"What do you do with a million mails?" A survey on email archiving in German-speaking countries
Carolin Hahn
**Focus of my contribution**
In examining the procedures for managing digital archives, the poster will take a closer look at the challenges of preserving and providing emails. The issue is currently under discussion at an international level (e.g. DeBauche et al., 2023 [iPRES], regarding French institutions: Ville, 2023). Even in German-speaking countries there are studies focussing on specific issues (e.g. Benauer, 2022), but comprehensive research addressing the various challenges has yet to be conducted.

**Study** 
Taking this situation into account, I sent out an online-questionnaire in April 2024 to the specialist communities of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Distribution channels were six relevant mailing lists. The survey provides the data basis for my current master's thesis (submission in June 2024 in Library and Information Science, Humboldt University of Berlin). The aim is to determine the current challenges and perspectives of email processing. 187 participants voted, of which 115 questionnaires are evaluable. Challenges were captured with qualitative methods (survey coding). 

**Objective of the poster contribution**
I would like to present the results at iPRES and also involve the international community. I aim to enhance participation with an interactive poster that includes a Mentimeter survey. This will not only provide insights into the unique challenges of email archiving in German-speaking countries but also extend the discussion to the international community, fostering a dialogue for making informed, long-term decisions in the field.

No specialised knowledge is required. Participants will need a smart device to fully engage with the interactive elements of the poster.

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Literature (small selection)
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**Benauer**, M. (2022). How can we capture what is important?: A Case Study on the Appraisal of Government Emails in Austrian Public Archives. MIÖG, 130(2), 282–313.
**DeBauche, S. et al.** (2023). iPRES 2022, Tutorial 517: Using ePADD for Email Preservation: Implementing the ePADD+ Project Enhancements, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKrLH8ycEfE
**Naumann, K.** (2023). Ein Durchbruch in der E-Mail-Archivierung? Die EPADD+ Projektvorstellung. Archive 2.0, https://archive20.hypotheses.org/11639 
**Rohringer, T.** (2021). Ein neues Gedächtnis für die Verwaltung: Born digitals und die Wissenschaft. Administory, 6(1), 233–239, https://doi.org/10.2478/adhi-2022-0013
**Ville, M.** (2023). 2013–2023: A review of ten years of email archiving in France. iPRES 2023, https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/128288
approaches to preservation start 2 preserve