“The National Archives of Australia has announced that it will move its digital archives program to software that supports the ODF. The significance of this example is that the NAA gathers in materials from multiple sources, in many different formats, which will need to be converted to ODF compliance for long term archival storage. The NAA’s decision provides a new and distinct case study for those considering a move to ODF. Unlike Mass. or Bristol, the NAA will deal almost exclusively with documents created elsewhere. As a result, it provides a ‘worst possible case‘ to test whether operating an ODF environment in a world that uses multiple non-ODF compliant formats is practical.”
And it makes sense to convert stuff to open document formats too. Recently a news item was aired in Holland on the Dutch national archives, and how they had so much trouble making all those old electronic documents accessible, as dealing with constantly varying Word and Word Perfect documents was a lot of hassle.
http://www.becta.org.uk/
http://www.becta.org.uk/subsections/foi/documents/technology_and_ed…
lock-in with format by vendors is getting serious national attention in the uk
In addition to an open and openly documented format, an archive needs also an “open” and future-proof media. Believe it or not, books/printed material seems to be still the most future-proof and open of them all.
If someone can think of a better one, I dare you.