19.09.2024 | News Federal Archives launch digital reading room with IntraFind as software and service provider

In its first stage of expansion, the Digital Reading Room makes the film collections of the Federal Archives searchable. Currently, over 320,000 films can already be found there, several thousand of which can be streamed directly online. In the next stages of expansion, the Federal Archives will gradually add further types of archive material such as files, images, maps, posters and sound recordings to the platform.

The Digital Reading Room replaces the Federal Archives' film library, in which only some of the collections were previously searchable. In the coming years, it will also replace other research platforms. Citizens then have a central platform at their disposal to research, order, watch, listen or stream different types of media on a subject-related basis.

The Federal Archives use software and services from IntraFind for the technical implementation of the Digital Reading Room. With its intelligent linguistic and analysis functions, the ‘iFinder’ search software guarantees high-quality search results in the archive's complex historical data holdings. To quickly present users with the relevant search results, it also takes metadata and contextual information into account in addition to the full text. 

Furthermore, the search software is specifically designed for intuitive and convenient use. This allows the Federal Archives to reach many different target groups with the Digital Reading Room. Users with different levels of technical affinity can quickly and easily familiarize themselves with how the platform works. 

‘With the Digital Reading Room, we open a new chapter in the Federal Archives for everyone who is interested in history and stories,’ explains Prof. Dr. Michael Hollmann, President of the Federal Archives. ‘We are not only strengthening the digitization and preservation of our collections, but we also make them visible and even easier to access. Our film heritage is the first step, but in the future, we want to set standards for the digital use of our sources in the interests of our users.’

‘The Digital Reading Room opens a new door to an immense wealth of knowledge, and we are delighted to be able to support the Federal Archives in this endeavor,’ comments IntraFind CEO Franz Kögl. ‘The project is a good example of how it can make sense to connect complex and heterogeneous databases to the search solution step by step and to tackle the next project stages with the experience gained in the process.’

IntraFind at the ARCHIVISTICA 2024

IntraFind Software AG will be exhibiting at ARCHIVISTICA 2024, Europe's largest trade fair for the archiving industry, which takes place from 8 to 10 October in Suhl. The company will be represented at stand 27.