Abstract
The active use of digital and network technologies by archival institutions for the effective implementation of one of the key activities of the archive, namely, the popularization and use of documentary heritage by society in the digital space determines the relevance of the problem. Information technology has assumed the role of the keeper of archives, the information carrier of archive documents and their publication. They change archival theories and ensure the transformation of the public memory and cultural heritage of the country. Documentary edition in the electronic environment of foreign archival business has different approaches and practices. The models of archived information differ in digital form. The purpose of the article is to assess the trends in the popularization of documentary heritage on the web archive of foreign countries. The research strategy will contribute to the analysis of concepts and problems in the scientific research of foreign authors, the definition of types and features of the creation of electronic editions and methods of describing metadata. The research materials include foreign regulatory and methodological documents; websites of a number of foreign archives: The National Archives of Great Britain, the Federal Archives of Germany, the National Archives and Records Administration of the USA (NARA), and the French National Archives. The research results will be both recommendations to archival institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the positive experience of popularization of documentary heritage and the creation of software products.