Heerlen Municipality, located in Limburg – the southernmost province of the Netherlands – manages a physical archive spanning approximately five kilometres. This archive comprises a wide range of records with varying retention periods and content. It includes materials that must be permanently preserved under climate-controlled conditions in accordance with the Dutch Archives Act, as well as plan chests and municipal archive boxes.
To gain structural insight into the archive and ensure sustainable management, the municipality was looking for a reliable long-term partner. Archive-IT provided the ideal solution and has since supported Heerlen Municipality in making the archive sustainably manageable and accessible.
Hybrid Archive in OAK
It is essential that the archive can be easily accessed via a software application that is user-friendly for all employees. Although the municipality is increasingly digitising its processes, new physical records are still being created. This new material is periodically collected, enriched with accurate metadata, and carefully archived.
The OAK software application offers Heerlen’s staff a central and accessible platform for requesting archive materials. Through this user-friendly interface, files can be requested either physically or digitally. When delivered digitally, files are instantly accessible and can be shared or downloaded directly. OAK also supports the registration of newly created records. Employees can easily register new documents themselves and apply the appropriate metadata. This contributes to an efficient archive structure in which records can be quickly retrieved and are automatically linked to the correct retention period.
In Line with Legislation
Through its collaboration with Archive-IT, Heerlen Municipality has gained improved insight into its archives while ensuring compliance with current laws and regulations. But archiving alone is not enough. Archive-IT actively assists the municipality in indexing and making a variety of archive categories accessible.
In addition, Archive-IT coordinates the relocation of physical archive materials and conducts quarterly evaluations with Heerlen Municipality. During these reviews, key performance indicators (KPIs) are aligned, and performance is jointly assessed and refined.
We would like to thank Heerlen Municipality for placing their trust in Archive-IT!