On 22 June, 2dA will show a first impression of Archive Skills at Archiefcongres 2026 in Orpheus Apeldoorn: a way to make digital archives respond better to the user's question, without changing the source.
2dA shows how careful digitisation, metadata and context can grow into more understandable digital access.
More and more archives are digitally available. That is a major step, but for many users the real question starts afterwards. What am I looking at? Where does this record belong? Which context am I missing? And how do I find my way when I do not have the same prior knowledge as an archivist, researcher or municipal employee?
For 2dA, the starting point is clear: the original source always remains leading. The data remains intact, provenance remains visible and explanation must never replace the source. Archive Skills is therefore not a layer that rewrites archives, but a way to guide users more clearly towards the right context.
Citizens, researchers, families, students and staff may look at the same source while arriving with different questions and different language. Archive Skills explores how a digital collection can become understandable in several ways while the same reliable source remains central.
The basis remains the work archive institutions recognise: careful digitisation, good metadata, searchability, reliable systems and open connections. Only when that foundation is in place is there room for clearer explanation, better routes through collections and safer use of AI on archive data.
Digital accessibility is not only about putting more material online. It is also about explainability, context, trust and control over source data. That is why Archive Skills fits the direction in which archives, heritage institutions and public information services are developing.
2dA is bringing this development to Archiefcongres 2026 to show what we are working on and, just as importantly, to hear how others in the field look at it. Understandable digital access is not created from technology alone, but from archival practice, user questions and careful handling of sources.