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General Framework
Digital technologies have become the dominant method for the
creation, dissemination, and limited-term retention of documentary
information, in some cases supplementing paper-based tools and in some
cases replacing them. Maneuvering through this divide is a formidable
challenge for organizations concerned about retaining information
systematically. This has created unanswered questions for archivists and
records managers, two related disciplines whose methodologies emerged
within the context of paper records, central files, and stable
organizational structures.
For decades, records managers have assumed responsibility for active
or current records, while archivists have been concerned with that
subset of records having historical or accountability value, usually
only when the active use of those records ceases. This model has relied
on the durability and accessibility of paper records over many decades,
and appears to have serious limits when applied to the ephemeral,
fragile, and rapidly obsolescent character of digital
records.
State of the Field
The chief outstanding need of the archival profession in this subject
area is practical experience. The issues raised above have given rise to
electronic research and pilot projects[1]. Those works are an essential
and valuable first response, providing the conceptual and theoretical
foundation necessary. Still, they have not produced a methodology that
uses today’s technologies to allow the ongoing capture, preservation,
and accessibility of electronic data and information. An assessment at a
major research university with commitments to digital technologies
concluded recently that “there is a lack of campus-wide systematic
thinking applied to the long-term storage of [digital] assets.” [2]
In our view, there is a need for our well-placed archival
institutions to grapple directly with preservation issues, using
existing technologies and our knowledge of institutional needs. The
urgent need for real life experience with working digital preservation
systems integrated into the daily life of the archival organization has
been underscored once again the archival community since 2000 [3].
[1] InterPares, the DLM Forum, and a National
Historical Publications and Records Commission project, among
others.
[2] “Digital Asset Management: An Introduction to Key
Issues,” www.cit.cornell.edu/oit/Arch-Init/digassetmgmt.html.
[3] Pearce-Moses, Richard. "An Archvist's Response to
the Digital Era." Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting, 2005.
New Orleans, LA. | 
