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Digital records

"Records are the means by which the evidence of past and current policy, procedures, actions and decisions are preserved for future access and analysis. "

- Managing Electronic Records - A Shared Responsibility

Because information was for many years carried on paper or film-based recording media, information management techniques have traditionally centred on the management of paper records. With changing technologies, many records and documents now exist only in electronic form.

To ensure information in digital records remains accessible and is not inadvertently destroyed or corrupted, management strategies need to be developed and appropriate systems and procedures implemented. The authenticity and retrievability of records must also be guaranteed in these systems to maintain their value as evidence.

Whereas the management of corporate information was once in the realm of the records manager, who often evaluated records after their useful life was over, with digital records, this responsibility is dispersed, and includes the records creators.

Articles | Books | Events | Organisations and Websites | Online tutorial | Policies, Strategies & Guidelines | Projects and Case Studies | Bibliographies | Glossaries | Journals & Newsletters | Discussion Lists | Surveys | Tools | Evaluations

Articles

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Archives in the Regions: An overview of the English Regional Archive Strategies
The National Council on Archives (Date Created: 2001) (United Kingdom)
This report draws together the nine English Regional Archive Strategies. A key area of work highlighted in the report is to find solutions for some of the larger challenges currently facing the domain, such as sustainable arrangements for the management and preservation of digital records, and improving access to conservation services across the regions.
http://www.ncaonline.org.uk/materials/archivesinregionsoverview.pdf
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Archiving E-mail
Boudrez, Filip; Van den Eynde, Sofie (Date Created: Aug 2002)
A report from the Flemish DAVID Project examining in detail the legal and technical issues related to the preservation of email records, including sections on email archiving policies and practice. The report is available in PDF format.
http://www.expertisecentrumdavid.be/davidproject/teksten/Rapporten/Rep
ort4.pdf
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Authenticity of Electronic Records : a Report Prepared for UNESCO and the International Council on Archives
Millar, Laura (Date Created: Jan 2004)
This report, prepared for UNESCO and the International Council on Archives (ICA), extends the analysis and recommendations of the 2002 ICA report to UNESCO on authenticity of electronic records, especially with regard to developing countries. The central question addressed by this report is: what measures are necessary for records and archives professionals, especially in developing countries, to ensure the authenticity of electronic records and so ensure the preservation of, and continued access to this information.
http://www.ica.org/en/node/30209
ICA Study 13-2
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Historical Carrying Authentic, Understandable and Usable Digital Records Through Time
Bikson, T.; RAND-Europe; Rothenberg, J. (Date Created: 6 Aug 1999)
This report to the Dutch National Archives and Ministry of the Interior presents the results of a study to define a strategy and framework for the long-term management and preservation of digital governmental records. A "testbed" in which specific digital preservation techniques can be prototyped and evaluated is proposed.
http://www.digitaleduurzaamheid.nl/bibliotheek/docs/final-report_4.pdf
Historical CFP : Call For Preservation! : Results and discussion of a survey on the preservation of Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Libner, Kelsey (Date Created: 2003) (United States of America)
The first part of this paper discusses the results of a survey of 16 institutions regarding practices for the long term preservation of ETDs (electronic theses and dissertations). Data migration, preservation policies, electronic file backup and workflows are some of the areas surveyed. The second part of the paper discusses the file formats, particularly PDF and PDF/A. Areas requiring further investigation are also discussed.
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/etd2003/libner-kelsey/HTML/index.html
Historical Challenge of Web Site Records Preservation
Phillips, John T. (Date Created: Jan 2003)
This article expains the need for web site records management and retention, examines the challenges of web site records preservation management and discusses solutions to these problems. The ariticle also describes studies and documents that attempt to quantify and describe the problems of web site preservation.
http://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1222
Information Management Journal, (ISSN 1535-2897), Vol. 37, no. 1, January/February 2003 and by subscription online at www.ebscohost.com
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Historical Cost to Preserve Authentic Electronic Records in Perpetuity : Comparing Costs Across Cost Models and Cost Frameworks
Sanett, Shelby In: RLG DigiNews (Date Created: 15 Aug 2003)
This article outlines a methodology to evaluate various cost models and frameworks so that the most appropriate preservation strategy can be selected and implemented. The various cost categories are distilled into 5 tables and are evaluated in terms of acquisition and preservation related activities and access related activities.
http://worldcat.org/arcviewer/1/OCC/2007/08/08/0000070511/viewer/file3
379.html#feature2
Critical Factors for Digital Records Preservation
Thomaz, Katia P. (Date Created: 2006) (Brazil)
This paper describes and analyses research which examines the digital environment of Brazilian public organisations. Based on this research, the author lists over 150 critical factors for the long term preservation of digital records in this environment. The author also develops a digital preservation model which illustrates the relationships between objects and actions.
http://www.jiito.org/articles/JIITOv1p021-041Thomaz12.pdf
Journal of Information, Information technology and Organizations, ISSN 1557-1327, Vol. 1 (2006)
Digital Curation / Digital Archiving: a view from the National Archives of Australia
Cunningham, Adrian (Date Created: Apr 2007) (Australia)
This paper reviews the past ten years of digital curation endeavour at the National Archives of Australia. It also discusses the terminological differences between digital curation and archiving, digital libraries and archives and the requirement for active archival intervention.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/digccurr2007/papers/cunningham_paper_7.pdf
Paper presented at the DigCCurr 2007 Conference Chapel Hill North Carolina 18-20 April 2007.
Digital Future : a Look Ahead
Hunter, Greg S. (Date Created: 2002)
This article examines three critical aspects of digital preservation: medium, technology and intellectual preservation. The various approaches to preserving information integrity over time are discussed. The author also examines three strategies for a short or long-term implementation plan.
in Information Management Journal, January/February 2002, pp 70-72
Digital Preservation Activities in the UK: Building the Infrastructure
Jones, Maggie (Date Created: Aug 2003) (United Kingdom)
This article provides an overview of the developments and activities in digital preservation in the United Kingdom – from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and British Library-hosted workshop at the University of Warwick in 1995 up until the present day. Included are summaries of the Cedars and CAMiLEON projects, the JISC Continuing Access and Digital Preservation Strategy (2002-2005), the work of the British Library and the National Archives as well as the Digital Preservation Coalition.
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla69/papers/129e-Jones.pdf
This paper was given at the World Library and Information Congress: 69th IFLA General Conference and Council, 1-9 August, 2003 in Berlin
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Historical Digital Preservation Strategy
Davis, Simon (Date Created: Nov 2002) (Australia)
This presentation looks at the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Digital Preservation Policy, devised from its Agency to Researcher Digital Preservation Project. As well as touching on digital preservation problems such as obolesence and restriction on the use of proprietary technology, the article explores data formats used by the NAA as a means of providing digital preservation solutions. These include data formats developed by the NAA, such as dataset, emailmessage, webpackage and XML and Java-based tools, as well as dataformats already in existence, such as XHTML, Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Open Office.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/49635/20050510-0000/www.naa.gov.au/recor
dkeeping/rkpubs/fora/02nov/digital_preservation.pdf
Digital Preservation: Illuminating the Past, Guiding the Future
National Archives of Australia (Date Created: Jun 2006) (Australia)
This publication describes the challenges of digital preservation and the approach of the National Archives of Australia to preserving Commonwealth Government electronic records. It briefly introduces the Xena software.
ISBN: 1920807454
http://www.naa.gov.au/Images/XENA_brochure%5B1%5D_tcm2-918.pdf
Available online as PDF.
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Historical DPC Forum with Industry: Future R & D for Digital Asset Preservation
Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) (Date Created: Jun 2002) (United Kingdom)
This web page provides links to a summary meeting report and presentations by speakers from both the public and private sectors, as presented at the Digital Preservation Coalition forum with industry, held at Prospect House, London on 5th June, 2002. Topics covered long-term trends and research and development issues for preservation and access to digital material in both government and industry.
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/rdfuture.html
DPC Forum: Archiving: Adapting to the Digital Age
Jones, Maggie (Date Created: 24 Sep 2003) (United Kingdom)
A report and summary of the Digital Preservation Coalition's (DPC) forum held at the National Archives, Kew (UK) on 24th September, 2003. The report covers sessions on electronic records management and collecting and preserving digital materials. Links to some presentation slides (in PDF format) are available.
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/for24sept.html
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E-Government and Digital Preservation
Dumortier, Jos
This paper was presented at the Workshop on E-Government: Legal, Technical and Pedagogical Aspects at Albarracín (Spain), 8-10th May 2003. The paper discusses digital signatures within the context of digital archiving. Digital signatures are used to authenticate the originator and the integrity of information. The article discusses the long term validation of digital signatures and the implications of this for emulation and migration preservation strategies.
http://www.unizar.es/derecho/fyd/lefis/documentos/Albareccin_JosDumort
ier.pdf
Historical E-Mail-XML Demonstrator: Technical Description
Testbed Digitale Bewaring (Date Created: Oct 2002) (Netherlands)
This report describes the prototype software developed by the Dutch Testbed Digitale Bewaring project in its investigations of the issues of long-term preservation of email messages. The solution is based on customisation of Microsoft Outlook to allow communication with a central server responsible for metadata collection, conversion and archiving of both messages and metadata in XML. The report is in PDF format.
http://www.digitaleduurzaamheid.nl/bibliotheek/docs/email-demo-en.pdf
Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise. Part II Economic Legal and Organizational Issues
NASCIO:Representing Chief Information Officers of the States (Date Created: Jul 2007) (United States of America)
This research brief is the second in the NASCIO series highlighting key challenges and recommendations on electronic records management and digital preservation for U.S. state CIOs. This brief outlines the associated economic, legal and organisational issues.
http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-RecordsManagementP
art2.pdf
Available for download in PDF.
Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise: Part I: Background, Principles and Action for State CIOs
NASCIO:Representing Chief Information Officers of the States (Date Created: May 2007) (United States of America)
The first part in NASCIO series of research briefs highlighting key issues in electronic records management and making recommendations to U.S. state CIOs. This brief provides background and basic advice encouraging the creation of an electronic records management and digital preservation domain under the Enterprise Architecture program.
http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-RecordsManagement.
pdf
Available for download in PDF
Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise: Part III Management Leads and Technology Follows - but Collaboration is King
NASCIO:Representing Chief Information Officers of the States (Date Created: Oct 2007) (United States of America)
This research brief is the third in a series highlighting key issues for the U.S. state CIO in electronic records management and digital preservation. This brief explores the shared responsibility for management of digital assets in state government.
http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-RecordsManagementP
art3.pdf
Available for download in PDF.
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Electronic Records, Problem Solved? : the Victorian Electronic Records Strategy and the Future of Electronic Record Keeping in Victoria
Gibbs, Ross; Heazlelwood, Justine (Date Created: 8 Jul 2000) (Australia)
This paper discusses the outcomes of the VERS project for the capture and long-term preservation of government records. A standard model for archiving electronic records is outlined, together with essential criteria for formatting documents for long-term access.
http://www.vala.org.au/vala2000/2000pdf/Gib_Hea.PDF
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Historical Encoded Archival Description : An Introduction and Overview
Pitti, Daniel V. In: D-Lib magazine (Date Created: Nov 1999)
This article provides an overview and introduction to the emerging communication standard, Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november99/11pitti.html
Historical ePrints UK : Developing a National E-Prints Archive
Martin, Ruth In: Ariadne (Date Created: 2003) (United Kingdom)
ePrints UK is a two year project which aims to provide the higher and further education sector access to and preservation of the e-print papers available from compliant open archive repositories. This paper provides a brief overview of the ePrints UK project, including technical issues such as database development and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) interfaces and non technical issues such as intellectual property rights and insufficient repositories from which to harvest records.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue35/martin
ERA: An Archives of the Future for the Future
Carlin, John W. (Date Created: 2004) (United States of America)
Written by the Archivist of the United States, this article provides an overview of the challenges facing the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in dealing with the preservation of federal government electronic records. The article describes the NARA’s attempts in dealing with such challenges, by outlining developments of the Electronic Records Archive (ERA). Included in the article are descriptions of stakeholders, the main functions and bids for design of the ERA, as well as other projects and initiatives the NARA is undertaking in relation to electronic recordkeeping.
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/spring/archivist.ht
ml
Available in Prologue, a quarterly publication of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Spring 2004, Vol. 36, No. 1
Fading Memory of the State
Talbot, David (Date Created: Jul 2005)
This article describes the difficulties and issues that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are encountering in trying to preserve electronic data. It outlines the development of NARA's Electronic Records Archives (ERA) scheduled for incremental release between 2007-2011. Also discussed are other initiatives such as DSpace.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/07/issue/feature_memory.as
p?trk=nl
TechnologyReview.com
Fedora and the Preservation of University Records Project
Dockins, Robert; Glick, Kevin; Wilczek, Eliot In: RLG DigiNews (Date Created: 15 Oct 2006) (United States of America)
This article provides an overview of the recently completed Fedora and the Preservation of University Records Project being undertaken by the Digital Collections and Archives of Tufts University and Manuscripts and Archives of Yale University. The project aimed at combining electronic records preservation research and theory and digital library research and practice. The article discusses recordkeeping systems and preservation activities, and the two of the products of the project the Ingest Guide and Maintain Guide.
http://digitalarchive.oclc.org/da/ViewObjectMain.jsp?fileid=0000070513
:000006282602&reqid=8139#article0
Ghost in the Machine : Traditional Archival Practice in the Design of Digital Repositories For Long Term Preservation
Lazorchak, William M. (Date Created: May 2004) (United States of America)
This paper, a masters thesis, provides a solid introduction into requirements for digital preservation from the perspective of archival science. Existing frameworks (e.g. OAIS) and systems (e.g. DSpace) in digital preservation are reviewed in the light of these requirements, in what is a comprehensive though rather US-centred survey.
http://hdl.handle.net/1901/93
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Historical Information Management: Challenges in Managing and Preserving Electronic Records
United States General Accounting Office (Date Created: Jun 2002) (United States of America)
This is a report of the US General Accounting Office (GAO-02-586) focusing on the activities of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) with regard to the management and preservation of electronic records. This includes an evaluation of NARA's Electronic Records Archive (ERA) project. The appendices include a useful introduction to digital preservation strategies.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02586.pdf
Information Preservation : Changing Roles
Arp, Charles E.; Dickman, Joseph C. (Date Created: 2002)
This article discusses the long-term management of electronic records and the changing role of records managers, who must now ensure that preservation and accessiblity are planned when the record is created not when data is ready to be archived. The most important characteristics of records for long term preservation- reliability, authenticity and accessibility- are discussed. The long term management of electronic records is also discussed within the context of risk analysis.
http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?jid=6FO&db=aph
in, Information Management Journal (1535-2897), November/December, 2002 and .pdf version by subscription online at www.ebscohost.com
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Historical Integrity and Authenticity of Digital Cultural Heritage Objects
DigiCult Consortium (Date Created: Aug 2002)
The first of three thematic issue papers from the Preservation and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage Unit of the Information Society Directorate General of the European Commission addresses issues of preservation of the integrity and authenticity of digital objects. Amongst the articles are a discussion of what constitutes authenticity, a paper outlining the level at which authenticity should be addressed, a listing of standards and projects, and an argument for cooperation. The journal is illustrated with case studies from traditional archives as well as sound and vision archives.
http://www.digicult.info/downloads/thematic_issue_1_final.pdf
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Keeping Online Information Accessible for E-Governance and E-Democracy
Cunningham, Adrian; Phillips, Margaret E. (Date Created: Feb 2004) (Australia)
This article focuses on the need for government agencies and other institutions to ensure that electronic publications and organisational records are collected, managed and preserved as a means of ensuring long-term access for the benefit of e-governance and e-democracy. The article provides definitions of online publications and online records; explores the role of libraries and archives in e-government, including initiatives undertaken at the National Library of Australia and National Archives of Australia; addresses factors that contribute to the vulnerability of online information; and concludes with a list of factors that inhibit the long-term availability of online information for e-governance and e-democracy.
http://www.nla.gov.au/nla/staffpaper/2004/phillips1.html
This paper was prepared for the Australian Electronic Governance Conference. Centre for Public Policy, University of Melbourne, Victoria, April 14-15, 2004.
Historical Levels of Service for Digital Repositories
LeFurgy, William G In: D-Lib magazine (Date Created: May 2002)
In this article, William LeFurgy of the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) outlines conditions governing persistence of digital objects, such as system architecture and material specification, and suggests a model for future levels of service for digital repositories, considering three levels of tools and processes and three levels of persistence of materials.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may02/lefurgy/05lefurgy.html
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Long-Term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records: Findings of the InterPARES Project
International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES)
This page provides links to the findings of the first stage of the InterPARES project (International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems) which ran from 1999 to 2001. As well as a description of the project, there are reports from the Task Forces investigating authenticity, selection, long-term preservation and policies, strategies and standards. Additional resources include a glossary, diagrams of the selection and preservation functions and a template for record analysis. The reports are in PDF format.
http://www.interpares.org/book/index.cfm
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Managing and Archiving Records in the Digital Age : the Same Discipline or a Difficult Partnership of Two Different Professions?
25 - 26 Oct 2004 , Bern
ERPANET (Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network)
(Date Created: 2004)
This provides a desciption, list of participants and expected outcomes of an invitational workshop held in Bern in October 2004. There are also links to public lectures including 'New Organisational Structures Responding to New Challenges: The Digital Curation Centre in the UK' by Seamus Ross and 'Electronic Records Archives Program' by Ken Thibodeau.
http://www.erpanet.org/events/2004/bern/
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Historical Managing Electronic Records Issues
State Records of South Australia (Last Updated: 27 Nov 1998) (Australia)
The first part of the paper looks at the context in which electronic records exist, and the second part of the paper addresses four major issues: Records management system design and creation; Management and maintenance of electronic records; Preservation of electronic records; and Access.
http://www.archivenet.gov.au/Resources/SA_discussion_0498/Records01_SA
.htm
Historical Migrating Records From Proprietary Software to RTF, HTML and XML
Reuben, Elizabeth (Date Created: Jun 2003) (Australia)
This article describes a digital preservation project at the Australian Department of Family and Community Services. The Department's Guides to Social Security Law had to be extracted from the its proprietary software format, Epublish, then the data had to be migrated to other formats that would increase accessibility and enable preservation of the guides. Topics covered include data conversion, testing, metadata schemes and archival formats.
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jun03/reuben.shtml
in Computers in Libraries, (ISSN 1041-7915) Vol. 23, no. 6, June 2003, p30-33
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Historical National Archives : the Challenge of Electronic Records Management
Stevens, L. Nye (Date Created: 20 Oct 1999) (United States of America)
Testimony delivered to a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives concerning the challenges of electronic records management faced by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and federal agencies.
http://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/gg00024t.pdf
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Historical National Archives Green Paper : An Approach to the Preservation of Digital Records
Davis, Simon; Heslop, Helen; Wilson, Andrew (Date Created: Dec 2002) (Australia)
This paper discusses the National Archives approach to digital preservation, specifically in relation to the Agency to Researcher Digital Preservation Project. Areas covered include the fundamental nature of digital records, problems of digital preservation, approaches to preservation such as migration and emulation and XML as an archival data format.
Available as PDF from this URL
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Historical National Archives: Preserving Electronic Records in an Era of Rapidly Changing Technology
United States General Accounting Office (Date Created: Jul 1999) (United States of America)
This is a report of the US General Accounting Office (GAO/GGD-99-94) outlining the challenges of electronic records management (ERM) in US federal agencies and the response of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
http://www.gao.gov/archive/1999/gg99094.pdf
Historical New Model Scholarship : How will it survive?
Smith, Abby (Date Created: Mar 2003)
This CLIR report discusses the issues in preserving digital scholarly resources. 'New model scholarship' is defined as those resources that are born digital, such as web sites, that will be of use to future researchers. The report looks at organisational approaches to preserving digital content and includes, as appendices, a review of organisational models for digital archiving and a survey of current research, practices and understanding of digital preservation in the United States.
ISBN: 1887334998
http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub114abst.html
Available online as full text or PDF, or for purchase in print
An Overview of InterPARES 3 (2007-2012)
Duranti, Luciano (Date Created: Sep 2007)
This article provides an overview of the third phase of the InterPARES research project (International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems) which has been funded for 2007-2012. It is a multidiscplinary international project involving 21 countries, public and private sectors, academics and record keepers and creators. The goal on InterPARES 3 is to "to enable Canada’s many small and medium sized public and private archival organizations and programs, which are responsible for the digital records resulting from government, business, research, art and entertainment, social and/or community activities, to preserve over the long term authentic records that satisfy the requirements of their stakeholders and society’s needs for an adequate record of its past."
http://socialstudies.cartagena.es/images/PDF/no1/duranti_overview.pdf
Available in Archives and Social Studies: A Jouranl of Interdisciplinary Research Vol 1 no.1 Sept 2007
PDF-A : a New Digital Preservation Format
LeFurgy, William G. (Date Created: May 2003) (United States of America)
Since 2002, a committee of government, business, and academic representatives has been exploring an approach to long-term preservation of text-based digital documents and working to establish an archival standard for Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). Known as PDF-A, the potential standard intends to specify a limited, stable subset of PDF that must remain valid for a number of years. PDF-A is designed to meet three basic requirements: the needs of document producers, document users and archivists, while excluding features that hinder archival viability. The committee is sponsored by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) and The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES).
http://www.archivists.org/saagroups/gov/newsletters/May2003.asp#digita
l
in Government Record News : the newsletter of the Government Records Section of the Society of American Archivists, May/June 2003
New Permanent Digital Legal Information : Disappearing URLs and Preservation of Digital Objects Cited in Court Decisions
Skenderija, Sasha (Date Created: 16 Jul 2008) (United States of America)
This paper examines the implications of increasing citation of digital resources by courts and the problem of the impermanence of these digital resources . It considers the challenges for law libraries and librarians to ensuring future availability.
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/papers/157-Skenderija-en.pdf
World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA General Conference and Council, Quebec, 10-14 Aug 2008
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Historical Planning for Obsolescence
Findlay, Cassie (Date Created: Aug 2002) (Australia)
This short article features quotes from the Curator of Information and Communications Technology at the Powerhouse Museum and briefly describes the online guidelines produced by State Records New South Wales which offer a range of strategies to help combat obsolescence.
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/staterecords/docs/Vital%20Signs%20Issue%
202%20-%20Planning%20for%20Obsolescence.pdf
in Vital Signs, Issue 2, August 2002
Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records: Conference Proceedings.
Arizona State University (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
The Archives link links to papers presented at the current conference 1999 to 2005 which are available as powerpoint slides and abstracts.
http://www.asu.edu/ecure/
Preserving Dynamic Digital Records
Gladney, Henry (Date Created: 31 May 2005)
This article discusses the Trusted Digital Object (TDO) methodology for preserving dynamically generated data. This methodology is focussed on digital objects rather than archives.
http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/Dynamic_4_DCC.pdf
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Preserving Electronic Records From Database-Driven Information Systems
Boudrez, Filip In: DigiCULT.Info Newsletter (Date Created: Oct 2003) (Belgium)
The DAVID Project (Digital Archiving in Flemish Institutions and Administrations) has developed “an electronic record-keeping system for dynamic and interactive information systems”. This article examines its implementation at the City Archives of Antwerp (the archival partner in the DAVID Project) and looks at the main structure, principles and concepts of the record-keeping system for both dynamically created records and office documents such as spreadsheets and emails; XML preservation of records and metadata.
http://www.digicult.info/downloads/digicultinfo_issue5_october_2003.pd
f
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Historical Preserving the Authenticity of Contingent Digital Objects : The InterPARES Project
Eppard, Philip; Gilliland-Swetland, Anne In: D-Lib magazine (Date Created: Jul 2000)
This paper describes the InterPARES project, a collaborative endeavour to develop a typology of requirements for maintaining the authenticity of records over time, and analysing appraisal and preservation processes to determine to what extent they meet these requirements.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july00/eppard/07eppard.html
Preserving the Digital Heritage : Building a Digital Archive for UK Government Records
Brown, Adrian (Date Created: 2003) (United Kingdom)
This paper gives an overview of the digital preservation strategies of the UK National Archives. Resources discussed include PRONOM, a database of software information and file formats ; the Archive's in-house digital archive system and strategies for archiving government web sites.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/brown.pdf
Paper part of the Online Information 2003 proceedings
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Preserving the Outputs of Research
Cathro, Warwick (Date Created: Nov 2004)
This paper was presented at the Archiving Web Resources conference in Canberra, Australia, November 9-11 2004. The paper discusses the issues and challenges of preserving both the primary outputs, such as datasets, and secondary outputs, such as journal articles, of research. The paper also focuses on the various responses to these issues by institutional repositories and national level programs. The author also argues for more collaboration between stakeholders as well as a role for national libraries in developing an infrastructure for the preservation of these outputs.
http://www.nla.gov.au/nla/staffpaper/2004/cathro1.html
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Historical Reality and Chimeras in the Preservation of Electronic Records
Bearman, David In: D-Lib magazine (Date Created: 15 Apr 1999)
This magazine column is a response to the report to CLIR by Jeff Rothenberg "Avoiding Technological Quicksand". Bearman gives a critique of the solution described by Rothenberg and suggests that migration is still the preferred solution for the preservation of electronic records.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april99/bearman/04bearman.html
Historical Research Questions for the Digital Era Library
Marcum, Deanna B. (Date Created: 2003)
The author of this article maintains that the library's role in the use of digital information, particularly in regard to access to high quality digital research materials, needs to be reassessed. This article identifies three areas where research is required to meet future needs. One of the three areas is an analysis of what elements are required for a comprehensive preservation strategy. The author details why a preservation strategy is important for libraries and also reports on previous and current suggestions for research in digital preservation related areas.
in Library Trends, Vol. 51, Issue 4, Spring 2003, pp636-651
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Historical Researching Long Term Digital Preservation Approaches in the Dutch Digital Preservation Testbed (Testbed Digitale Bewaring)
Potter, Maureen In: RLG DigiNews (Date Created: 15 Jun 2002) (Netherlands)
Maureen Potter describes the work and progress to date of the Digital Preservation Testbed (Testbed Digitale Bewaring) belonging to the Dutch government's Digitale Duurzaamheid (Digital Longevity) programme aimed at retaining long term accessibility to government information. The article describes the Testbed's focus on four document types (text documents, email, spreadsheets and databases) using three preservation approaches (migration, emulation, XML), outlines the experimental methodology and provides some preliminary findings for text documents and emails.
http://worldcat.org/arcviewer/1/OCC/2007/08/08/0000070511/viewer/file1
521.html#feature2
Risk and the Preservation Management of Digital Collections
Clifton, Gerard (Date Created: Sep 2005) (Australia)
This article discusses the risks to digital materials and ways to reduce and manage these risks. The risk areas discussed include media degradation; data, files and formats issues; collection level factors, such as lack of metadata; organisational factors and external factors.
http://www.ifla.org/VI/4/news/ipnn36.pdf
International Preservation News No. 36, September 2005. pp. 21-23.
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Historical Saving Digital Heritage : a UNESCO Campaign
Webb, Colin In: RLG DigiNews (Date Created: Jun 2003)
This article discusses UNESCO's Draft Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage and its associated Guidelines. It describes the consultation processes in formulating the Charter and the Guidelines are discussed within the context of readership and how the information is structured. Sample principles from the Guidelines are included to illustrate the basic concepts and more detailed approaches to how the material is organised in the Guidelines.
http://worldcat.org/arcviewer/1/OCC/2007/08/08/0000070511/viewer/file6
74.html#feature3
Scarcity or Abundance? : Preserving the Past in a Digital Era
Rosenzweig, Roy (Date Created: Jun 2003)
This article is written from an historian's perspective. It gives details of several approaches to digital preservation and their implications for current and future historical research.
in American Historical Review, Vol. 108, Issue 3, June 2003, pp735-762
Scientific Data and Information : Report of the CSPR Assessment Panel
Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) (Date Created: Dec 2004)
The ICSU (International Council for Science) is a non-government organisation representing over 100 international scientific bodies. This report by the CSPR (Committee on Scientific Planning and Review) assesses the strategic issues in scientific data and information and reviews the ICSU's current activities. This report is wide-ranging, covering all aspects of the data and information lifecycle including the need for long-term management and preservation.
ISBN: 0930357604
http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/551_DD_FILE_PAA_Data
_and_Information.pdf
Safekept
Historical Strategies for Capturing and Managing Emails as Records and as Organisational Assets
Cunningham, Adrian (Date Created: 18 Apr 2002) (Australia)
A presentation by Adrian Cunningham of the National Archives of Australia on emails as organisational records, given at "Email as Government Record Workshop: Its Mismanagement and Control" held at the National Library of Australia on April 18, 2002. NB: Presentation is best viewed with Internet Explorer as the browser.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/49634/20050620-0000/www.naa.gov.au/recor
dkeeping/noticeboard/emails_as_records_files/frame.htm
Safekept
VERS: Building a Digital Record Heritage
Quenault, Howard (Date Created: Feb 2004) (Australia)
The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) is “a framework of standards, guidance and practical implementation projects centred around the goal of reliably and authentically archiving electronic records created or managed by the Victorian government”. The article provides an overview into the background and vision of the program, the VERS Centre of Excellence, developing the digital archive and future directions of the program.
http://www.vala.org.au/vala2004/2004pdfs/13Quena.PDF
VI European Conference on Archives: Archives between past and future
Associazione Nazionale Archivistica Italiana (Date Created: Jun 2001)
Abstracts of VI European Conference on Archives: Archives between past and future
http://www.anai.org/conferenza%20europea/
Historical Webwatch : Surfing Historical UK University Websites
Kelly, Brian In: Ariadne (Date Created: Apr 2003) (United Kingdom)
This article is a description of a survey of archived university web sites in the Internet Archive accessed using the WayBack Machine. An automated view and comparison of the earliest and latest sites is available by a "Web Tour". The article also notes problems in automatically capturing the sites over time, frequent occurrences of images not displaying, accessibility issues caused by sites being designed for a specific browser and third party content not being functional on the archived version of the website.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue35/web-watch/
Safekept
Historical XML and Digital Preservation
Testbed Digitale Bewaring (Date Created: Sep 2002) (Netherlands)
This paper describes XML and how it is useful for preserving digital information. A summary of current knowledge and research into XML is also provided.
http://www.digitaleduurzaamheid.nl/bibliotheek/docs/white-paper_xml-en
.pdf
Safekept
Historical XML for Digital Preservation : XML Implementation Options for E-Mails
Potter, Maureen (Date Created: 11 Oct 2002) (Netherlands)
This article reports on progress at the Digital Preservation Testbed (Testbed Digital Bewaring) of the Netherlands in using XML as a preservation approach. It notes the advantages and disadvantages of XML for archival preservation and discusses three implementation options for conversion or provision of emails in XML. The article is in PDF format.
http://www.digitaleduurzaamheid.nl/bibliotheek/docs/email-xml-imp.pdf

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Books

Digital Archiving in the 21st century: Archives Domain Discussion Paper
Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities ; National Archives of Australia (Date Created: Sep 2006) (Australia; New Zealand)
This discussion paper was prepared for the Collections Council of Australia Digital Collections Summit 2006. Written by the the National Archives of Australia for and on behalf of the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authotities. It describes what has been done, the challenges, hurdles and potential strategies for preservation of digital records in Australia, the capability of the Archives Domain and urgent need for coordinated action and advocacy.
ISBN: 1920807470
http://www.caara.org.au/Publications/DigitalArchiving21C.pdf
Available online as PDF
Historical Documenting the Future: Policy and Strategies for Electronic Recordkeeping in the NSW Public Sector
Roberts, David; State Records, New South Wales (Date Created: Jul 1995) (Australia)
This document was released for comment to New South Wales public sector agencies and to other stakeholders as part of the Electronic Recordkeeping Project in the Archives Authority of New South Wales. This paper is about documenting the future of New South Wales through the electronic records generated by government. The paper proposes a whole of government approach, based on national and international best practice, to keeping records in the electronic environment.
ISBN: 0 7310 5038 X
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/22370/20020925-0000/www.records.nsw.gov.
au/publicsector/erk/dtf/tofcont.htm
Electronic Records : A Workbook for Archivists : ICA Study 16
International Council on Archives (Date Created: Apr 2005)
This workbook, produced for archivists and record keepers, is a practical guide for those wishing to capture, preserve and make available electronic records. It covers basic concepts and definitions, as well as strategies for implementing electronic recordkeeping programmes and contains chapters on long term preservation and access, discussing preservation requirements, methods and skills.
http://www.ica.org/en/node/749
Available in multiple languages
Historical Guidelines for Commonwealth information published in electronic formats
Commonwealth of Australia (Last Updated: Jan 2000) (Australia)
The aim of this document is to provide guidelines which enable Government agencies to fulfill their legal obligations, which include preserving Commonwealth documentary records for future access as routine work practice. This document was superseded by the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide.
ISBN: 0-642-39895-X
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/24804/20031107-0000/www.noie.gov.au/publ
ications/NOIE/info_access_network/master_jan2000_guidelines_pdf.pdf
Safekept
Historical Guidelines On Best Practices For Using Electronic Information
European Commission (DLM Forum) (Date Created: 1997)
These multidisciplinary guidelines, developed at the 1996 DLM Forum, help to define short and medium-term strategies for managing and preserving electronic information.
ISBN: 92-828-2285-0
http://dlmforum.typepad.com/gdlines.pdf
Historical New Model Scholarship : How will it survive?
Smith, Abby (Date Created: Mar 2003)
This CLIR report discusses the issues in preserving digital scholarly resources. 'New model scholarship' is defined as those resources that are born digital, such as web sites, that will be of use to future researchers. The report looks at organisational approaches to preserving digital content and includes, as appendices, a review of organisational models for digital archiving and a survey of current research, practices and understanding of digital preservation in the United States.
ISBN: 1887334998
http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub114abst.html
Available online as full text or PDF, or for purchase in print
New Skills for a Digital Era: A Colloquium: Proceedings
Pearce-Moses, Richard; Davis, Susan E. (Date Created: 2008) (United States of America)
This colloquium was sponsored by NARA, Society of American Archivists and the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Office and held 31 May-2 June 2006, Washington DC. It considers the knowledge and skills required by archivists in the digital era for acquisition, preservation, storage, reference and management.
http://www.archivists.org/publications/epubs/NewSkillsForADigitalEra.p
df
Available as PDF
Safekept
Historical Preserving and Sharing Statistical Material
Royal Statistical Society; UK Data Archive (Date Created: 2002) (United Kingdom)
This booklet is aimed at promoting the preservation and sharing of electronic data. it also discusses what should be preserved and includes the RSS Code of Best Practice on the Preservation and Sharing of Statistical Material.
ISBN: 0-906805-02-3
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news/publications/PreservingSharing.pdf
Safekept
Preserving Digital Information : Challenges and Solutions : Workbook
Howell, Alan (Last Updated: 01 Apr 2007)
Since 2001, Alan Howell, Manager, Preservation and Storage at the State Library of Victoria has been presenting digital preservation workshops for CAVAL (Cooperation Action for Victorian Academic Libraries). The 1 day workshop for which the workbook is designed focuses on digital preservation in archives, libraries and museums. It provides an introduction to challenges and practical solutions, preservation planning and resources on digital preservation. It mainly deals with digital preservation from a management perspective, although technical aspects are briefly covered. The workbook is also intended as a reference book for planning and implementing digital preservation programs.
http://www.alanhowell.com.au/papers/pdi_wkb.pdf

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Events

2005 NHPRC Electronic Records Fellowships Symposium
18 Nov 2005 , Pleasants Family Room, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill campus. (Date Created: Nov 2005) (United States of America)
Papers include In Search of Strategic Direction: Digital Preservation Advocacy in Higher Education (Robert Spindler keynote address), Solutions to Preserving E-mail Independent of Software and University Records and Data Warehousing. Biographies of fellows (2004) and audio and video of their presentations available.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/nhprcfellows/2005confer.htm
2006 NHPRC Electronic Records Research Fellowships Symposium
06 Oct 2006 (United States of America)
Keynote address by Seamus Ross "Uncertainty, Risk, Trust, and Digital Persistency" and presentations by 2005 Fellows and new cohort. Biographies and powerpoint presentations available.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/nhprcfellows/2006confer.htm
2007 NHPCR Electronic Record Research Fellowship Symposium
16 Nov 2007 , Pleasants Family Room in Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill (United States of America)
Keynote address by Reagan Moore and Richard Marciano from the San Diego Supercomputer Center "The Evolution of Data Curation: Towards Policy-driven Collection Management." Abstracts available from the agenda link.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/nhprcfellows/2007confer.htm
2008 Annual Conference of the Australian Society of Archivists
08 - 09 Aug 2008 , Perth, Western Australia (Australia)
http://www.archivists.org.au/2008-conference-perth
ACA 2008 Annual Conference: Stemming theTide: Archives and the Digital World
12 - 14 Jun 2008 , Fredricton, New Brunswick
Association of Canadian Archivists
(Canada)
http://archivists.ca/conference/
Adopting and Adapting : 25th International Convention, Records Management Association of Australia
07 - 10 Sep 2008 , Sydney Convention Centre, Sydney Australia (Australia)
This conference will consider" the ways in which records & information managers adopt new methodologies and processes as they adapt to new technologies in an effort to maintain their knowledge in a fast changing and dynamic environment and the challenges that face them in doing so."
http://www.rmaa.com.au/natcon2008/
Advancing the State of Knowledge in Electronic Records : 2006 Electronic Records Research Symposium
06 Oct 2006 , Pleasants Family Room of the Louis Round Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
(United States of America)
The 2006 Electronic Records Research Symposium. The keynote address, Uncertainty, Risk, Trust, and Digital Persistency, was presented by Dr Seamus Ross Presentations available from 2006 presentations.
http://www.ils.unc.edu/nhprcfellows/
DC 2006: Joint Annual Meeting of NAGARA (National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators), COSA (Council of State Archivists) and SAA (Society of American Archivists)
30 Jul - 05 Aug 2006 , Hilton Washington, Washington D.C. (United States of America)
Abstracts available from the Schedule at a glance.
http://www.archivists.org/conference/dc2006/dc2006aboutProgram.asp
DLM Forum 2005 Conference Proceedings : Electronic Records Supporting e-Government and Digital Archives
05 - 07 Oct 2005 , Budapest, Hungary (Date Created: Dec 2005)
Includes papers and presentations at various sessions including e-government and e-governance, standards and interchange, preservation and digital archives, education and cost benefits and impacts and demands on records management. Papers presented at the preservation and digital archives session include Keeping electronic records accessible - How the Federal Archives of Germany is preserving the digital heritage of the East German Republic; a case study ; A Digital Repository for the Rotterdam Municipal Archives: learning by experience ; Towards a National Digital Repository ; The PRONOM service: a technical registry to support long-term preservation ; The eDAVID digital preservation strategy: motivation and implementation ; The ArchiSafe Project - legally secure and scalable long-term record keeping.
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/archival_policy/dlm_forum/proceed2005
_en.htm
Papers are in pdf format. Individual papers from the preservation and digital archives session are also catalogued individually in PADI.
E-Government and Digital Archives Workshop
11 Sep 2008 , Munich (Germany)
This workshop will be held as part of the German Computer Science Conference Informatik 2008.Topics may include models and standards for long term archiving, workflows, file formats, metadata, cooperation between communities and experiences with digital archives.
http://www.hauptstaatsarchiv.hessen.de/egovda
Historical ECURE 2001: Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records
12 - 13 Oct 2001 , Mesa, Arizona (United States of America) Has papers: ECURE Archives
Includes links to presentations.
http://www.asu.edu/ecure/2001/
Kuala Lumpur 2008 : 16th ICA Congress in Kuala Lumpur :Archives, Governance and Development: Mapping Future Society
21 - 27 Jul 2008 , National Archives of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International Council of Archives
(Malaysia)
http://www.kualalumpur2008.ica.org
Safekept
Managing and Archiving Records in the Digital Age : the Same Discipline or a Difficult Partnership of Two Different Professions?
25 - 26 Oct 2004 , Bern
ERPANET (Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network)
(Date Created: 2004)
This provides a desciption, list of participants and expected outcomes of an invitational workshop held in Bern in October 2004. There are also links to public lectures including 'New Organisational Structures Responding to New Challenges: The Digital Curation Centre in the UK' by Seamus Ross and 'Electronic Records Archives Program' by Ken Thibodeau.
http://www.erpanet.org/events/2004/bern/
Managing Business Archives : a Global Perspective
17 Nov 2006 , Conference centre of the Royal Bank of Scotland Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
Themes include digital records - a universal issue, the inertia of large problems: digital records preservation in business, Digital Preservation Europe: a preservation initiative built on ERPANET.
http://www.businessarchivescouncil.org.uk/activitiesobjectives/confere
nce/conf2006
Shared Concerns and Responsibility for University Records and Archives : 2006 Seminar of the International Council on Archives Section on University and Research Institution Archives
13 - 20 Sep 2006 , Reykjavík, Iceland
University of Iceland
(Iceland)
The annual seminar of the Section on University and Research Institution Archives. The seminar covered issues affecting the appraisal, preservation and use of institutional records. Papers available from the proceedings link.
http://www.hi.is/page/ica_suv_seminar_2006

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Organisations and Websites

Collecting, Archiving and Exhibiting Digital Design Data
Art Institute of Chicago (Date Created: Oct 2005) (United States of America)
Initiated by the Department of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago and undertaken by Karen Fallon and Associates, the purpose of the study was to examine the collection, archiving, and uses of digital design data produced by architects and industrial designers. The results of the study are extensive and are divided into 25 files. Section two is of most relevance as it deals with archiving digital design data: practices and technology, including preparing, collecting, and processing the data and its cataloguing, storage, and preservation. The study's final recommendations cover the life cycle of a digital work of art, including: types and classification of data appropriate for collection; indexing and metadata; data formats (archival, native, and derivative); format registration; storage; long-term maintenance; periodic migration; format updates and disaster recovery provisions for digital originals; and techniques for and opportunities to provide digital archive access to a broader community.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/depts/architecture/ddd.html
Commonwealth Records Management Web Pages
National Archives of Australia (Last Updated: 2007) (Australia)
The Records Management web pages provide information on the National Archives of Australia's policy and procedures for appraising, sentencing, transferring and disposing of Commonwealth government records. They also give advice on records management procedures, preservation issues and outsourcing work for all record formats including digital.
http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/index.aspx
CoOL Conservation OnLine : Resources for Conservation Professionals
Stanford University Libraries (Date Created: Feb 1993) (United States of America)
CoOL, a project