GOOD PRACTICE FORM FOR NOMINATIONS

We propose to start the activity of the workgroup on 'good practice' proposing an initial set of some main areas where to put the nominations. In particular we think to start with the basic issue of digitisation itself.
Each project can be 'nominated' for more than one area, following your evaluation of the most important features contained in the example.

AREAS for nominations of 'good practice' for on-going projects on digitisation:
1.	Preservation of physical objects via digitisation and electronic surrogates.
2.	High quality of the digitisation process.
3.	Metadata and Thesaurus.
4.	Usability of project results.
5.	Management of the process and workflow
6.	Accessibility including copyright issues and web sites

For each project please specify:

•	Area of 'good practice' where you like to nominate your project (you can put more than only one area): 

Usability of project results

•	Name:  

The Oxenstierna Project.
The Works and Correspondence of Axel Oxenstierna, Chancellor of Sweden 1612 - 1654

•	Responsible body and/or any specific :
Co-ordinating body/mechanism: 

Joint project between The Swedish Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities and The National Archives of Sweden.

•	Contact person: 

Dr Helmut Backhaus (helmut.backhaus@riksarkivet.se)

•	Web site:

http://www.ra.se/ra/Oxenstierna/oxenstierna1.html

•	Description of the project, objectives and priorities:

Axel Oxenstierna was chancellor of Sweden under King Gustav II Adolf (1611-1632), the regency of 1632-1644 and Queen Christina (1644-1654). Internationally he is best known as the leader of Swedish foreign policy during the Thirty Years' War, in particular after November 1632 when Gustav Adolf was killed in battle.
Oxenstierna's activities in peace and war internationally and domestically as chancellor and magnate can be studied in his enormous correspondence, which is kept in the Swedish National Archives. 

The publication of  his collected works, entitled "The Works and Letters of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna", have been in the process since 1888 under the auspices of The Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. The editing came to a standstill in 1977, however, and in 1999 the Academy, in co-operation with the National Archives, resumed the project. 

The aim is now to bring the edition of Axel Oxenstierna's correspondence to a scholarly satisfactory conclusion using new technology like digitisation (raster images), text encoding (TEI), a data base with Oxenstierna´s letters registered (as résumés or sometimes in full text), and a Internet interface.

Within the frames of the project ca 3500 letters from Oxenstierna have been registered; the letters to Oxenstierna cover ca. 40 running metres in the National Archive

•	The main technical features for what you consider the project a 'good practice' example:

By combining different technical solutions, added value is brought into the work compared with earlier text editions. It is, fore example,  possible to search in all known correspondence (resumes) and also to see some of the more important parts both  
a)	in encoded form (full text), and  
b)	as images 

It gives the user a broader overview and also a chance to control how the editor has interpret the text in specific letters.

The data base can be ordered to create special selections and supply a researcher with data that is impossible to get out of a printed edition.

•	Long term sustainability strategy:

Using standards like TIFF and XML.

•	Accessibility by users via local network or Internet (describe modalities and IPR issue from a technical point of view):

Accessibility via the Internet

•	Problems encountered :

Comments: 

Figures and documents enclosed:

I agree this information could be published/

                            X  Yes
                               No

Organisation & person completing the questionnaire

•	Formal name of organisation:

National Archives of Sweden

•	Type of organisation:
State archive

•	Field of action:	Archive / Library / Museum / Foundation / others ….

Archive

•	Address:

P.O. Box 12541
SE- 102 29 Stockholm
Sweden

•	Name of director:

Erik Norberg

•	Name and role of person completing the questionnaire:

Borje Justrell

•	Tel:

+46 8 737 6388

•	Fax:

+46 8 737 6474

•	Web site:
www.ra.se

•	E-mail:

borje.justrell@riksarkivet.ra.se

Date:

2002-05-13