In 2023, Andrew Martrich, Associate Documentation Control Officer in the Linguistic Services and Publishing (LSP) section at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), proposed floating the Organization’s ‘IMO Legacy Collection’ as a candidate for the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
The International Meteorological Organization (IMO) (founded in 1873 and the predecessor to WMO) was the first global organization to facilitate the exchange of weather-related information and data across nations. The IMO Legacy Collection consists of the WMO collection of historic IMO publications. Much of the material that IMO collected and disseminated over its nearly 80 years of operation was subsequently published. Today, the IMO’s historical significance continues under WMO, which is preserving and digitizing the historic IMO publications that make up the IMO Legacy Collection.
The proposal was accepted, and Andrew Martrich set about assembling and submitting the application, serving as the project focal point. At the end of 2024, the application succeeded the first round of acceptance, and on 17 April 2025 the IMO Legacy Collection was inscribed on the Register, publicly affirming the significance of the documentary heritage. Its place on the Register raises the profile of the collection and allows for greater access to it, thereby facilitating research, education, entertainment and preservation over time.
On the occasion of the 79th session of the WMO Executive Council, in the year that commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Organization, Andrew Martrich explains his motivation and expectations for having the IMO Legacy Collection inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
How did you come across the idea of submitting the IMO legacy to the Register?
When I came to WMO in 2023, I immediately took an interest in the Organization’s historical archives. I was fresh from leading the pre- and post-digitization teams of a large-scale digitization project at the United Nations Office at Geneva (known as the LONTAD project), which digitized, preserved and made available the archives of the League of Nations, so naturally I was curious if a similar (albeit smaller) project could be done at WMO. It seems the stars were aligned, as LSP happened to be in the process of finalizing its new WMO e-Library, a platform established to make WMO publications freely available to the public. I proposed an accompanying digitization project targeting the WMO historical publications. As part of that proposal, I recommended submitting the IMO Legacy Collection – a subcollection consisting of the publications of WMO’s predecessor (the International Meteorological Organization) – for inscription on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, in honor of WMO’s 75th anniversary (this year!) and for the purpose of showcasing WMO’s unique history and collections. In addition, the team agreed that, if nominated, it would benefit the new WMO e-Library by raising visibility and bringing in new researchers.
In today’s highly technological world, what prompted you to facilitate the preservation of WMO’s past documentary heritage?
I’m a bit of an enthusiast when it comes to archival conservation and preservation. I’ve had the unique opportunity of working with a variety of historical collections and archives at other United Nations agencies over the last decade. Wherever I go, I’m not only on the lookout for interesting libraries and archives, but also for opportunities to celebrate their beauty, provenance and importance. Too often, collections are neglected, swept under the rug and forgotten. This, of course, can be due to a lack of resources, but it’s also a sentiment spurred on by assumptions regarding technological change. It’s important to stress that scanning and putting something online doesn’t guarantee long-term preservation by any means. Digital collections are just as vulnerable as physical ones, if not more so. Regardless of the type, healthy archives are dynamic and alive, and like any living thing, they require attention and care to thrive. Without that, they can disappear very easily.
Documentary heritage is a legacy of humankind, through which we can look back into the past. Can you explain what drove you to choose the IMO publications for the Register?
As soon as I came across the IMO Legacy Collection, I knew it would be a good candidate for the Memory of the World Register. The Collection consists of some of the oldest materials in the WMO archives. Founded in the late nineteenth century, IMO was the first forum for meteorological cooperation, the first to facilitate the exchange of weather-related information and data across nations. Consequently, IMO prompted developments in meteorology and related subjects such as cloud studies, climate, storm warnings, terrestrial magnetism, atmospheric science (the list goes on), that may not have happened otherwise. WMO carries on this legacy as IMO’s successor, and I thought the nomination would be a unique way to celebrate this shared history on WMO’s 75th anniversary, a testament to the Organization’s storied journey.
This prestigious award will lead to future interest in the IMO Legacy Collection. What is the preservation and access management plan?
The IMO Legacy Collection is a hybrid collection (meaning that it consists of both digital and paper materials), so preservation occurs in different streams. The physical collection will undergo conservation treatments as required, and remain in the WMO secure archives facility. At the same time, we are systematically digitizing the collection and making it accessible via the WMO e-Library, a platform that employs digital preservation measures via i2S. The digitized portion of the collection is already available from the e-Library, and I highly recommend checking out some of the lovely publications we have there, some of which are being made accessible to the public for the first time ever. My personal favorite is a first edition of the International Cloud Atlas, published in 1896, a title that WMO continues to update and issue to this day.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank the present and past members of the LSP Digitization Team, who have been working with the IMO Legacy Collection in different capacities.
It is exceptional for WMO to be part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and to encompass the vision that the world’s documentary heritage belongs to all. This recognition will ensure that the collection will be permanently preserved and protected, accessible to all without hindrance.