Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums, commonly known as GLAM within the University of Pretoria, are responsible for managing and making accessible an array of unique collections that enrich researcher experiences and expand their knowledge. The world of artificial intelligence (AI) is fast growing, and universities and archives are using AI to enhance access, presenting new opportunities to improve digital archiving practices.

The University of Pretoria (UP) Museums Archive, located in the Old Arts Building on the Hatfield Campus, is beginning to explore the potential of AI as a research tool to transcribe, search for and interact with archival records in new ways. The University of Pretoria Museums are professional International Council on Archives (ICA) members.

The International Council on Archives dedicated 9 to 13 June 2025 to celebrating International Archives Week on a global scale, and South Africa joined this international call for advocacy of archives. Archival institutions from all around the world offered various types of programmes to emphasise the importance of archives. The theme for 2025 was “Archives are accessible, archives for everyone”. The theme celebrated how archives worldwide embrace new technologies to open their collections, making it easier for people to engage with history, culture, and knowledge.

In an exciting initiative to celebrate International Archives Week, the UP Museums Archive, along with some of its institutional partners, the Mapungubwe Archive and the UP Archives (UPA), hosted its first webinar on 6 June 2025, highlighting the critical effects of artificial intelligence (AI) in the archival realm. Leading the presentation was the renowned specialist and GLAM expert Mr Niklas Zimmer, the Digital Scholarship and Data Curation Manager from First Coast Technologies, based in Cape Town.

UP Archives Webinar with GLAM expert Mr Niklas Zimmer (left)

With a background in fine art, education, and digital curation, Zimmer works at the intersection of technology and memory, leading large-scale digitisation and AI-driven preservation projects across Africa. He has notable South African projects under his belt. The topic of his webinar was “AI Innovations Towards Inclusive Access to Archives”. The webinar was well attended by over 70 attendees, including UP staff members and external GLAM representatives from South Africa and the international public. Highlighted guests included 30 online attendees from Makerere University in Uganda, where Zimmer presented the live workshop from.

Zimmer explored what archival access means: “#ArchivesAreAccessible – But only when they are usable.” He shared that mere digitisation is not enough, and accessibility must be built in. He unpacked what Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) looks like, such as the core technologies involved in IDP. He further emphasised the fact that access to archives is critical. Just because an archival record has been physically and/or digitally preserved does not automatically mean it is accessible. Zimmer explored the archival value chain from appraising the document to creating the accessibility of the record. Through his presentation, the audience was able to trace the trail that an archival record follows, from the high-quality imaging, the text extraction of the document, the data extraction, and the ultimate creation of searchable files to make the high-quality scans accessible to researchers.

Zimmer also shared some case examples of automating metadata capture in library theses collections and getting more out of the digitisation of newspapers and other periodicals. He also noted the Isivivane Solwazi Digitisation Dialogue Coalition in KwaZulu-Natal as an example of such efforts in South Africa.

Throughout the webinar, the audience was able to visualise what accessibility in archives looks like in the age of artificial intelligence. The role of future archivists will be empowered through AI, while human intelligence will remain critical in this process. Zimmer shared that, like AI, “automation does not mean abdication, archives must still think critically”.

The webinar was followed by a short question and answer session with Zimmer, and the feedback that the UP Museums Archive received was overwhelmingly positive. It is evident that it has been a very topical discussion, and many more dialogues on the role of AI in the future of archives can be conducted in the future. The UP Museums Archive is excitedly hopeful that this was only the first of many annual webinars.

As archivists, librarians, and members of GLAM institutions, we have a unique opportunity to make our collections not just accessible, but truly engaging for everyone. It is vital to use the new technological developments to our advantage and benefit the audiences and researchers interested in our collections. The webinar provided practical steps that various custodians of different types of heritage can implement with the digitisation of their collections. This was not just an information session for archivists but a call to action for all involved in the GLAM sector. With collaborative efforts, we can do more with our collections and reach broader audiences. The UP Museums Archive remains focused on digitising the various archival collections in its repository, while creating multiple channels of accessibility to collections within the care of the UP Museums.

To access the webinar, please get in touch with the UP Museums Archive at [email protected] to receive a free recording of the webinar. Alternatively, the webinar can be found at the following link.