Archiwa a systemy informatyczne w administracji publicznej. Wstęp do problematyki

Abstract

Archives and IT systems in public administration. Introduction to the issue The subject of ICT systems currently in use in public administration units in Poland is incredibly extensive. On the one hand, it can be considered in the formal and legal context and on the other from a strictly technical point of view, related to the architecture or structure of applications, as well as software and hardware solutions used in them. The author has made an attempt to analyse issues related to the functioning of ICT systems, paying particular attention to domain-specific systems implemented in public administration units. The main matter under consideration are legal regulations concerning the essence of ICT systems, as well as handling electronic documentation stored in them. Domain-specific systems are independent ICT systems developed to provide services for a specific area of activity of a given institution, intended for carrying out strictly defined and specialised tasks. Such systems should make it possible to carry out all activities arising from legal provisions which concern the processing of data or compiling and storing documentation, which is managed in a way that reflects the whole decision-making process. The author made an attempt to present the most important issues related to the functioning of such ICT systems in public administration units in Poland. The article discusses legal regulations concerning such systems (and the way in which they are presented in applicable office and archive provisions), attempts to systematise and classify them and characterises their structure and basic tasks. The article presents issues of utmost importance from the point of view of state archives, related to the possibility of taking over archive materials. Attention was drawn not only to formal, legal or technical possibilities, but also organizational ones. The author characterises the manner and methods which can be used to judge the value of documentation coming from such systems. The author pointed out the most important research areas which concern the discussed issues: the place of domain-specific systems in modern offices and in electronic office administration, storing and securing electronic documents and shaping national archival resources. Nowadays, when we are dealing with a dynamic growth of various types of ICT systems, it is extremely important to protect documentation of a historical value, compiled in such systems.