[Report] Access digital: benefit and integrate

Colloquium on the Archives Portal Europe at the Federal Archives in Koblenz (DE)

As part of the conference „Access digital – Made digital – Born digital“ at the Federal Archives in Koblenz (24 - 27 November 2014) the German team for the Archives Portal Europe was joined on Tuesday, 25 November, by representatives from the archives' domain as well as from various user communities in discussing the use, usage and user-friendliness of online presentations of archival material. With the Archives Portal Europe as well as other national and international portals providing the context for the event, the 14 presentations were grouped along the aspects of presenting, using and connecting. Questions, expectations and possible solutions presented by the speakers as well as the vivid discussion among the 80 participants evolved around aspects such as comprehensiveness of aggregated services, directness and transparency of access, new views on known sources as well as creation of new contexts and collaboration not only between the cultural heritage institutions themselves, but also with their users. Presentations of the event (in German and to some extent in English) can be accessed via the website of the German Federal Archives from 1 December 2014 onwards.