History of the Institution

History of the Institution

The National Digital Archives originate from the Archives of Audiovisual Records (AAR) established in 1955. The transformation of the AAR into the NDA took place on 8 March 2008 on the basis of the Regulation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, issued at the request of the General Director of the State Archives.
The transformation was a response to the evolution in the area of the technology of recording, storing and providing access to archive materials.

The NDA are the first Polish digital archives, i.e. an institution set up to collect, store, provide access to, and manage archive materials in digital form.

The first director of the new institution was the founder thereof, Nikodem Bończa-Tomaszewski, PhD, who managed the transformation of the AAR into the NDA from July 2007 as the director of the NDA. Wojciech Woźniak, PhD has been managing the archives since 2012. Up to April 2016, the director of the archives was Wojciech Woźniak, PhD. Since 16 August 2016 Marianna Otmianowska has been managing NDA.

 

 

2007

  • FEBRUARY

    Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski, PhD, is preparing a project of digitalization of the State Archives for Sławomir Radoń, PhD, the General Director of State Archives. It assumes the construction of a network of digital archives across Poland and establishment of the National Digital Archives, an institution to coordinate the archives’ works. The project becomes a component of a long-term plan of reforms of the State Archives, initiated by Mr Radoń in 2006.

  • MARCH

    The process of creation of digital repositories – the infrastructure necessary to store digital data is starting. The first institutions to create them are the Central Archives of Historical Records, Poznań State Archive, Lublin State Archive and Warsaw State Archive. At the same time, the Poznań State Archive is beginning to prepare the construction of a pilot digitalization laboratory.

  • MAY – JUNE

    The General Director of State Archives is appointing teams to build the “Integrated Archive Information System – ZoSIA” and the “Archive Digitalization System – SeDAn”. Their works are coordinated by Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski, PhD. At the meeting of the Archive Council, Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski, PhD, is presenting a project of the establishment of the National Digital Archives. The concept assumes that the Archives of Audiovisual Records, which were operating since 1955, will be transformed into the NDA to fulfil the tasks related to the operation of digital archives. The Archive Council unanimously supports the project and emphasises the need to establish a new institution.

  • JULY

    Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski, PhD, becomes the director of the Archives of Audiovisual Records. His task is to prepare the MDA for the transformation into the National Digital Archives. The assumptions to the prototype of the Integrated Archive Information System (ZoSIA) are being prepared.

  • AUGUST

    Sławomir Radoń, PhD, the General Director of State Archives, is filing an application to the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for the transformation of the Archives of Audiovisual Records into the National Digital Archives.

  • SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER

    During the 5th General Meeting of Polish Archivists in Olsztyn, Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski is presenting the assumptions of the project of creation of the National Digital Archives. The Central Archives of Historical Records, Poznań State Archive, Lublin State Archive and Warsaw State Archive are completing the construction of digital repositories. At the same time, owing to the support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the programme is joined by three other archives: Archives of New Records, Kraków State Archive and Wrocław State Archive.

    The work on the creation of a central server room for the purposes of the National Digital Archives  is beginning.

  • NOVEMBER

    The Poznań State Archive is finishing the works on the digitalization laboratory. AAR are finishing the construction of a laboratory for a mass digitalization of microfilms and creation of microfilms of digital materials.

2008

  • JANUARY – FEBRUARY

    The construction of a prototype of a system for making the photographs available on-line is being completed. Nikodem Bończa Tomaszewski, PhD, is appointed as the computerization plenipotentiary of the General Director of State Archives.

    The “Department of Archiving Digital Resources” is being created within the AAR as part of the preparations to establish the NDA.

    During the meeting of the advisory team “IT and Archives”, the prototype of the Integrated Archive Information System ZoSIA is shown publicly for the first time.

    The “Regulation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of 6 February 2008 on the change of name and scope of activities of the Archives of Audiovisual Records in Warsaw” is transforming the Archives of Audiovisual Records into the National Digital Archives.

8 March – The National Digital Archives start to operate.