Preamble

Title: On the Extremely Important Value and Significance of Scientific and Technical Archives for Public Institutions
Author/Institution: Yang Yawen (National Radio and Television Administration Satellite Live Broadcasting Management Center, Beijing 100000)

Abstract:
Results: Scientific and technical archives record the actual circumstances of public institutions in research, production, and infrastructure construction activities, serving as authentic reflections of history, facts, knowledge, and experience. They provide historical evidence and scientific basis for public institutions.
Conclusion: Scientific and technical archives help public institutions make more scientific and accurate assessments of situations and formulate strategies during decision-making processes, holding significant meaning for these organizations.

Keywords: public institutions; scientific and technical archives; technology empowerment; scientific research; management
CLC Number: G202
Document Code: A
Article ID: 1671-0134(2025)03-49-04
DOI: 10.19483/j.cnki.11-4653/n.2025.03.009
Citation Format: Yang Yawen. On the Extremely Important Value and Significance of Scientific and Technical Archives for Public Institutions [J]. China Media Technology, 2025, 32(3): 49-52.

Introduction:
In an era of rapid technological development and flourishing knowledge economy, public institutions serve as crucial forces driving social development, undertaking key responsibilities in scientific research innovation, production services, and infrastructure construction [1]. Scientific and technical archives, as authentic records of these institutions' activities, resemble a treasure trove of rich information whose value is increasingly prominent. Thorough investigation into the value and significance of scientific and technical archives for public institutions, and how to better construct and utilize them, has become an important topic for enhancing management levels and core competitiveness [2].

From a macro perspective, global technological competition is intensifying, and knowledge accumulation and innovation have become key determinants of development. As important entities in knowledge production and application, the scientific and technical archives of public institutions represent not only valuable resources for internal development but also important media for participating in social knowledge exchange and cooperation. Against the backdrop of national innovation-driven development strategies, fully tapping the value of scientific and technical archives contributes to promoting scientific and technological progress and innovative development across society.

From a micro perspective, as public institutions continuously expand and deepen their operations, demands for refined and scientific management are increasing. Scientific and technical archives encompass comprehensive information from project planning to achievement application, providing strong support for organizational decision-making, helping optimize resource allocation, improve work efficiency, and better fulfill public service functions. Therefore, research on the value and management strategies of scientific and technical archives holds important practical significance [7].

1. The Important Value of Scientific and Technical Archives for Public Institution Development

1.1 Providing Historical Evidence and Scientific Basis

Scientific and technical archives comprehensively document all aspects of public institutions' research, production, and infrastructure projects, from market research and technical feasibility analysis during project initiation, to experimental data and process parameters during implementation, and finally to achievement reports and performance evaluation data during project completion [3]. These contents are presented in various forms and carriers including text, charts, data, images, audio, and video, constituting a complete historical trajectory of projects.

Taking a new materials research and development project in a scientific research institution as an example, detailed records in the scientific and technical archives include: analyses of material performance requirements for different application scenarios from early market research, discussions of advantages and disadvantages of various preparation processes from technical feasibility studies, environmental conditions and experimental procedures for each test, obtained data results, and analyses and discussions of abnormal data. During project completion, the achievement report summarizes the innovation and practicality of R&D outcomes, while performance evaluation data provides quantitative analysis of project inputs and outputs, further completing the archival content.

When conducting similar projects or optimization research on these materials later, these archival materials become valuable references, avoiding redundant research and saving substantial time and resources. Through archival analysis, researchers can clearly understand past research directions and achievements, providing a solid historical foundation for new scientific research decisions and making them more scientific and accurate.

1.2 Promoting Technological Innovation and Achievement Transformation

Scientific and technical archives contain numerous technological innovation achievements and intellectual property rights, representing a rich resource for technological innovation and achievement transformation in public institutions. Many archives record stage achievements, technological breakthroughs, and lessons learned from failures during project implementation.

In the scientific and technical archives of a medical device R&D institution, detailed records document key technological breakthroughs during the development of a new medical device. When tackling technical challenges with the equipment's core components, the R&D team attempted multiple methods, with records of failed attempts and improvement ideas providing valuable experience for subsequent researchers. Building upon this foundation, they successfully developed more advanced medical equipment [4].

Through in-depth research and development of scientific and technical archives, public institutions can uncover potential innovation points. Furthermore, intellectual property information in the archives, such as patents and copyrights, provides legal protection for achievement transformation. This facilitates commercialization through technology transfer and cooperative development, creating economic and social benefits. For instance, leveraging patent information in its archives, the medical device R&D institution collaborated with multiple medical institutions and enterprises to bring new medical equipment to market, generating considerable economic returns while improving diagnostic and treatment capabilities in the healthcare industry, yielding positive social impacts.

1.3 Role in Project Management and Decision-Making

In project management and decision-making processes, scientific and technical archives play an indispensable role. Project managers can comprehensively understand project backgrounds, technical routes, and implementation progress by consulting archives.

During project application, referencing similar past projects' archival materials enables more accurate proposal writing and improves success rates. For example, when applying for an environmental protection research project, the team referenced archives from previously successful similar projects, drawing on experience in project objective setting, technical solution design, and expected outcome formulation. Optimizing these aspects according to the current project's characteristics, they successfully obtained project approval.

During project implementation, when encountering technical difficulties or schedule delays, archival experiences and solutions enable rapid decision-making and project direction adjustments [5]. In a software development project, the development team encountered technical problems mid-project. By consulting scientific and technical archives from similar past projects, they found solutions to analogous problems, adapted them to the current situation, and successfully resolved the technical issues while maintaining project schedule.

During project acceptance, scientific and technical archives provide detailed evidence, ensuring fairness and accuracy in project evaluation. Archives also support project assessment and auditing, helping institutions comprehensively understand implementation effects and economic benefits.

1.4 Knowledge Sharing and Exchange

Scientific and technical archives serve as important bridges for knowledge sharing and exchange among public institutions. Different institutions have accumulated rich scientific achievements and management experience in their respective fields. Sharing these archives enables knowledge dissemination and diffusion.

In scientific research, sharing archives between universities and research institutions helps researchers understand cutting-edge research trends, avoid redundant studies, and promote interdisciplinary integration and innovation. For example, a university research team conducting artificial intelligence research achieved interdisciplinary innovation and important research results by sharing scientific and technical archives with other institutions, learning about international frontier research methods and outcomes while drawing on research ideas from other fields [9].

Furthermore, archive sharing strengthens cooperation between public institutions and enterprises or social organizations, achieving resource complementarity and jointly promoting social development. In urban planning projects, planning departments, research institutions, and enterprises share relevant scientific and technical archives: planning departments provide urban status data and development plans, research institutions provide research outcomes and technical solutions, and enterprises provide practical experience and financial support. Through collaborative archive sharing, they enhance the scientific feasibility of urban planning.

1.5 Enhancing Archive Management Levels

The management level of scientific and technical archives directly reflects the overall management level and operational efficiency of public institutions. Strengthening collection, organization, appraisal, preservation, and utilization promotes standardization and normalization of archive management [6].

Establishing a complete archival classification system and retrieval system facilitates query and utilization. For example, a large research institution adopted a classification system combining thematic categories and chronological order, while developing an advanced retrieval system. Researchers can quickly retrieve required archives through keywords, time ranges, project names, and other methods, greatly improving work efficiency.

Adopting advanced archival preservation techniques and equipment ensures archive security and integrity. The institution equipped professional constant temperature and humidity storage facilities and employed data backup and encryption technologies, effectively safeguarding archives.

Efficient archive management improves utilization rates and value, providing strong support for institutional work. Through optimization of archive management processes and information construction, institutions can enhance management efficiency and decision-making levels, achieving scientific and modern management. For example, introducing intelligent archive management systems enables automatic classification, cataloging, and retrieval, reducing manual operations and improving efficiency. Meanwhile, utilizing big data analysis technology to mine and analyze archival data provides data support for decision-making.

2. Construction and Empowerment of Scientific and Technical Archives

2.1 Establishing Sound Scientific and Technical Archive Management Systems

Public institutions must establish sound scientific and technical archive management systems, clarifying responsibilities and requirements for each process stage. During collection, departments must promptly collect relevant documents during project implementation, ensuring completeness and accuracy. For example, detailed document collection checklists should specify required file types and responsible persons for each stage, with regular inspections and follow-ups.

During organization, unified classification standards and organization norms should be established for orderly arrangement and numbering. International or domestic archival classification standards may be referenced and refined according to institutional business characteristics. For instance, classification by project type, discipline field, and chronological order ensures systematic and logical archives.

During preservation, clear environmental requirements and security measures prevent damage and loss [8]. Professional archival storage rooms should be equipped with fireproof, moisture-proof, and pest control equipment, with established check-in/check-out registration systems and strict control over borrowing and usage permissions.

During utilization, strict borrowing and confidentiality systems ensure reasonable use and information security. Borrowing procedures and return deadlines should be clear, with confidential archives encrypted and access restricted to prevent information leakage. Meanwhile, feedback mechanisms should be established to understand user needs and optimize archival services.

2.2 Strengthening Scientific and Technical Archive Infrastructure

With continuous information technology development, scientific and technical archive management is transitioning from traditional manual paper-based management to modern microfilm management and electronic file conversion. Public institutions must strengthen infrastructure by introducing advanced archive management systems and equipment.

Computer management systems enable digital storage and retrieval, improving utilization efficiency. For example, database technology establishes archival information management systems where paper archives are digitally scanned and entered, enabling rapid retrieval and online access [10]. System functions must be continuously upgraded and optimized to meet growing user demands.

Electronic storage equipment such as disk arrays and tape libraries ensures secure data storage. These devices feature large capacity and high reliability for long-term storage of massive archival data, requiring regular maintenance and testing to guarantee data security and integrity.

Network security equipment such as firewalls and encryption devices protect archival information during network transmission. Access control and data encryption prevent illegal acquisition and tampering. Additionally, strengthened network security management with regular security assessments and vulnerability repairs ensures stable and secure operation of archival information systems [11].

These infrastructure improvements not only enhance management levels but also provide timely and accurate information for rapid project response and decision-making.

2.3 Deepening Development and Utilization of Scientific and Technical Archives

The value of scientific and technical archives lies in their full utilization. Public institutions should deepen development and utilization through organization, summarization, and analysis of archival information to uncover potential value.

On one hand, specialized topic catalogs, electronic document compilations, and other tools can optimize and integrate scattered scientific and technical document resources for convenient query and utilization. For example, establishing specialized catalog classifications for key research fields and concentrating relevant research reports, experimental data, and patent information into thematic databases provides convenient query services for researchers. Meanwhile, online archival service platforms can be developed for remote sharing and utilization.

On the other hand, advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence enable deep mining and analysis of scientific and technical archives. Big data technology analyzes large volumes of research project archives to discover relationships and patterns, providing decision support for project planning and management. For example, analyzing input-output data from different research projects identifies key factors affecting project benefits, informing resource allocation for subsequent projects. AI technology enables intelligent retrieval and analysis of textual information in archives, improving accuracy and efficiency. Natural language processing allows users to input queries in natural language, with the system automatically matching relevant archives and providing semantic analysis for more precise results. Additionally, AI can analyze multimedia information such as images, audio, and video in archives to uncover more valuable information.

3. Practical Application of Scientific and Technical Archives in Our Institution

Since its establishment, our institution has attached great importance to the collection and organization of scientific and technical archives, with the Technical Department specifically responsible and having established a comprehensive "Scientific and Technical Archives Management System."

Front-end Control: During project planning and initiation, each department designates specific personnel responsible for document collection, organization, and review, with timely submission to the Technical Department upon project completion. Materials are systematically collected and sorted from project initiation, forming complete scientific and technical project archives after final acceptance. In a large infrastructure project, design drawings and feasibility study reports were promptly collected and organized from the planning stage, with various construction documents and acceptance reports archived according to requirements, ensuring archival completeness and continuity [11].

Process Management: During project implementation, real-time tracking and dynamic management of project documents are conducted. The Technical Department regularly inspects departmental archival collection, promptly identifying issues and providing guidance. For example, during a research project, the Technical Department discovered non-standard experimental data records and promptly communicated with the project team to require corrections according to regulations, ensuring archival quality. Meanwhile, project management software enables real-time document management with online storage, sharing, and collaborative editing, improving work efficiency.

End-point Feedback: During project acceptance, document archiving serves as a necessary condition for project completion and delivery, ensuring synchronization between project acceptance and archival acceptance. Archival quality feedback and continuous improvement enhance document quality and standardization [12]. For example, acceptance committees strictly review archival completeness and accuracy, proposing corrective actions for non-compliant archives. Project teams resubmit after rectification until archives meet requirements. Additionally, an archival quality evaluation system quantitatively assesses archival quality, providing basis for management improvement.

Scientific and technical archives management is implemented with "three synchronizations" alongside research, production, and infrastructure activities: simultaneous deployment, implementation, and inspection. This means project task assignment synchronizes with archiving requirements; project progress inspection synchronizes with scientific and technical document completion inspection; and scientific and technical achievement acceptance synchronizes with scientific and technical archives acceptance. The Technical Department supervises and guides archival work, assisting departments with document collection, organization, archiving, and project completion acceptance. Department heads are responsible for archival completeness, accuracy, and systematic organization. The Technical Department maintains statistics on archival borrowing, storage, and destruction, submitting statistical reports as required.

Through these measures, our institution's scientific and technical archives management has achieved remarkable results, providing strong support for research, production, and infrastructure development. In research, archives provide rich materials that help researchers quickly understand previous outcomes, avoid redundant work, and accelerate project progress. In production, technical specifications and operational procedures in archives provide standardized bases, ensuring smooth production and stable product quality. In infrastructure, complete project archives provide detailed drawings and materials for subsequent facility maintenance, renovation, and expansion, reducing management costs and risks [13].

Conclusion

In summary, scientific and technical archives hold extremely important value and significance for public institutions. They are not only witnesses to institutional history but also crucial resources driving institutional development. Public institutions should attach great importance to scientific and technical archives management and utilization, strengthening training and education of archival personnel to enhance management levels and service capabilities. Simultaneously, they should actively promote digitalization and intelligentization of scientific and technical archives, fully utilizing modern information technology to achieve efficient management and convenient utilization, providing solid guarantees for smooth project implementation and innovative development.

In future development, as technology continues advancing and institutional reforms deepen, the value of scientific and technical archives will become more prominent. Public institutions should continuously explore new models and methods for archives management and utilization to better serve institutional development and social progress. For example, with blockchain technology development, its application in scientific and technical archives management can be explored to enhance archival security and credibility. Combined with virtual reality technology, more immersive archival query experiences can be provided. Furthermore, strengthening cooperation with other units and institutions to jointly conduct research and practice in scientific and technical archives management represents an important approach to advancing the field.

References:
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Author Bio: Yang Yawen (1990—), female, Beijing, bachelor's degree, librarian, research direction: archives.
(Responsible Editor: Li Yansong)