UKRAINIAN ARCHIVAL COMPANY
24.07.2023 – a Contract was concluded with Ukrainian Archival Company based on the results of a request for price quotations for procurement — archival services for arrangement of documents and files (79000000-4 – Business services: legal, marketing, consulting, personnel, printing and security). During performance of the Contract, works were carried out to process and prepare documents for archiving in accordance with legal requirements and the organization’s requirements under Grant Agreements, including: creation of a file plan — systematized lists with retention periods; arrangement of documents by alphabet, type, retention period, and chronological order; creation of a file inventory/archival accounting document; provision of binding services (including materials); drawing up acts on selection of documents for destruction; packing and removal of documents selected for destruction and their destruction at a recycling facility; formation of bundles of files not subject to retention. The total volume of processed files was 215.
As a result of cooperation between the State Archival Service of Ukraine, the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine, and FamilySearch International, the first stage of large-scale digitization of documents from the archive’s fonds began on 2 October 2023.
More than 100,000 digital copies of genealogical documents of Ukrainian literary and artistic figures are planned, including musicologist and composer Leonid Kaufman, composer and choral conductor Kyrylo Stetsenko, the creative Trebinskyi family, literary scholar Mykhailo Novytskyi, and others from more than 500 personal fonds.
Note: On 2 June 2020, the Head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine Anatolii Khromov signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the State Archival Service of Ukraine and FamilySearch International aimed at digitizing genealogical documents of Ukraine’s National Archival Fonds and creating a use copy fonds for such documents. On 20 December 2022, a cooperation agreement was concluded between the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine and FamilySearch International.
On 26 September 2023 in Krakow (Republic of Poland), the international forum “Collections in Safety – Heritage in Safety. Museums, Libraries, Archives Facing Danger” was solemnly opened.
The Head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine Anatolii Khromov, speaking on the first panel dedicated to Ukrainian archives about the coordinated work of Ukrainian archivists amid Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, support from international partners, rapid digitization of Ukraine’s National Archival Fonds documents, and a pilot project to introduce an electronic archive, said: “We will do everything possible to preserve our history and cultural heritage for future generations.”
The same day, Anatolii Khromov held consultations with the Director General of the State Archives of the Republic of Poland Paweł Pietrzyk. Both leaders discussed further cooperation, including a five-party project with the Baltic states “Shared Archival Heritage”, Polish support for Ukraine’s nomination of documentary memory of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 for inclusion in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register, and continued donor support by Polish archivists and other volunteer organizations for Ukrainian archives. This once again shows that Poland is one of Ukraine’s most important strategic partners.
Yaroslav Faizulin, Director of the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, also spoke at the conference about the archive’s experience in safeguarding National Archival Fonds documents in wartime. The international forum ran on 26–27 September 2023; the live stream (in Ukrainian, Polish, and English) is available at: http://surl.li/lndyd
On 27 September 2023, on Polish Radio for Ukraine, the Head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine Anatolii Khromov spoke about the work of Ukrainian archivists in wartime.
He emphasized that Ukrainian archives in relatively safe regions today operate as they did before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Requests are processed, archival certificates are issued, and reading rooms are open.
Speaking about the international conference “Security of Collections – Security of Memory. Museums, Libraries, Archives under Threat”, where he reported on the current state of Ukraine’s archives, he noted the importance of such forums for establishing direct contacts with foreign partners interested in helping Ukrainian archives both financially and technically (equipment, restoration materials, digitization, and more). He thanked the General Directorate of State Archives of Poland for charitable assistance to Ukrainian archivists: special shelving, air dryers for repositories, restoration materials and, importantly, fireproof evacuation bags.
Anatolii Khromov stressed that risks to archives in wartime are unpredictable, and digitization makes it possible, if not to preserve the documents themselves, then at least to preserve the information — which is critical for safeguarding the national memory of the Ukrainian people. Rapid digitization has been made possible with the support of foreign partners; the largest such partner, he said, is FamilySearch International, cooperation with which is expected to engage 100 operators on 100 cameras, enabling nearly 100 million documents to be digitized over four years.
The full interview is available at: http://surl.li/lqovm
19.09.2023 – With Ukrainian Archival Company a Contract was concluded based on the results of open bidding with peculiarities, as with the procurement winner under CPV 021:2015 — 92510000-9 Services for scientific and technical processing and archiving of documents (Prozorro number UA-2023-08-22-011398-a). The service for processing 550 files includes: scientific and technical appraisal of documents and arrangement of permanent retention (NAF) files and HR (personnel) files — appraisal of practical and scientific value of documents with/without page-by-page review, arrangement of files within the fonds, editing of file titles, etc. Binding of permanent retention (NAF) files and HR (personnel) files and their formalization (together with the contractor’s materials). Compilation and formalization of inventories of permanent retention and HR (personnel) files and prefaces/historical notes thereto. Approval of file inventories at the Central State Archive of Higher Authorities and Administration of Ukraine.
12.09.2023 – With Ukrainian Archival Company a Contract was concluded based on the results of a simplified procurement on the SmartTender e-platform, as with the winner, for services under CPV 021:2015 — 79970000-4 Publishing services (Prozorro number UA-2023-08-11-002648-a). Binding services (file sizes A4 and A3+) totaling 800 units include: removal of metal fasteners, gluing of pages, sewing of files, binding of files into a hard cardboard cover, and formalization of files.
01.09.2023 – With Ukrainian Archival Company a Contract was concluded based on the results of open bidding with peculiarities on the SmartTender platform, as with the procurement winner under CPV 021:2015 — 79990000-0 Miscellaneous business-related services (Prozorro number UA-2023-08-09-002329-a). The binding service included: arrangement of archival documents totaling 2,350 files; binding of files in accordance with legal requirements, in particular stitching documents in the file with four stitches using special heavy-duty thread, and additionally stitching document blocks in the file where necessary; use of book-cloth flaps; use of cardboard 2–3 mm thick for the file cover.
07.08.2023 – based on the results of open bidding with peculiarities, a Contract was concluded with Ukrainian Archival Company, as the winner, for services under CPV 021:2015 — 79970000-4 Publishing services (79971200-3 Binding services) (Prozorro number UA-2023-07-11-010901-a). Binding works for long-term retention files (1,300 files) were performed according to the Customer’s requirements, namely: joining sheets into a block; sewing the block with thread in accordance with legislation, in particular stitching documents in the file with four stitches using special heavy-duty thread; while binding or stitching, not covering the text; placing the block into the cover; using cardboard at least 2 mm thick for the file cover; removing metal fasteners (paper clips, pins, staples); gluing the file spine; affixing binding material (book cloth) to the edge; using water-based glue (PVA) with special plasticizer additives.
