Document Retention Standardization (GC 46/CN 10)
Reporting to the International Technical Committee ISO TC46 "Information and Documentation", the subcommittee SC10 "Requirements for the Storage and Preservation of Documents" standardizes the practices in force in the archives, libraries and documentation centres with a view to preserving, in the best possible conditions and for as long as possible, the documents which constitute their holdings. Its field of application concerns mainly documents on paper or parchment, with the exception of photographic and audiovisual documents.
In France, within the the AFNOR, the projects are prepared within the French mirror committee, AFNOR/CN46-10 Information and documentation, document retention. While most of the standards on which the CN46-10 experts are working are international in scope, they sometimes develop standards that are only brought to the French level.
Aspects covered
The activities of AD 46-10 include:
- the permanence and durability of paper and inks,
- the binding,
- conservation conditions (environmental conditions and collections management),
- assessment of the physical condition of the funds,
- the quality of the materials used for the packaging and restoration of the collections,
- emergency preparedness and response.
This commission is leading four expert groups, three of which are active to date:
- GE 2 "Collections Management" was set up in 2014 for the follow-up of new international work on the two technical reports on collections management.
- GE 3 "Requirements for storage" was reactivated in early 2020 to revise ISO 11799 "Information and documentation - requirements for storage of archival and library documents".
- the GE 4 "Emergency Plan" was set up in 2015 to work on a new ISO 21110 standard proposed internationally for the safeguarding of library collections and archives in crisis situations. This group has been dormant since the standard was published in 2019.
- GE 7 "Cellulosic materials" which is currently working on the revision of ISO 16245 "Boxes, shirts and other containers of cellulosic materials, for the storage of documents on paper and parchment" and will then work on that of ISO 9706 "Paper for documents - Requirements for permanence".
President : NGUYEN Thi-Phuong (Ministry of Culture - SIAF - Archives de France)
Secretary : XU Hélène (AFNOR)
For in know more
- Judith Kagan, Thi-Phuong NGuyen, «Normalizing Cultural Heritage Conservation in Europe (CEN) and Internationally (ISO): an Interdisciplinary Adventure» in Culture & Research, #143 : International cultural research, Ministry of Culture, December 2022, pp.37-38