Bewaren om te gebruiken. Het ‘materiële archief’ van onderzoekscollecties

Abstract

To keep in order to use. The material archive of research-collections There is no existing structure aimed at selecting, keeping and making accessible the material and the paper archive of scientific research and teaching, either at the national or the international level. While research collections are in use, keeping them is generally not a concern. This changes however, once research has come to completion and when collections cease to be intensely used. Furthermore, the significance of the object as source of information has decreased as a result of the successful introduction of new research techniques, leading to abandonment and finally disposal of collections. The cumulative effect of these disposals leads to irreversible loss of the 'material' archive of scientific research. Questions such as 'who will take the initiative and who will accept the responsibility for the 'material' scientific archive?' arise. A 'collection centre' may be the answer. But who will use the collections, who will make selections, which skills are required, who is in charge of accessibility and who will pay?