the context of the Programme’s information infrastructure, communications, marketing, and archiving requirements) in order to provide further recommendations for its development. 3.1.18 The International Advisory Committee has formally recommended that the expansion of the concept of cultural networks such as the proposed HeritageNet in Central Asia be urgently considered. The evaluators endorse this direction which supports the electronic linking of significant Internet virtual library archive, museum and gallery initiatives and networks aimed at enhancing information and cultural content and also the linking of significant collections and items from around the world to create virtual collections. Such links will also incorporate on-line resources helping others preserve and enhance access to the documentary heritage. 3.1.19 Notwithstanding the contribution of a web presence to the Programme’s objectives, it should not be viewed as the Programme itself. It should not be defined as the goal and it should not be overestimated as a tool. 3.2 Memory of the World Publications 3.2.1 The Memory of the World Programme has developed a number of paper-based publications. These were either created in the process of developing a fuller factual understanding of the Memory of the World Programme context or intended as specific guides to Memory of the World material or as guidelines for the care of documentary material. The principal Programme publications can also be downloaded from the Memory of the World web site. All Memory of the World Programme publications are free. 3.2.2 All publications are professionally put together, some being in stapled computer or photocopy printout format, whilst others have a colour, graphically designed cover and are in bound form. They were generally warmly received by evaluation survey respondents, although there were some comments that the publications should be more attractive graphically. Certainly a balance must be reached between cost and quality.

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3.2.3 However, it is notable that they have no ISBN number, no cataloguing-in-print information, and in some cases the translations from the original language into one of the other official UNESCO languages is not as precise as one might wish (as commented on above). These issues should be addressed in forthcoming editions of existing publications or in new works of the Programme. 3.2.4 All publications are authoritative, having been composed by experts in their fields, and generally meet the objectives set in the commissioning of each work and have the potential to be useful tools in progressing the Programme’s objectives. Nevertheless, in a professional context where UNESCO is positioning itself as an international authority in this domain, it is important that (where reasonable) all scientific or historical facts or best practice technical guidelines meet peer review criteria before dissemination beyond the internal participants of the Memory of the World Programme. 3.2.5 In areas of developing technology in an uncertain terrain it is also important that publications be open-minded about possible future developments and that texts are regularly up-dated. In this context the Sub-Committee on Technology is to be commended on building into its process its own post-publication evaluation phase, to take account of criticisms and comments, and to make proposals for reissuing them in a revised and updated form. The evaluators strongly support the periodic updating and reissue of Memory of the World publications (where appropriate) and their wide availability through the Programme or its partner organisations. 3.2.6 The evaluators noticed that significant criticisms were raised by respondents with regard to the marketing, availability and distribution of Memory of the World publications. It is recommended that a process be put in place to maximise access to information about these and to develop an efficient distribution mechanism for those in paper-based form. 3.2.7 It was also noted that there were some local publications relating to the Memory of the World Programme (e.g. Lourdes Blanco, Notes for the Memory of the World Project: Latin American Point of View, Biblioteca Nacional, Centro Nacional de Conservacion Documental, Caracas, 1992), but the full extent of these was not clear to the evaluation team. It would be useful if National Committees and others would provide the Memory of the World Paris office with copies of national and regional publications relating to the Programme. 3.3 CD-ROMs 3.3.1 To date the Memory of the World Programme has used new technologies to create enhanced access to documentary material through two mechanisms: • CD-ROMS • Memory of the World web site (discussed above). 3.3.2 During this initial period of the Memory of the World Programme's evolution, the CD-ROM medium has been in vogue as a means to disseminate text, data, graphics, sound, still and moving imagery in interactive ways at relatively low cost across different platforms. As such it was viewed by the Memory of the World Programme as an appropriate vehicle for experimental pilots to demonstrate how digital technology could enhance both scholarly and general access to the richness of various collections of documentary material in different original media and formats. 3.3.3 At the time of the evaluation a number of these CD-ROM pilot projects had been initiated under the Memory of the World label (see Appendix E). 3.3.4 The evaluation team was able to access the content and assess the usability of the CD-ROMS relating to the above projects relating to Czechoslovakia, Yemen, Bulgaria, Turkey and Africa. It also was able to take into consideration the viewpoints of many associated with the Programme regarding these pilots and the appropriateness of the CD-ROM format as a preservation and access vehicle.

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3.3.5 As the explicit purpose of these pilots was both to demonstrate and experiment with the capabilities of digital media in this context, the evaluation provides a timely opportunity to assess progress and the lessons learnt so far. While the pilots where not developed to conform to any centralised developmental strategy, but rather as opportunities arose from interested parties connected in some way with the Memory of the World Programme, the exercise has already borne some very interesting and useful fruit in planning terms. There has been some confusion amongst stakeholders regarding the general availability of the CD-ROMs produced, but it is the understanding of the evaluators that they were produced primarily for experimental and demonstration purposes - prototypes of Memory of the World potential - rather than for a wider commercial market. 3.3.6 While the initial five years has been very much a pioneering establishment and experimental phase, the evaluation provides a valuable opportunity to assess progress from this perspective and to attempt to identify what needs to be done (i.e. by one means or another identifying and quantifying the problems faced). 3.3.7 Products to date give a good idea of the range of possibilities and limitations, testing some of the possible solutions, particularly through digitisation. The CD-ROMs viewed by the evaluators demonstrate a great variety of approaches, scientifically, philosophically, creatively and technically - raising a number of significant questions and dilemmas for the future. They are all individually different but collectively illustrate the potential of new technologies to deliver visual and sound information in interactive and multi-dimensional ways. Considered with their objectives as prototypes in mind, they have played an important role in highlighting key issues in application of new technologies to Programme purposes. In this context they constitute a step towards achieving the Programme’s wider objectives of promoting awareness, access and preservation. However, that step is not completed until all products produced to date are professionally reviewed in order to benefit from this experimental phase. The evaluators strongly recommend that this review be undertaken. 3.3.8 In general terms both the evaluators and new media specialists within the Memory of the World stakeholder group (including the Sub-Committee on Technology) note that, notwithstanding the current attraction and relative popularity of CD-ROMs, they have a number of longer-term disadvantages as a vehicle for investment in the enhancement of access to documentary holdings. The problems associated with them include: • CD-ROMs must be manufactured to specific technical standards to assure maximum quality

and potential longevity • CD-ROMs are likely to be historically a transient medium. They will be superseded by other

technologies. They are hardware and software specific, meaning that the equipment to read them may not be available in the medium to long term. A migration strategy (and a commitment to it) when digitising documentary holdings is also essential.

• CD-ROMs are vulnerable in material preservation terms, in many cases more so than the documents they reproduce in other media.

3.3.9 The argument that CD-ROMs alleviate physical damage to collections by permitting access in an alternative medium, does not necessarily hold if the originals have to be recopied because the digital reproductions can no longer be accessed because of technical obsolescence (or because of bad copying in the first place) - an alternative long-term preservation archiving medium (e.g. stable optical or digital medium) is required. 3.3.10 These facts mean that the considerable investment involved in producing CD-ROMs of documentary holdings must be balanced against the short-term value of the product, the need to preserve the product itself and the need for a reliable migration strategy to a future access format. 3.3.11 The phenomenon of UNESCO and its partners entering into the digital creation, capture and dissemination of documentary material also brings with it a major dilemma - who will have the responsibility to archive these Memory of the World products? How will it be done and to what protocols and standards? Who will resource this process? Who owns the intellectual property in these Memory of the World and joint creations? Will UNESCO be able to protect public domain rights to digital reproductions of documents judged to be of universal significance to humankind?

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3.3.12 Beyond the dimensions of long-term technical and material accessibility and intellectual, legal and ethical control, there are other problems arising specifically from the individual pilot CD-ROMs. These were primarily technical in nature, the most significant being: • Difficulties with installation • Inadequate (or over-complicated) help materials • Low quality digital image capture and resolution • Production quality problems • Difficulties in navigation. 3.3.13 In many cases there was no information on the disc as to what hardware platform it was compatible with. Not all CD-ROMs had all these problems, but all had some of them. 3.3.14 These raise fundamental issues of how people (specialists or public) respond and access the very CD-ROMs intended to promote access and awareness. Complications in installation, navigation and operation - in usability - will simply deter people (unless they are technical specialists with time on their hands) from using these products. Sub-standard text or imagery likewise will drive users away, not just from the product concerned but from the medium in general. 3.3.15 There also is a need for full and consistent cataloguing information regarding the Memory of the World Programme’s CD-ROMs (none has full cataloguing information - which should appear on both the packaging and discs). In all cases there is also inadequate or no marketing information on either the packaging or the discs. As there is also little publicly available information about these products, these facts make it difficult for anyone to obtain or view copies. There is no information on pricing or indication as to where distribution takes place. There is also the broader issue of who will develop and maintain the indexing and search tools for access to the Programme’s digital productions. 3.3.16 These cataloguing and marketing observations also bring with them the need to develop a policy on Memory of the World labelling (in some cases the Memory of the World logo/label appears prominently on both the packaging and in the content of the CD-ROM - in others not). There is no information as to whether these are commercial products or in the public domain. 3.3.17 CD-ROMs and newer alternative standalone technologies/formats (such as DVDs) are likely to continue as access mechanisms for some time. However, as authoring tools, delivery technologies and bandwidth become available there will be a growing tendency for information to be accessed online from central data repositories. Institutions or organisations will maintain centralised digitised holdings and provide networked access to them, increasingly allowing user control over content selection, navigation and manipulation. At this stage, it appears that the temporality of standalone products will place finite limits on their commercialisation. Also, given the difficulties of selling non-entertainment or non-games related standalone products into the market in any significant volume, new technology products may not be a substantial way for the Programme to fund its related objective, preservation. 3.3.18 While the Memory of the World Programme has real potential to be a major contribution of UNESCO to the use of cyberspace, as noted elsewhere in this report, an over-emphasising of the digital aspect of the Programme might have a detrimental effect on its course. While it is true that the aspect of digitisation, brought forward in the Programme’s context repeatedly, has potential in facilitating accessibility to universal documentary information as a basic democratic right, the prerequisite for access remains preservation which will continue to require focused attention. 3.3.19 The evaluators note the Sub-Committee on Technology’s work and responsibility to overview basic standards for new technology applications to documentary preservation and access and recommend a particular concentration on their implementation in the products and online services of the Programme itself. A definition of usability protocols and testing regimes and a critical review of existing products with guidelines for further projects is essential.

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4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This section addresses requirements to: • Αssess the Programme's results, relevance, and impact on promoting documentary heritage,

raising awareness of its importance and the need to preserve it and enhance access to it • Develop action-orientated recommendations with regard to future strategies for the

implementation of the Memory of the World Programme and their practical implications

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• Develop forward-looking recommendations regarding funding and marketing of the Memory of the World Programme

• Provide detailed recommendations as to future development of the Virtual Memory of the World web site.

4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Many comments and recommendations which the evaluators hope will be useful for the future development of the Memory of the World Programme are seeded throughout this report, under the headings of process and product evaluation. They are not all repeated here, but in this final section the focus is on the principal actions required if the Programme is to go forward with increased momentum. 4.1.2 Attention is also drawn to the summary of views of respondents to the evaluation survey, which are given in Appendix B and C. Many of these closely reflect the views of the evaluators. All are worthy of careful attention by those concerned with the Programme’s future development. 4.2 Relevance 4.2.1 What comes across quite strongly from the evaluation activities to date is a commonality of conviction as to: • The importance of the Programme • Its uniqueness • Its potential critical international role in awareness raising among public and decision makers • The necessity to fund and create more effective mechanisms for the administrative

operations of the Programme and its specialist support requirements • The need to market the Programme more effectively • The need to better accommodate differing regional circumstances and perspectives • The need to reconcile concerns among representatives of the archival community that all

archival materials have inherent “Memory of the World” status with other perspectives that accept a focus on ‘standard-bearing’ items and holdings which stand out as having a special or symbolic universal, regional or national significance which entitles them to the bestowal of a Memory of the World label.

• The need to reassess original assumptions relating to new technologies in relation to preservation and access and the forms in which products will be marketed and disseminated, and to be in a state of informed readiness for technology changes affecting the Programme, and

• The need to be opens to innovative new ways to shape and progress the Programme’s key objectives.

Positive perceptions 4.2.2 The Memory of the World Programme has set as objectives the safeguarding of archival and library holdings and collections having a great value to humanity, the enhancement of access to them, the raising of awareness in governments and in society in general of the necessity of preserving the “memory of the world”, itself constituted by important local and regional memories. In a world where too many countries have no consciousness of the importance of memory to nourish culture, where so many others will not give access to their organised or disorganised memory, thus to meaning, where modern technology has made modern records even more threatened than older ones, where wars and civil strife have led to the deliberate or accidental destruction of libraries and archives, where we risk losing ties to our past and thus our understanding of our present, UNESCO is taking a most responsible role on behalf of humankind. Speakers at Memory of the World regional meetings and the First International Conference in Oslo have repeatedly emphasised the urgency of the need to tackle the underlying risks to the documentary heritage. Although it is clear that the NGOs and many other national, international and private organisations, sometimes with the direct involvement of UNESCO from

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other Programme funds, are already playing a vital part, the need continues for additional resources if these bodies are to do more than scratch the surface of the problem. 4.2.3 There appears to be a general consensus amongst those directly involved and responsible for the documentary heritage that this is a most relevant and timely initiative of major international significance. While its objectives are shared by other specialist bodies, the Memory of the World Programme is unique in encompassing the entire range of documentary materials and in its comprehensive international scope and authority. UNESCO is probably the only body in the world that can promote this idea so universally. 4.2.4 Whilst the protection of tangible cultural goods is well established through UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme - the situation of documents is largely unknown. The Memory of the World Register has the potential to serve a similar function to the World Heritage list, constituting a tool to draw attention to the Programme, to its aims, to stimulate funding and to multiply endeavours towards the safeguarding of the documentary heritage. The Programme gives archives and libraries an opportunity to raise attention to their activities, as museums can do with the World Heritage list. 4.2.5 In the world of audiovisual and electronic archives, the Programme is one of the most important UNESCO has ever launched. While grave problems face printed and written documents, modern carriers and documents are by far more endangered on a large scale than conventional carriers. This is a widespread international phenomenon that neither scholars, policy makers nor the public are generally aware of. 4.2.6 Taken together with the World Heritage Programme, the Memory of the World Programme, if provided with the required developmental leadership and support, has immense implications for the way the cultural heritage is perceived internationally and the way governments respond to the need for preservation and access. It has the potential to bring about, in time, a fundamental shift in perception world-wide, and an equalisation and better mutual respect between the First and Third World, east and west, and the other cultural and economic divides that exist as much in perception as in reality. 4.2.7 In the words of one respondent, “the Programme is a major contribution of UNESCO to the use of cyberspace for intelligent and cultivated content.” Nevertheless, while many organisations responsible for information and the documentary heritage are currently directing major attention to the global information infrastructure and networked access, it should not be forgotten that the continuing availability of information through long term preservation and maintenance is a key issue. 4.2.8 Within UNESCO, the Memory of the World Programme appears to the evaluators to be politically welcome, to have no vocal enemies, and to have the strong backing of the Director-General and the Executive Board. It appears to have been widely welcomed in the developing world and in countries whose documentary heritage might be thought most at risk. It has been welcomed by a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Javier Perez de Cuellar, in the UNESCO publication ‘Our Creative Diversity’. It is clear to the team that the Programme is beginning to open up new possibilities for education and research as well as to draw wider world attention to the importance of preserving and disseminating the documentary heritage. 4.2.9 On all these grounds it has the evaluation team’s strong support. The team agrees that UNESCO cannot fund this entire initiative from its own resources. The team also agrees, however, with the conclusion of the IAC in Tashkent that UNESCO core funding will continue to be necessary to serve as pump priming for publicity and the quest for extra-budgetary resources. 4.2.10 At the same time, the governments of individual nations also need to be made more aware of their individual responsibilities to put their own resources into the protection of their documentary heritage. We strongly support the view of the IAC at its Tashkent meeting, that UNESCO Member States should be encouraged to make information about their documentary heritage more widely known and to develop globally available information, and at the same time to formulate national strategies for preservation and access.

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Problems and challenges 4.2.11 Positive perceptions of the Programme are balanced by the expression of a number of seriously considered problems and challenges to its implementation and effectiveness, which in part we address in the recommendations for action below. 4.2.12 The Programme currently is perceived as putting too much emphasis on digitisation as the key to preserving any information (which is entirely understandable because the entire subject was new at the time of the origins of the Programme). There are risks inherent in this focus, because most people are not aware that preserving digitised information is going to become one of the twenty-first century’s major preservation problems, due to the physical and chemical instability of most modern media and constant and rapid technological changes. 4.2.13 While it is true that the aspect of digitisation, brought forward in the Programme’s context repeatedly, has potential in facilitating accessibility to universal documentary information as a basic democratic right, the prerequisite for access is availability which in turn is dependent on preservation. The interdependence of preservation and access must be promoted. There appears to be consensus amongst the Programme stakeholders now that the safeguarding of the documents themselves must be given priority within the Programme. The evaluators note, however, that it has been clearly stated that the Memory of the World Programme “is not intended to replace UNESCO’s traditional activities in the field of preservation and conservation of archive and library holdings, but to complement them with vigorous action to raise awareness, stimulate initiatives and develop partnerships to carry out projects under the emblem ‘Memory of the World’.” Action The future strategy should incorporate a demonstration of the uses of

preservation, in other words, what purpose does it serve. We do not have a means to gauge the effectiveness of access to materials preserved through the pilot projects. One must compare the production of such demonstration tools with those that will reflect materials preserved in accord with other methodologies.

4.2.14 In studying individual CD-ROM projects, the evaluation team felt that the pilot schemes had served a useful purpose in demonstrating the potential of digitisation as a means of widening access to and understanding of the documentary heritage. Problems experienced with individual products are described in the report. Viewing the set as a whole the team found some inconsistency in standards of presentation, translation and access, and in the provision of even basic bibliographic data and information about the operating system and memory capacity required. Several of our respondents were openly critical of the actual choice of projects, and questioned their priority or relevance in a world context. However valuable this initiative proves for widening access, it can never (in the team’s view) be a proper substitute for preservation of the original documents, nor does it seem likely to the team that sales of CD-ROMs will generate sufficient revenue on their own to be the main answer to the Programme's funding problems. Action

It is recommended that the IAC establish, in consultation with the NGOs, rigorous selection criteria for any products in this and similar series, to ensure that those selected do indeed conform to the Programme's priorities, that there is no duplication of effort where copies of the original documents already exist, and that UNESCO funds are not committed unnecessarily where there is a prospect of a direct commercial operation or otherwise viable funding mechanism.

4.2.15 Irrespective of the technical means employed to improve access to the documentation, the evaluators affirm the importance of employing consistent standards for the selection, editing and indexing, digitisation (where applicable) and retrieval of the data. Action

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It is recommended that the IAC or its Sub-Committee on Technology impose uniform standards for data capture and presentation and assure best practice testing and approval of individual products before they are publicly launched.

4.3 Impact 4.3.1 The International Advisory Committee and the people who prepared the documentation worked well. They set clear objectives to the programme, defined the criteria, outlined the procedures and invited Member States (and others) to create national or regional Memory of the World Committees. At the same time, the technical Sub-Committee has provided very good advice on the best methods of preserving and disseminating the material deemed worthy of the label “Memory of the World.” 4.3.2 However, to date the Programme has not achieved as great an impact as was originally hoped. Despite all that has been done, a large part of the world, including many of the professionals and professional bodies most concerned, has little or no knowledge of the Programme. The purpose of the Programme is still not clearly understood by many practitioners in the fields of culture, libraries, archives, education and information. A number of factors are responsible. The start-up of such a programme naturally takes time. There has not been a world-wide promotional campaign, technology has moved ahead much faster than was expected, resulting in many of the goals of the Programme being achieved independently of it, and the opportunities for all countries to participate are not equal. The Programme is certainly relevant but its structural, funding, promotional and marketing resource constraints have resulted in too few people being aware of its existence. Generally speaking, information about the Programme has not got through to the public. 4.3.3 Nevertheless, the Programme is relevant and knowledge of its aims and achievements is increasing at the international decision-maker and stakeholder level. The recent General Conference of UNESCO noted with appreciation the work done so far to increase awareness in safeguarding the world documentary heritage and enhance universal access to it. Support to the Programme was expressed by all speakers who addressed the Programme. These include the delegates of Morocco, the Netherlands, China, Mali, Jordan, France, Malta, Chile, Madagascar, Norway on behalf of the five Nordic countries, Cuba, Austria, Spain, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Poland, the Philippines, Canada, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Algeria, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland and the representative of IFLA.

Action

It is recommended that UNESCO should consider mounting a greatly increased publicity campaign, by means of world wide press coverage and exhibitions, for which some of the effort could appropriately be contracted out not only to the ‘partners’ we have proposed above but possibly also to individual sponsors. An essential preliminary, however, would be to take stock of the publicity already attempted and the lessons to be learnt from its relative failure to date. This should be an early task for the newly strengthened Programme staff.

4.3.4 In terms of actual products, the evaluation team found the Programme's promotional material to be informative and well focused. Individual problems are noted in the report, for example as to the standard of translations into other languages and the need to keep the output as visually attractive as possible while respecting resource constraints. 4.3.5 The evaluators believe the Memory of the World web site to be a useful vehicle for communicating information about the Programme more widely and co-ordinating its operations internally, but there is scope for improving labelling and general presentation, bibliographical referencing, and metadata. Action

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A professional review of the Memory of the World website should be commissioned, to report on its information infrastructure, communications, marketing potential and archiving requirements.

4.3.6 In the context of the Memory of the World Programme, UNESCO should also remain cognisant that a large part of the world’s community is as yet unconnected to the Internet. Action

It is recommended that UNESCO accommodate the continuing need for output in non-electronic form about the Memory of the World Programme for those who have no Internet connectivity.

4.3.7 In general, the evaluators commend the presentation and content of the Programme's publications to date, particularly its guidelines, the surveys of the documentary heritage at risk and lost, and the emerging series of advisory publications from the Sub-Committee on Technology. But the team has highlighted reservations about certain aspects of presentation. Action

It is recommended that publications which the Programme wishes to be seen as authoritative be subject to peer review and scrutiny before publication. There is scope here for involving the NGOs as partners.

Action

It is recommended that, as already foreseen by the IAC, publications be kept under regular review to ensure that they remain up to date and meet changing external circumstances.

Action

It is recommended that, as already foreseen by the Sub-Committee on Technology, as the Programme develops effective indexing and search engines be established to keep the output readily accessible for reference.

4.3.8 Many of respondents to the evaluation were unaware of the full range of Memory of the World publications. Action

It is recommended that UNESCO put in place a process to maximise access to information about all Memory of the World publications and develop an efficient distribution mechanism.

4.3.9 World Register Action It is of fundamental importance that the World Register be revised and extended

yearly, or at least every two years, otherwise the Programme runs the risk of being forgotten. A prerequisite for that would be a strongly enlarged secretarial infrastructure as recommended below.

Action

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Those countries which have not yet founded their National Memory of the World Committees and have not passed nominations so far should be encouraged via their national UNESCO representatives.

4.3.10 Marketing of products. As already stated, care will be needed to ensure that marketing does not become the principal end of the Programme in itself, with the focus shifting away from rescuing and recording the endangered heritage to promoting the more glamorous aspects of the world’s documentary heritage because products based on these can more easily attract sponsors. With this proviso, however, the evaluators endorse the efforts that will now be made to sell the Programme's products and to reinvest any resulting income into the Programme Budget.

4.3.11 Training is essential to develop and maintain the quality of care for our documentary heritage. Provisions to support it must be an integral and active part of the thinking of the Memory of the World Programme. 4.4 Internal mechanisms for review of the Programme 4.4.1 It is no part of the evaluators’ task to second-guess the advice and recommendations of experts who have already been enlisted in the service of the Memory of the World Programme through its International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees. Indeed, one of the team’s principal recommendations is that: • The strategic and technical advice already formulated within the existing structure

should be more systematically pursued and implemented than has hitherto proved possible with the Programme's limited resources, and that the solutions to the Programme’s problems, which have already been highlighted internally should also be very largely pursued internally, drawing on the advice of the IAC and its Sub-Committees, but with appropriate input from the relevant NGOs. This is particularly the case with regard to future funding and marketing, where many entirely sensible suggestions are already on the table awaiting action.

4.4.2 The evaluators note with approval the machinery already being established by the IAC for the internal evaluation and development of each aspect of the Programme and more rigorous selection for the World Register. The team recommends that all of these be subject to continuous reassessment. The team is confident that the IAC and its Bureau, if given adequate resources for its tasks, including sufficient Programme support staff, should be well capable of steering the Programme and overseeing its future development. 4.5 Structure and staffing of the Programme 4.5.1 Overall, the evaluators consider the Memory of the World Programme to be appropriately structured, and its decisions and policies adequately documented. However, in proportion to the tasks it has set itself (with which the team is in broad agreement, subject to certain reservations spelt out in the report), the evaluators find the Programme to be significantly under-resourced in terms of Programme staff in comparison with other UNESCO Programmes, notably the World Heritage programme. With a stronger team in place there would be greater scope for proper development of liaison with, and harnessing the potential of, the International Advisory Committee and its Bureau. The existence of a more numerous staff would also make it easier to develop a management-orientated approach towards the entire Programme. Action It is recommended that UNESCO should provide greater resource support to the

Programme and increase the permanent Programme Secretariat staff to a minimum of four persons who will be responsible for core Programme duties. It is suggested that this staffing include two senior and two support officers, and that one of the senior officers be an experienced specialist well versed in the broad spectrum and particularities of the global documentary heritage. As the

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Programme further develops serious consideration should be given to a Director level appointment to manage its activities.

A priority for the enlarged Secretariat should be the implementation of outstanding

strategies developed by the IAC and its Sub-Committees, with a particular emphasis on those of the Sub-Committee on Marketing. A meeting of NGOs and other key stakeholders to define with greater exactitude the nature of their partnership with the Memory of the World Programme (as recommended elsewhere in this evaluation) should also be progressed by the Secretariat.

The core Programme duties should encompass the following:

Undertake representational, administrative, developmental, planning and reporting functions of the Memory of the World Programme within UNESCO, including:

Promotion and marketing of the Programme Development of promotional and marketing strategies Development of promotional material Liaison with media representatives Manage marketing and promotional consultancies

Manage marketing and distribution of Programme publications and products

Management of expert evaluation of World Register nominations and

Memory of the World project applications (in collaboration with NGOs) Management of peer review of proposed Programme publications and

products Management of specialist consultancy activities Maintain links with the other UNESCO units and programmes concerned

with safeguarding cultural heritage and information and communication technologies to enhance its access

Evaluate Programme results and project outputs Provide support to the International Advisory Committee, its Bureau, Sub-

Committees and other subsidiary bodies, including: Routine administrative and operational support Co-ordination and preparation of meetings and supporting documentation Fund raising support Organization of missions to Member States Co-ordinate the implentation of the recommendations of the Committee and its

subsidiary bodies, including:

Maintenance and periodic revision of core Programme mechanisms, including:

Memory of the World Register Programme publications. Progressing and implementation of approved projects Monitoring and evaluation of approved projects Represent the Programme in international fora

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Liaise with Memory of the World National and Regional Committees, including: Advice on planning and maintenance of National and Regional Registers

Assistance to Member States in the identification and formulation of projects for submission to the International Advisory Committee

Facilitation of communications between National and Regional Committees (and between these bodies and NGOs)

Liaise with the principal NGOs and other key stakeholders associated with the

Programme Undertake, supervise and co-ordinate surveys and research into the status of

preservation of the world's documentary heritage and its access and the assessment of related needs.

Negotiate and facilitate project development and funding with Member States,

potential funding agencies and others Identify, negotiate and design projects in co-operation with national/regional

institutions and non-governmental organisations as well as individuals Manage equitable intellectual property/copyright/moral rights arrangements in

support of Programme objectives. Action It is recommended that UNESCO should increase the permanent Programme staff

to a minimum of 4 persons. Action It is further recommended that a specific marketing consultant be employed at

least on a short-term basis by the Programme, and that the person so appointed should work closely with the Programme’s staff and the IAC's sub committee on marketing to see how its already clearly formulated ideas on marketing and funding strategy could most appropriately be taken forward. One of the consultant’s tasks could appropriately be to formulate a model Business Case for presenting the Programme to potential sponsors.

Action Greater transparency is desirable in the process of appointments to the

International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees, and the Committees' composition needs to take full account of all the archival media to be covered. The IAC should also ensure that the voice of its experts adequately reflects the current international consensus, which may call for closer consultation with the NGOs.

4.6 The need for greater co-ordination both with outside bodies and internally

4.6.1 The evaluators convey to UNESCO the view of the international NGOs most directly concerned, that they have not been as fully consulted as they would wish on the Programme’s objectives and strategy and their specific implementation. There is a risk that without stronger consultation, and preferably a more specific partnership agreement, there will be a lack of co-ordination of world efforts in preserving the documentary heritage, with the likelihood of

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unnecessary duplication of effort or the wasting of scarce resources. It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that efforts are co-ordinated globally. In the evaluation team’s view, UNESCO can retain a leading role in this field without feeling it has to be overly proprietorial, defensive or in any way exclusive. Having recognised that it cannot be the sole funder of efforts to preserve the world’s documentary heritage, the next logical step to ensure that UNESCO’s necessarily limited contribution is as carefully targeted as possible is to bring those other interests into a closer partnership in the enterprise. An example is the UNESCO sponsored Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific. This approach would require greater promotion in Africa, the Pacific and parts of Asia. Action

It, therefore, is recommended that this report be communicated in full (a) to the international NGOs working in this field and (b) to other relevant UNESCO Programmes for comment, and that the future of the Memory of the World Programme should then be openly discussed at a meeting which brings together the principal interested parties from both within and outside UNESCO, so that the commitment and respective responsibilities of each partner organisation can be clearly understood, and if possible information be made available globally in a more centralised form.

4.6.2 Arising from the above recommendations, it is the evaluators’ view that the single most important step that UNESCO could take to ensure that the Memory of the World Programme reaches a ‘critical mass’ to grow exponentially and be seen by potential sponsors as a truly global endeavour, would be to identify and bring into direct partnership all those national, regional and international programmes which are already contributing to the Programme’s overall objectives. We have listed some of these in Appendix D but are confident that many more could be added. This further supports the team’s argument that additional Programme staff is required. Action

UNESCO should discuss with the relevant NGOs the notion of ‘badging’ or otherwise accrediting other programmes, whether national, regional or international, recognising them as being in the spirit of its Memory of the World objectives.

4.7 Changes in objectives since inception of the Programme 4.7.1 The evaluators have detected a number of changes in the Programme’s objectives since its inception. UNESCO needs to be aware of these. The team supports the way in which the Programme has been opened to all archival media and suggests that this principle might be further extended. The balance between the objectives of preservation and access should be kept under continuous review to avoid an over emphasis, and perhaps over-dependence, on the newest technology. 4.8. Perceived cultural bias 4.8.1 It has been represented to the evaluation team that the Programme as at present conceived is still too Euro-centric in its outlook, approach and underlying assumptions as to priorities, documentary media and the suitability of particular technological applications.

Action All those concerned with the development of the Programme should strive to maintain a worldwide perspective in their publications, products and policies.

4.8.2 In the context of Africa it was represented to us that the present strategy employed by the Memory of the World Programme and JIPCA is not likely to give satisfactory results soon. Yet

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more delays may mean that we may lose some of the already endangered materials. One suggestion is that top officials should be approached on the Programme’s behalf. 4.9 Challenges of changing technologies 4.9.1 The evaluators have expressed considerable reservations about placing all the Programme’s future hopes in CD-ROM technology (see above), on three different grounds: first that it is of fundamental importance to secure the preservation of the original documents themselves; secondly that the transfer of data into this one medium, of uncertain longevity, could be creating up expensive problems and disappointments for the future as the CD-ROMs themselves decay; and thirdly that CD-ROM technology will certainly be replaced in the foreseeable future. Action

It is recommended that the IAC and its Sub-Committee on Technology keep under continuous review the most appropriate technical means for the continued advancement of the Programme, and where necessary the migration of its captured data onto new media or platforms, and must be responsive to changing technologies especially in the electronic sector. Programme output should be appropriately archived.

4.9.2 The rapid spread of the Internet is a key factor for accessibility - it is changing the world rapidly and will permanently change the ways we access cultural heritage. The World Wide Web is a most important factor in disseminating and supporting the Programme. However, it should not be viewed as the Programme itself - it is only a support for it. 4.9.3 There can be no doubt that the use of the WWW for Memory of the World Programme purposes is an important and promoting factor, but a web presence will not be enough. It should not be defined as the goal and it should not be overestimated as a tool. 4.9.4 There is support for an idea to electronically link significant Internet virtual library archive, museum and gallery initiatives and networks aimed at enhancing information and cultural content and also to link significant collections and items from around the world to create virtual collections. Some of the work being carried out by the Research Libraries Group (RLG) in the United States was noted as particularly relevant in this regard.

4.9.5 There are critical issues relating to the use of new technologies as vehicles and storehouses of Memory of the World content which have still not been thought through sufficiently, including cost, quality control, standards, preservation criteria, interoperability, responsibility for data warehousing, obsolescence and migration, etc. Investment should not be made or supported which will shortly be redundant.

Action An ongoing future strategy capability must be an integral capability within the

Programme so as to be ready for new developments in technology.

Action The relationship of copyright, digital identification (e.g. watermarking) and newly

evolving electronic commerce systems have not yet been incorporated into the practical operations of the Programme. In this context, the relationship between EC initiatives such as Imprimatur and digitisation projects should be noted, especially Imprimatur’s collaborative global relationship with the Australian government-funded Propagate Project designed to facilitate the secure electronic transmission of digital content (including cultural content) across networks.

Action

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Clear policies and guidelines need to be established for the benefit of Memory of

the World participants especially if private sector material is to be copied (special problems and arrangements are noted for cinematic and audio material). It is not good enough to rely on an informal interpretation of copyright. It also should be noted that UNESCO is developing a strong in-house support for the principle that material disseminated through Memory of the World vehicles must have strong public domain protection.

Action Further work should be done on the Programme’s website to increase its use as

an information, research and marketing tool. The site should also be linked to other relevant websites and to that for the World Heritage programme to increase the consciousness of the affinity in objectives.

5. APPENDICES A. Bibliography and references B Summary of views expressed by respondents to the evaluation survey with

regard to the objectives and processes of the Programme

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C Summary of views expressed by respondents to our questionnaires with regard to the products of the MOW Programme to date

D Broadening the Scope of the Memory of the World Programme E CD-ROM Pilot projects Appendix A Bibliography and References

Official Memory of the World Programme documentation studied by the evaluators included the following items (a full listing of Memory of the World Programme publications is available at: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/memory/basictexts.htm): 1. Memory of the World Programme Office Memory of the World, UNESCO brochure (undated). Consultation of Experts, Paris, 22 June 1992: Minutes. Memory of the World: General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage, prepared for UNESCO, on behalf of IFLA, by Stephen Foster and Roslyn Russel, Australian Heritage Projects, Jan Lyall, National Library of Australia, and Duncan Marshall, UNESCO, General Information Programme and UNISIST, Paris, November 1995. (CII-95/WS-11) (original in English) Memory of the World: National Cinematographic Heritage, General Information Programme and UNISIST, UNESCO, Paris, 1995. (CII-95/WS/7) (original in English) Memoria del Mundo: Patrimonio Cinematografico Nacional, UNESCO, Programa General de Informacion y UNISIST, Paris, Septiembre 1995. (CII-95/WS/7) (original in English) Memoire du Monde: principes directeurs pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine documentaire, Document établi pour l’UNESCO, au nom de l’IFLA, par Stephen Foster et Roslyn Russel, Australian Heritage Projects, Jan Lyall, National Library of Australia et Duncan Marshall, UNESCO, Programme general d’information et UNISIST, Paris, Novembre 1995. (CII-95/WS-11) (original in English) Memoria del Mundo, Directrices para la Salvaguardia del Patrimonio Documental, preparado para l’UNESCO, en nombre de la IFLA, por Stephen Foster y Roslyn Russel, Australian Heritage Projects, Jan Lyall, National Library of Australia, and Duncan Marshall, UNESCO, Programa General de Informacion y UNISIST, Paris, Noviembre 1995. (CII-95/WS-11) (original in English) Memory of the World: Lost Memory: Libraries and Archives Destroyed in the Twentieth Century, prepared for UNESCO on behalf of IFLA by Hans van der Hoeven and on behalf of ICA by Joan van Albada, UNESCO, General Information Programme and UNISIST, Paris, March 1996. (CII-96/WS/1) (original in English) Memoire du Monde: memoire perdue: bibliotheques et archives detruites au XXe siecle, prepare pour l’UNESCO par Hans van der Hoeven au nom de l’IFLA et Joan van Albada au nom du CIA, UNESCO, Programme general d’information et UNISIST, Paris, mars 1996. (CII-96/WS/1) (original in English) Memory of the World: A Survey of Current Library Preservation Activities, prepared for UNESCO by Jan Lyall, National Library of Australia, under contract to IFLA, UNESCO, General Information Programme and UNISIST, Paris, October 1996. (CII-96/WS/7) (original in English) Proceedings of the 1st International Memory of the World Conference, Oslo, 3-5 June 1996, edited for UNESCO by Stephen Foster, Australian Heritage Projects, on behalf of the National Library of Australia, Oslo, 1996. (also available on Memory of the World website: www. unesco.org/webworld/memory/confres.htm) Memory of the World: Preserving our Documentary Heritage, prepared by Abdelaziz Abid, Information and Informatics Division, UNESCO, various successive editions, 1996 and 1997. The Use of HTML for Storage of and Access to Digital Documents Produced Within the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme: The Metadata Structure as Gateway to Data, prepared by Adolf Knoll, National Library of the Czeck Republic, June 1997.

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2. Official papers of the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-Committees INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, Pultusk (Poland), 12-14 September 1993, Final Report, First Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, Pultusk, Poland, (includes Regional Consultation on the Conservation, Protection and Promotion of the Documentary Heritage of the Countries of Central and East Europe), UNESCO, General Information Programme and UNISIST, Paris, October 1993. (PGI-93/WS/17) ‘Memory of the World’ Programme: Suggested Guidelines for the Protection of Endangered Manuscripts and Archives, prepared by Jean-Marie Arnoult under a contract with IFLA, First Meeting of the International Consultative Committee of the ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, Pultusk, Poland, 12-14 September 1993, Regional Consultation on the Conservation, Protection and Promotion of the Documentary Heritage of the Countries of Central and East Europe, UNESCO, General Information Programme and UNISIST, Paris, July 1993. (PG-93/WS/14) (original in French) ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, Paris, 3-5 May 1995, Final Report, Second Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, UNESCO, General Information Programme, May 1995. (CII.95/CONF.602/3) (original in English) Statutes of the International Advisory Committee of the ‘Memory of the World’ Programme. (149/EX/Decisions p.15) List of members (successive copies). “Memory of the World” Programme, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), 29 September - 1 October 1997, Final Report, Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the “Memory of the World” Programme, UNESCO, Information and Informatics Division, 1997. (CII-97/CONF.502.1) (original in English) SUB-COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY 'Technical aspects of preservation: Recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Technology', published as Appendix D of Memory of the World: General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage, Paris, November 1995 (see above). Report of the Third Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Technology, Prague 1-4 March, 1996. (Together with a list of participants at the Memory of the World-Joint UNESCO/EC Technical Meeting on Digital Access to Documentary Heritage and its Preservation).

D iscussion papers for the Fourth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Technology, London 15-17 May 1997. Report of the Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Technology held in London, 15-17 March 1997.

Safeguarding the Documentary Heritage. A Guide to Standards, Recommended Practices and Reference Literature Related to the Preservation of Documents of All Kinds, edited by George Boston, Sub-Committee on Technology, International Advisory Committee for the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, Draft presented to the Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the ‘Memory of the World’ Programme, Tashkent, 29 September - 1 October 1997.

Boston, G., 'Survey of endangered audio carriers' and Schüller, D., 'Preserving audio and video recordings in the long-term', in International Preservation, no 14, May 1997. The survey was contracted by UNESCO as part of the MOW Programme. Both the writers are members of the Memory of the World Sub-Committee on Technology. SUB-COMMITTEE ON MARKETING ‘Memory of the World’: Notes from the First Meeting of the Marketing Sub-Committee, Oslo, 10-12 July 1996, prepared by Jon Bing, Oslo 27 May 1997. 3. Extracts from UNESCO Programme Budgets: Approved Programme and Budget for 1994-1995 (27 C/5 Approved, Paris, January 1994) pp.119-120. Approved Programme and Budget for 1996-1997 (28 C/5 Approved, Paris, January 1996) p.142. Draft Programme and Budget 1998-1999 (29 C/5 draft, Paris, 1997), pp.82-83. 4. Memory of the World Programme: World Register Nomination form and covering circular letter to National Commissions, 2 February 1996. Specimen applications (Memory of the World web site). 5. Memory of the World Programme: National Committees List of National Committees. 6. Memory of the World Programme projects

Pilot CD-ROMs (see Section 5 for descriptions and evaluation). Pending requests and project proposals, updated to May 1997. Project description form. Memory of the World Conference, Oslo 1996, proceedings: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/memory/memconf.htm

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7. Other works consulted Report of the Director-General 1994-1995, General Conference, Twenty-ninth Session, 1997, UNESCO, Paris, 1996. (29 C/3) Digitization of Rare Library Materials, Memoriae Mundi Series Bohemica, National Library of the Czech Republic and Albertina icome Praha Ltd, 1997. (CD-ROM) Miscellaneous productions of certain countries which are now creating their own Memory of the World material (e.g. Kazakhstan) & broadcast media programmes (Uzbekistan - TV) 8. Internal Memory of the World files at UNESCO headquarters, Paris The above information has also been supplemented by much verbal and written input by Mr Abdelaziz Abid, Memory of the World Programme Officer.

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Appendix B Summary of views expressed by respondents to the evaluation survey with regard to the objectives and processes of the Programme The views expressed in this Appendix are not necessarily those of the Evaluation team, but they are drawn to UNESCO's attention as indicative of the professional stakeholder perception of the Programme to date. It will clearly be important that the concerns implicit in these comments should be fully addressed in the Programme's forward publicity and planning. Support 1.1 Some feeling that this is the right time for such a Programme, with a strong movement

towards globalisation and the broad goal of the United Nations and UNESCO to overcome divisions between peoples. The opportunity needs to be grasped.

1.2 Much underlying goodwill towards the Memory of the World Programme. UNESCO is

commended for the Memory of the World initiative, which it is uniquely equipped to co-ordinate.

1.3. General agreement that Memory of the World has already proved a useful means of

raising both national and international awareness of the problems of preserving the world’s documentary heritage.

1.4. A specific welcome for the inclusion of audio-visual material and oral traditions within the

Programme. In both cases there are special problems regarding preservation. 1.5. Appreciation of the work of the International Advisory Committee and its Sub-

Committees. 1.6 Encouragement for the establishment of more National Memory of the World Committees

as soon as possible. Criticism and suggestions for improvement [A very few respondents questioned the need for the Programme to exist at all. Their comments were heavily out-numbered by those who offered at least general support] Overall strategy of the Programme 2.1 There is a need to re-state the importance and priority of preserving the threatened

original materials and to ensure that the Programme directly contributes to that objective. 2.2 The need for active preservation of the oral tradition within the Programme was also

emphasised. Programme management 3 .1 If it is to make any significant progress the Programme’s Secretariat needs to be greatly

expanded. Several respondents compared the very modest staff resources currently available to Memory of the World with the much greater resources allocated to the World Heritage Programme.

Publicity [4.1 Respondents views on this issue have been incorporated in section 4.33 of the main

report above]. Co-ordination of UNESCO’s own activities in this field 5.1 There is a case for consolidating UNESCO activities rather than fragmenting them with

new Programmes. In this connection some stocktaking is desirable as to the work already done by other UNESCO Programmes in supporting the preservation of the documentary heritage. But in addition to this (as recognised by the PGI Council at its Bureau meeting, June 1997), there should be specific linkages of information and financial resources with the World Heritage Programme and other UNESCO activities such as the Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific.

Funding and marketing 6.1 Archives, and many library holdings, are for the most part kept in stores, hidden from

view. They could never command the same instant impact as World Heritage Sites, for example, which are visible to all comers. This makes it generally more difficult to enlist sponsors for Memory of the World Projects: there is no tourist- and little marketing potential.

6.2 UNESCO will still have to continue core funding if the Programme is to succeed, and

indeed its commitment of resources will itself be an encouragement to other potential donors in both the public and private sectors. But individual governments too must recognise their own responsibilities in this area.

6.3 Respondents from the developing world emphasised that there would be no progress

towards Memory of the World objectives in their countries unless funding came from elsewhere.

6.4 UNESCO should consider whether the entire marketing of Memory of the World products

should be outsourced. International Advisory Committee 7.1 The reasons for choosing particular people to be members of the IAC and its Sub-

Committees, and the nature of their representative capacity, if any, should be made more transparent.

7.2 IAC (and its technical sub-committee) should have some specific means of

communication and co-ordination with the regional and national committees. 7.3 If IAC’s role is to be meaningful it needs to ‘meet’ more frequently than every two years,

even if some of the business is transacted electronically. 7.4 IAC membership should include more experts in the fields of audio-visual and electronic

records. 7.5 Individual IAC members should be given specific responsibilities for liaison, development,

etc and the evaluation of progress.

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The World Register 8.1 ICA’s Executive Committee emphasised the importance, in the case of archives, of

considering whole fonds and series of records rather than individual ‘iconic’ examples, and called for wider recognition of archival principles in nominations for the Register.

8.2 The specific fear was expressed that if only a few highly symbolic archives were

recorded as being of world significance, national authorities would feel less disposed to support the remainder of the country’s archival needs.

8.3 Some respondents were openly sceptical of the value judgements whereby anyone could

determine once for all what was truly of World heritage significance. 8.4 One country expressed strong dismay that only 1 of its 17 nominations had been found

acceptable for the World Register, and called for greater flexibility and more power to the national committees to determine what should be on the World, as well as the national, register. By contrast, several respondents emphasised the importance of the selection process being rigorous. Entry on the Register has to be seen to mean something.

National and regional registers 9.1 Many countries have been slow to establish national committees and registers. One

respondent pointed out that a major difficulty of participating was finding the staff time necessary to set up and run a national register. Other specific problems were noted, including that of surveying the documentary heritage in occupied territories.

9.2 There was some feeling that western countries with a long archival tradition and little

current internal or external threat to the heritage either had no need to establish registers or would find it an impossibly time-consuming and expensive task because, archives being unique, everything ought to be recorded as part of the heritage.

9.3 Many respondents felt that there was insufficient liaison between UNESCO National

Commissions and the key national archives, libraries and professional bodies, and that it was questionable whether national committees set up under purely UNESCO auspices would ever be able to achieve the Programme’s objectives.

Potential threats to the Programme which need to be addressed. 10.1 The unequal ability of different nations to participate, on account of their economic

situation and technological infrastructure. 10.2 The rapid rate of technological change, which threatens to outstrip the Programme. This

needs to be kept under continuous review. 10.3 Whilst some respondents felt that linking the poorer countries to the Internet or other

computer networks would be beneficial, some respondents from the developing world saw direct intervention to promote rescue, preservation and cataloguing of the heritage as a much higher priority.

10.4 The fact that many other agencies are already engaged in essentially the same work but

(at present) without having ‘Memory of the World’ recognition. The means must be found both to bring these parallel projects within the same Programme objectives, and to ensure that there is no unnecessary overlap and waste of resources. Particular care should be taken not to compromise other national and international efforts such as those of JICPA in Africa. UNESCO should formulate a strategic role in this field, defining what it can itself do best, and what others (particularly the NGOs) could do if made fuller

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partners. One respondent went so far as to say that the ‘badging’ of other people’s

projects and products should be the limit of UNESCO’s involvement, another that the existence of a Memory of the World badge for a project could itself be a way of attracting funds from other sources.

10.5 The risk of over-emphasis on digitization. The rapid obsolescence and uncertain

longevity of digital media is storing up preservation problems for the future. 10.6 The need to recognise that there may be different priorities and approaches with regard

to library materials on the one hand and archival material on the other hand. 10.7 UNESCO's obvious inability to continue the whole costs of the Programme.

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Appendix C Summary of views expressed by respondents to our questionnaires with regard to the products of the MOW Programme to date General comments 1.1 It is essential to recognise the diversity of different cultures and of their respective

problems and priorities. There is a danger of the project being formulated with predominantly European preconceptions of what is required.

1.2 Products must not be prepared in such a rush that they are not properly thought out. if

necessary more time must be allowed, despite the understandable anxiety of UNESCO to have something to show for its money.

1.3 Care must be taken to tackle the issues of intellectual property in any products. 1.4 The opportunity could now be taken to show the value of the pilot projects to date for

promoting preservation and access. 1.5 As well as the Programme’s own products there is much other documentary material

already available in electronic form around the world. Consideration should be given to linking up what is already known to form virtual archives.

The Programme Guidelines 2.1 The very few comments received were mostly favourable, with the proviso that the

Guidelines should be kept under review and reissued from time to time. 2.2 There was specific criticism of the terminology used in the Spanish translation. 2.3 One respondent felt that a more attractive design would be beneficial. 2.4 It was pointed out that the state of awareness of the problems of the documentary

heritage was very low in many parts of the developing world, and that the same approach and preconceptions would not necessarily be appropriate in that context.

Safeguarding the documentary heritage 3.1 Could this be made available in a CD-ROM version for teaching? CD-ROM pilot projects 4.1 General support for the approach, and appreciation of the quality of the output, but also

some feeling that it is still too early to evaluate the results. 4.2 Appreciation of the difficulty of choosing projects that will appropriately appeal to different

cultures. (An example given was that Koranic fragments are immediately appealing to the Arab and Muslim world where calligraphy is also of vital importance, but may be seen as less relevant to other cultures).

4.3 Some criticism, especially within ICA, of actual projects selected to date, as being both

too random and not self-evidently of world significance in every case. Also criticism that the initial projects include nothing relating to Asia.

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4.4 Whilst the variety of projects tackled in this phase might be seen as demonstrating the

variety of the documentary heritage, it can also suggest an altogether too diffuse and scattered approach where something more systematic or focusing on one region might have been seen as more coherent.

4.5 Not all appear to conform to the Programme’s own guidelines and technical standards. 4.6 Rigorous selection is needed for projects bearing the Memory of the World label. 4.7 Care is needed over the presentation of the products. In many cases, to make them of

truly world significance more translation and interpretation will be necessary. 4.8 Consideration should be given to making some copies in formats other than CD-ROM

(e.g. microfiche) which does not require computer access. MOW Web site [The fact that very few comments were made about the web site may suggest that it is too little known in professional circles] 5.1 Danger of over-reliance on the Internet. Many people who should benefit from the

‘democratisation’ of access do not have computers, and among those who do, many are not connected to the Internet.

5.2 Seen as a possible means of improving communications between members of the

International Advisory Committee.

Appendix D Broadening the Scope of the Memory of the World Programme The scope of the Memory of the World Programme could be broadened by conferring Memory of the World status on certain historical library and archive purpose-built complexes together with their holdings as representing forerunners of the Memory of the World concept in recognising the essential synergies of preservation and access. Examples of such complexes include the libraries of the Monasteries of the Merced and Santo Domingo in Quito, Ecuador, the library of the Monastery of San Francisco in Lima, Peru, and the library of the Topkapi Saray in Istanbul, Turkey. In this category might also be included those rare historical libraries which have maintained their cataloguing records and a centuries-old tradition of librarianship from their very early years. Notable in this regard is the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos, Greece. Other kinds of initiatives and enterprises the evaluators should like to see at least offered the opportunity to be brought within the Memory of the World badge include, for example the following. The list is by no means exhaustive, and an early priority of the Programme should be to extend it, with the help of the NGOs to make it more comprehensive: • Existing international programmes such as the International Committee of the Blue Shield

programme of ICA, IFLA, ICOM and ICOMOS • The IFLA core programme on preservation and conservation • The work of a number of ICA committees and commissions including the Commission on

Archival Development and the Committee on Preservation of Archival Materials • The Joint International Committee on Preservation in Africa (JICPA), supported by ICA and

IFLA • The European Commission on Preservation and Access • The European Register of Microform Masters (EROMM) • UNESCO’s own archival support from Programmes other than Memory of the World,

including the RAMP studies currently including a study concerning the safeguarding of vital records in the event of armed conflict

• The work of LIBER's division for preservation • The International Dunhuang Project • The work of the International Records Management Trust • Existing regional programmes such as the current collaborative programme on the

newspapers of Latin America • The work of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in providing conservation training for all

the Nordic countries • The Nordic Digital Library Centre • The European archival programme of the ICA and the Council of Europe • Existing bilateral programmes such as those: between the Nordic states and the US Library

of Congress on the one hand and the Baltic States on the other: between Switzerland and Albania: between other pairs of ‘twinned’ European states; and between the Netherlands and Indonesia

• Existing national programmes such as the Commission on Preservation and Access (USA) • The national preservation programmes of national libraries and archives, and their respective

offices and agencies • The national standing committees on preservation and conservation in a number of African

countries. (For further reading see Choosing to Preserve (European Commission on Preservation and Access, 1997); 'News' from the ECPA web site; S Tyacke, ‘The establishment of the International Council on Archives’ European Archival Programme 1992-1996’, in Journal of the Society of Archivists, vol. 18 no 1 (1997); Blue Shield: see http://www.icom.org/emergency.)

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Appendix E CD-ROM Pilot projects At the time of the evaluation the following projects had occurred. • Manuscripts from the National Library, Prague, Czechoslovakia

A digitisation 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 started with the release of the first two discs in early May 1995, including one dedicated to a single manuscript, the Antiphonary of Sedlec.

• Sana’a manuscripts, Yemen

In 1972, parchment and paper fragments representing approximately one thousand different volumes, the oldest of which date back to the first century of the Hegira, were found when a wall in the Great Mosque of Sana'a collapsed. Following a lengthy conservation and research programme, a demonstration disc based on a selection of manuscripts 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 the Yemenite manuscripts, especially Koranic fragments. Descriptions and comments are provided in Arabic, English and French.

• The Radzivill Chronicle, Russia

The Radzivill, or Kenigsberg Chronicle, is the most ancient surviving example of the art of Russian illuminated chronicle. It is a 15th century copy of a 13th century archetype held by the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg (BAN). A prototype Photo CD is being produced with the support of UNESCO and the Library of Congress.

• Memory of Russia

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.

• Astrological and mathematical manuscripts, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake

Research Institute, Bogazici University, Turkey

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.

• Manuscripts and other documentary material concerning Saint Sophia, patron saint of

the capital city of Bulgaria

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. Digital facsimile reproductions of manuscripts 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.

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• Manuscripts from Vilnius University Library, Lithuania

This project 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.

• African postcards

The old postcards chosen for this project 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.

• Photographic collections in Latin America and the Caribbean

This project involves 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 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.

• Nineteenth century Latin American newspapers (Memoria de Iberoamerica)

This project, submitted to UNESCO by the Asociación de Bibliotecas Nacionales de Iberoamerica (ABINIA) is concerned, in its first stage, with protecting the 19th century press published in Latin America and improving access to it. It involves the compilation of a database indexing 90,000 books from the 16th-18th centuries, a travelling exhibition and the reissue of the most important historical works in the context of the Five Hundredth Anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to the Americas. 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 which includes a computerised inventory of some 6,000 newspaper titles and other publications. 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 organisation of exhibitions and special publications.

• Treasures of Dar Al Kutub, Cairo, Egypt

This project, reproducing on CD-ROM a selection of precious manuscripts of the National Library in Cairo (Dar Al Kutub), Egypt, offers a guided tour among the splendours of the Arab culture and its contribution to the enhancement of knowledge in numerous scientific fields.All these projects were funded under the UNESCO Regular Programme. Three projects are still in progress: the Egyptian project, the one on historical Latin American photographic collections and the Lithuanian project. 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, and at the Digitisation 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"; and the reproduction of a hand-written card file of the 11th-17th century Russian language to CD-ROM to promote access to this collection.

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