Educating Archivists and their Constituencies
Welcome to the introduction for the Educating Archivists and their Constituencies project workshops. We are pleased you have decided to participate in either the upcoming Metadata for Information Resources, or XML for Information Management, workshop.
The purpose of the following material is to provide an introduction to electronic records issues, metadata, and eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Please use this page to familiarize yourself with electronic records concepts, key terminology, and to develop a core of knowledge before attending the workshop. On this page you will find a brief discussion of electronic records and why their proper management is important, information on tools that will assist you in that effort, and links to further resources.
Introduction to Electronic Records | Resources | Contact Information
Introduction to Electronic Records Issues
This resource is not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of electronic records and their associated management issues. Rather, the goal is to acquaint readers with some common terminology and ideas, and to provide pointers to further information on various related topics.
What are electronic records?
Electronic records are records that exist in a digital format and that require hardware and software to make them intelligible to the human eye. Some are "born" digital, while others are created in paper form and later moved into digital format. Common types of electronic records include:
- Word processing documents
- Web pages
- Digital images
Why is proper management of electronic records important?
Electronic records have been around for several decades, but it's only been within the last thirty years or so, since the advent of desktop computers, that they have become a ubiquitous part of the workplace. People now commonly create, share, manipulate, store, and delete files on a daily basis, all on their own. Advances in networking and storage media have helped fuel this trend away from centralized or coordinated recordkeeping.
More and more frequently, electronic records are being relied upon as official copies. In fact, recent laws such as E-SIGN (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act) and UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) encourage this by placing electronic documents and digital signatures on the same legal footing as their paper counterparts. However, the use of electronic records raises a number of serious issues, including the following:
- Electronic records are easily created and copied. Multiple copies may simultaneously exist, making it difficult to locate and identify which is the official one.
- Electronic records are easily manipulated, which may result in multiple versions of the same file and raise doubts as to the trustworthiness of the official copy (e.g., Has the record been changed since its creation? If it has, by whom and when?)
- Information technology changes at a rapid pace. As equipment and applications become outdated and are replaced, records created with older technology might not be compatible with newer versions, rendering them inaccessible.
- Electronic storage media, particularly magnetic storage media (such as floppy disks), have relatively short life spans and will deteriorate to the point where stored records are inaccessible.
- Disposal of electronic records is complex. When files are deleted from disks and tapes, they might not necessarily be removed completely-the files are typically only removed from the storage media's directory or table of contents, and the complete record, or portions of it, might still be retrievable even if it has been overwritten with new information several times.
What tools can assist in the management and use of electronic records?
Implementation of an appropriate long-term management strategy is the key step in addressing the issues listed above and ensuring that electronic records remain useful throughout their life-cycle, from creation on to eventual destruction or permanent retention. One component of this strategy should be standardized metadata.
Metadata is descriptive information that facilitates management and evaluation of, and access to, other information. Although optimal metadata varies between different record sets, it commonly includes such items as the name of the record creator, the date and time of creation, a record identifier, key words, the record location, and a description of the record content. Properly designed and implemented metadata can help with activities like locating the official copy of an electronic record; assessing the value of a record's content for any given purpose; determining whether a record has been modified; determining who has access to a record; and performing proper record disposition at the end of a retention period.
Another tool of great potential is eXtensible Markup Language, or XML as it is commonly known. Whereas HTML formats the appearance of documents for web presentation, XML describes the information in the document through a structured system of tags, which act as metadata. Because the semantic value of the document is separated from its presentation, the content can be readily shared with others or formatted in different ways to meet different needs. XML is an open standard developed and supported by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Introduction to Electronic Records | Resources | Contact Information
Where can you go to find more information?
General Issues
DLM Forum. Guidelines on Best Practices for Using Electronic Information.
http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/dlm/documents/guidelines.html
Minnesota Historical Society, State Archives Department. Electronic Records Management Guidelines
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/electronicrecords/erguidelines.html
Minnesota Historical Society, State Archives Department. Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook. Version 4, July 2002.
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/tis/tis.html
Media Longevity: Are We Losing The Preservation Fight?
http://www.papercom.org/research/disks.htm
Metadata
Introduction to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information
http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/standards/intrometadata/index.html
XML
Frequently Asked Questions about the Extensible Markup Language
http://www.ucc.ie/xml/
XML for the Absolute Beginner
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-04-1999/jw-04-xml.html
Jon Bosak and Tim Bray. "XML and the Second-Generation Web." Scientific American, May 1999.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0008C786-91DB-1CD6-B4A8809EC588EEDF
Introduction to Electronic Records | Resources | Contact Information
Contact Information
|
Shawn Rounds |
Minnesota Historical Society |
