National Archives: Preserving Electronic Records in an Era of Rapidly Changing Technology.
Abstract
Under the Federal Records Act, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for providing guidance and assistance to federal agencies on the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of government records. Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that their records are created and preserved in accordance with the act. Records generated electronically, such as electronic mail (E-mail) messages, word processing documents, CD ROMs, and World Wide Web site pages, present an archival challenge for NARA and agencies because these technologies are new and changing very rapidly. Also, the sheer volume of these records is mushrooming. At your request, we undertook an effort to identify issues that relate to electronic records management (ERM), focusing specifically on the preservation of electronic records. On February 4, 1999, we provided your office with a briefing on our work. As your office agreed, this report documents our oral briefing and provides additional information on (1) the challenges that confront NARA and federal agencies as a result of their increased reliance on electronic media; (2) the status of selected agencies' and NARA's implementation of ERM; and (3) the ERM policies and procedures of selected other governments (state and foreign).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA365928
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office