Digitization of the 17th and 18th Centuries’ Dutch East India Company (VOC) Archives for The Archives’ Preservation

This study discusses the process of digitizing the Dutch East India Company (VOC) treasures archive from the 17th century to the mid-20th century during the Dutch East Indies colonial government (1818–1942). This VOC archive has been recognized by UNESCO as a world historical heritage, namely, the Memory of the World Register, in March 2004. The National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), as a national archival institution, is responsible for opening these archives online for the public, students, scientists, and all those in need around the world. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a digitization process for easy access to the VOC archives. The purpose of this study was to see how the process of digitizing the VOC archives was carried out and what obstacles were encountered in the process. This research method uses a qualitative approach with a case study method through a narrative description of data analysis that focuses on digitizing activities carried out by the ANRI, especially in the Reproduction and Archive Digitization Sub-Directorate. Data were collected through observation of digitization activities, interviews with archivists involved, analysis of digitizing documents, and literature studies. The results that can be reviewed are the process of digitizing the VOC archives, starting from the archive identification stage, metadata preparation, archive digitization, digitizing quality control, digital archive storage, and making reports of the activity of digitization. The digitized archives are presented on the website of “Sejarah Nusantara-Arsip Nasionalthat”, which can be freely accessed by the public. The conclusion obtained is that the digitization of the VOC archives has been carried out well according to the standard procedures previously established and the practice theory of archive digitization in general.