Page 301 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Submission and transfer
Documentation and reports are submitted to the archive on the basis of an established protocol. Electronic submissions must always be supported by paper copies. The responsibility for correct submission to the archive lies with the member of the research team assigned to the task. Information forwarded to the archive should be arranged in such a way that the information can be integrated into the institution’s inventory, as well as into an integrated IT system, if that is applicable.
Archives that specialise in digital information will have policies for that and may prefer certain formats over others. Imaging, drawing and mapping software often allows for saving in different formats, including very basic formats. These may not include all the processing information, but may be a wise backup all the same. Digital data that is not maintained in an active system risks getting lost. First of all, the magnetic or optical carrier on which it is kept may be subject to quality loss. Secondly, decoding software may not continue to be available over time. Readable formats may change.
In any case, research materials submitted to the ar- chive must be systematically edited according to a pre-established and agreed upon methodology. This applies to digital archives and paper archives alike.
Ownership
Underwater cultural heritage is a matter of public in- terest, even when in some cases a private owner may still exist. As a consequence, archive repositories should also have a public responsibility and function. This implies some form of public control. There are different ways to organize this, and different models exist for different countries. Sometimes, the reposi- tory keeps collections on behalf of the national or regional government and in other cases, the State or municipality will be their owner. It is preferable for the repository to have ownership of any archive de- posited with them. The repository should also have copyright, or shared copyright, over the documenta- ry archive. This must be in line with existing legisla-
300 tion. Because of the legal complexities surrounding
Curation of project archives