arhiveerimises

Arhiveerimises is a term used in archival science to denote the practice and theory of archiving records across their life cycle. It encompasses the systematic capture, description, preservation, and provision of access to information artifacts, both digital and physical. The concept emphasizes not only saving items, but ensuring their authenticity, integrity, and usability over time.

In professional use, arhiveerimises includes activities such as appraisal, description and metadata creation, format migration or emulation for digital objects, storage management, and access policy development. It relies on standards such as the OAIS reference model, Dublin Core in metadata, and PREMIS for preservation metadata. Institutions implement arhiveerimises through repositories, records schedules, and governance frameworks to ensure consistent handling of records from creation to long-term preservation and access.

Etymology and usage: The term is primarily used in Estonian-language archival scholarship, where arhiveerimine denotes the act of archiving and arhiveerimises forms part of academic phrasing. In English-language contexts, the concept is typically described using terms like archiving or archival preservation.

Significance and challenges: Effective arhiveerimises supports long-term access to cultural heritage, government records, and research data. Challenges include maintaining authenticity and provenance, ensuring metadata quality, addressing digital obsolescence, balancing access with privacy, and allocating resources for ongoing preservation.