Dokumentai

Dokumentai, meaning documents, are records that capture information about activities, events, or decisions. They can be created or received by individuals, organizations, or institutions and exist in physical or digital form.

Types and formats include legal, administrative, financial, technical, scientific, and personal documents. Examples are contracts, invoices, certificates, reports, emails, and datasets. Physical formats involve paper or microfilm, while digital formats include PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets, databases, and multimedia files.

Key characteristics are authenticity, integrity, reliability, and accessibility. Metadata and provenance help establish origin and history, while long-term accessibility depends on proper storage, indexing, and retrieval systems. Ensuring accuracy and traceability is central to their value as records.

Lifecycle management covers creation, capture, classification, storage, retrieval, use, preservation, and disposition. Records management practices, including retention schedules, determine what should be kept and for how long. In digital contexts, archives may apply models such as OAIS, along with backups, versioning, and access controls to safeguard information over time.

Standards and practice commonly reference ISO 15489 on information and documentation, as well as metadata standards like Dublin Core. Archival science emphasizes authenticity, context, and preservability to support future access.

Importance and use include providing evidence of legal rights and obligations, supporting accountability and governance, enabling research and knowledge management, and promoting transparency. Privacy and data protection considerations shape access to sensitive materials.

In summary, dokumentai cover physical and digital artifacts that document human activity, and their proper management ensures reliability, accountability, and lasting accessibility.