3. Library & Archives Mission
• Functions as a multi-media resource and
documentation center
• Acts as a primary research repository to preserve,
digitize, and disseminate documents, photographs,
maps, correspondence, artifacts, memorabilia
• Responds to world-wide information requests via e-
mail, the Internet as well as telephone, fax, and walk-
in users
4. ITU library & archives function as
• Knowledge provider - The Library & Archives
provide a solid foundation for in-depth and
comprehensive research in all areas of the ITU‘s
work through its rich and up-to-date collections,
archival funds, and training programme.
• Memory keeper - The Library & Archives ensure
that the institutional memory of the Organization
remains accessible to future generations.
4
5. Functions
• Library (paper and digital): providing
documentation and information to ITU staff,
delegates and researchers on ICTs
• Archives & Records management : giving access
to ITU’s record of work; save keeping institutional
history
• History & Digitization : promoting ITU’s history by
digitizing key documents and creating a web
portal
5
7. Ask a librarian : help with research
For ITU Staff & for external researchers
• Answer reference requests
• Online search and retrieval
• Tailor-made alerting services
• Reading lists: monthly selections of
online articles from our electronic
subscriptions
• Training on usage of resources
8. Archives collections
1865-present
• Conference and meeting
documents
• Administrative documents
• Historic correspondence (1869-
1947) and other operational and
administrative records (1950-
present)
• ITU publications
• Photographs
• Maps
world and regional maps of
telecommunication networks, ca.
1875-1930
11. Archives secure storage
• Semi-active records
are transferred to the
Archives Service on a
regular basis
• Historic collections
Storage facility: 2nd basement of Montbrillant
13. Programme purpose
The purpose of this project is to
organize, catalogue, digitize and
publish on the ITU website a
selection of conference
documents, in order to make
unique ITU records widely
available to ITU staff and all kinds
of researchers.
www.itu.int/historywww.itu.int/history
14. Objectives
• Improve access to ITU information while
ensuring the long-term preservation of the
historic documents
• Make this information available for free
consultation on the web by researchers and
ITU staff.
15. 150 years of ITU history buried inside ITU’s
documents
16. Project deliverables
• Catalogue records for all
conference documents.
• Digitized versions (pdf +OCR) of all
conventions/final acts, regulations,
lists of participants.
• All electronic files and appropriate
metadata stored in the DMS
repository (master copy + display
copy + metadata)
• Background information for each
conference
• Fully functional website available
internally and externally.
17. Step 1 : Collect & Select
• Collect all conference
documents from the
Library and Archives
holdings
• Compare different
editions and language
versions
• Appraise, select and
prepare the documents to
be digitized
18. Step 2 : Study & research
• Study the context of
each conference
• Write infor-mation
pages for each
conference
19. Step 3 : Scan & OCR
• Digitize and OCR the
documents and verify the
electronic copies
• Bookscanner
• Reprography Service
• Photocopier
– Image enhancement
– Clean up
– PDF
– OCR
– Quality control
20. Step 4 : Describe & Catalog
• Catalog all materials
(all languages, all
editions)
• Check in DMS
– master copy
– display copy
– metadata
21. Step 5: Organize the digital
collection website
• Design, test and implement the website, including
– navigation (browsing, searching, links),
– introductory and explanatory texts,
– links to other sources, and
– traffic tracking for report statistics
• Integrate the web pages in an ITU History Portal
22. 26
40506; 5%
144292; 20%
430706; 58%
36332; 5%
43851; 6%
5077; 1%
26026; 4% 9078; 1%
Administrative TT Conferences
Plenipotentiary Conferences
Radio Conferences
Radio Regulations
Historical Indicators
ITU Annual Report
Miscellaneaous
Development Conferences
June 2015 - total number of pages scanned:
760,000
30. Annual reports 1869-2001
Valuable overview of the history and
evolution of the organization.
The reports contain information about ITU
membership, staffing, publications and
budgets, as well as statistical and
operational information about the main
activities of each section of the
organization.
Also included is information about ITU
conferences and meetings and, after 1947,
about ITU’s relations with the United
Nations and other international
organizations
34
31. Historical Statistics 1849-1967
The ITU Historical Statistics (1849-1967)
collection provides access to the three
series of statistical reports that the Union
published between 1871 and 1968:
• telegraph [and telex] statistics (1849-
1967),
• telephone statistics (1885-1967),
• radio statistics (1908-1967).
These sets of statistics provide an
interesting perspective on the use and
development of communication networks
and technology in the late 19th and early
20th centuries.
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32. Digitized Conferences
• 62 key ITU conferences
– 18 Plenipotentiary Conferences
– 24 World Radiocommunication
Conferences
– 13 Telegraph and Telephone Conferences
– 6 Telecommunication Development
Conferences
– 1 World Conference on International
Telecommunications
• Each conference has:
– A web page
– Digitized versions of all conventions/final
acts, regulations, lists of participants
– Background information
– Further reading
36
36. Check out our overview article on
telecommunication and ITU’s history
Check out our overview article on
telecommunication and ITU’s history
37. Further reading : a selection of books & articles with a historical perspective on the evolution of ITU an its
areas of work
Further reading : a selection of books & articles with a historical perspective on the evolution of ITU an its
areas of work
