Project DinKA
The project Digitization of Institutional Core Files (DinKa) aims at systematically digitizing the core files of institutional holdings located in the Archive of Contemporary History, preparing them and making them accessible in the virtual space.
Project History
While the Zeitgeschichte.digital project (2010-2017) pursued the digitization of selected integral archives and estates primarily on contemporary Jewish history, the DinKa project focuses on so-called core files, i.e. central file series (statutes, annual reports, minutes, circulars, etc.) of clubs and associations.
Core files form the basis for answering many questions and facilitate the start of research, as they provide references to transactions that are documented in more detail in the other (non-digitized) files and they thus have the function of a finding aid. Thanks to automated text recognition, they also enable new research and evaluation possibilities.
Digitized are indexed holdings whose metadata are accessible in the online database. The content and quantitative focus is on holdings relating to the economy, namely the umbrella organizations of Swiss employers as a whole, the machinery, electrical and metal industries, and the textile industry. In addition, there are other, mostly smaller associations and federations from the collection areas of political and Jewish history.
In 2018, a total of 131 linear meters from 40 holdings were identified and analyzed as core files. After securing financial support from ETH's own funds and special funds for the preservation and digitization of its collections and archives, as well as project contributions from two Swiss business associations (Swisstextiles and economiesuisse), the preparation of the records began in October 2018 and was completed in July 2019.
Digitized Fonds
Between June 2019 and Mai 2022, all four work packages were digitized on schedule at ETH Zurich's DigiCenter. These comprise the core files from the archives of the following institutions with around 933,000 pages, which have been usable in digital form on the virtual reading room computers of the Archives of Contemporary History since the end of April 2022:
- Eidgenössische Gemeinschaft
- Gotthard-Bund
- ECOPOP
- Redressement National
- Swissmem (VSM, ASM)
- Swisstextiles