http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/09/22/1126982184206.html
The digital Dark Age - The article was interesting and relevant to the debate on digital or electronic records. Jim made some interesting and poignant observations when he was approached for assistance in the time capsule proposal suggesting a pc and operating instructions to operate the machine and software. It is seems far fetched but in reality it is not. There are a number of instances where digital preservation undertakings made for the best intentions are now no longer readable. I noted in the University of Endinborough News and events section 5th November 2004 they referred to the English doomsday book project:
“The seemingly arcane world of digital preservation hit the headlines two years ago when the BBC's much-feted computer-based version of the Doomsday Book was rescued from technological obsolescence by researchers. The digital archive of British life in the 1980s had looked set to fall victim to technological change, its contents stored on two video discs which could not be read by 21st century computers. By contrast, the original Doomsday Book, compiled in 1086 by Norman monks, was in fine condition in the Public Record Office.
The saga demonstrated how important digital preservation is to safeguard against the loss of irreplaceable digital data and information, particularly now that more and more research data is generated in digital formats with no print equivalent” 1 http://www.edinburgh.ac.uk/news/digcurationopen.html accessed 26th Sept 2005.
Many institutions such as the NAA and NSW State Records are actively involved on this issue. As are Associations like ourselves, RMAA, and our like aligned bodies such as ALIA and ASA. This is undertaken through our respective involvement in the IT21 committee which assists and develops standards on recordkeeping. Some runs have been put on the board such as the recently released International Standard on PDF A for archival storage of digital documents - ISO19005-1:2005 Document management -- Electronic document file format for long-term preservation -- Part 1: Use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/A-1)
As to the 10 point strategy identified in the article, I think the key is as suggested, to have identified and implemented a recordkeeping framework that will identify vital records of the organisation and ensure the long term integrity and accessibility of these records. As a minimum I would suggest that data migration as systems and software platforms are designed is critical. The key metadata and records that are captured within the organisations EDRMS have got to be secured and migrated ensuring the integrity of the records from if nothing else an evidential perspective can be proven and maintained. I think the PDF A standard and is acceptance by the industry will alleviate the concerns Connell expressed his scepticism of the industries ability to willingness to develop common standards. My concern over the emulators is the recognition that they may also be expensive to maintain and we need to ensure they do not alter the records they access and can be used in a court of law. I have to admit I do not agree with the comment “keep a hard copy” as this is not a best practice recordkeeping.
Kemal Hasandedic MBII GDDM MRMA
National President
Records Management Association of Australasia
