International event discusses digital archives in United States and Brazil

The FGV´s School of Social Sciences (FGV CPDOC), in partnership with the Center For Research Libraries (CRL) and Columbia University, recently held an event titled “Libraries, archives and civil society documentation: building and connecting digital collections.” The meeting discussed the conservation of, access to and use of primary sources in digital format.

Held in Rio de Janeiro, the meeting brought together FGV CPDOC’s documentation and Digital Humanities Laboratory teams, as well as professionals from more than 10 institutions involved in storing historical archives in Rio. The participants included representatives of the National Archives, National Library, Moreira Salles Institute, Rio Modern Art Museum, Imperial Museum and National Folklore and Popular Culture Center, among other organizations.

On the first day, the vice president of the Collections and Services Sector at the Center for Research Libraries, James Simon, presented the Global Collections Initiative and gave his perspectives on the United States’ experience in supporting archive conservation and diffusion. After that, the director of the Global Studies Sector and Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research at Columbia University, Professor Pamela Graham, addressed challenges in preserving and guaranteeing access to human rights-related collections, especially in Latin America.

On the second day of the event, invited Brazilian institutions presented their archives, challenges and everyday practices. The Library of Congress also participated in the event, through its overseas office based in Rio de Janeiro. The presentations fostered debate on the reality of archival institutions in Brazil, their challenges and opportunities for international collaboration.

The event took place through a partnership between FGV CPDOC and CRL within the scope of the Global Collections Initiative, which enabled international support to digitalize FGV CPDOC collection of women’s archives.

The Global Collections Initiative launched a pilot project focused on Latin America in 2017, and this was decisive for FGV’s participation as a partner in the international consortium. Other Latin American and European institutions are also members of the initiative, which aims to support libraries and archival institutions around the world, creating better conditions for the preservation, acquisition and accessibility of collections in the digital world. FGV CPDOC’s role in the Global Collections Initiative is to promote and publicize this initiative in Brazil, encouraging archival institutions to learn about the partnership and supporting the digitalization of collections to aid their preservation and accessibility.

The digitalization project that received funding aims to raise the profile of minorities represented in FGV CPDOC’s archives, as well as preserving them and making them available online. You can read all about the project on CRL’s website.

It is expected that around a year from now, the archives in question will be available for consultation in the Global Collections Initiative’s catalog and in FGV CPDOC’s online historical database.

You can see the draft version of the Global Collections Initiative’s catalog here.