Council on archives international records management trust
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Arranging for TransferIt is important to define appropriate transfer requirements for electronic records. Ultimately responsibility for the long-term preservation of electronic records of permanent value should fall within the statutory remit of the records and archives institution. However, this can be achieved by transferring custody to the archival institution or by designating other agencies as places of deposit. The advantages and disadvantages of custodial and non-custodial strategies are discussed in Lesson 3. FormatsWhich formats are acceptable for transfer and which are not? The archival institution should specify what formats are acceptable for transfer. Records professionals must make decisions about access and preservation formats for all types of records (for example, deciding to microfilm or digitise paper records and so on). It is easy to confuse access and preservation formats when dealing with electronic records as both formats will be in electronic form. This will require careful consideration of the different types of electronic files (such as word-processed documents, database files, spreadsheets and so on). In short, an archival institution can choose to
If the original custodian of the records cannot provide the data file in a standard format, additional processing may be required to convert it to an acceptable format for preservation and distribution. Often reformatting involves only simple processing routines such as removing labels from labelled tapes, changing the recording density or converting the character code. In some cases, however, the records staff member may need technical assistance to convert a data set to a standard format. The best way to determine the appropriate preservation format for electronic files is to
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The archival institution should specify what formats are acceptable for transfer. DocumentationWhat kind of documentation is expected or required? Records managers should maintain the documentation needed to plan, develop, operate and use machine readable records and automated systems. This documentation should explain the arrangement, contents and coding of information in a machine-readable file. Two common elements of documentation are described below.
Documentation is not standard and cannot be universally defined. Good documentation should allow the user to read, understand and use the electronic records it describes. For example, users of electronic records need to know how the information in the records was collected, entered and processed. Assembling this documentation should be a regular records management routine. Documentation at the time of transfer must be adequate not only for the immediate use of the records but also for use over time. The documentation required for reference use can be quite minimal when the records are current and the software in which it was created is widely available. The documentation for long-term preservation should be much more extensive, and there is much to be said for gathering all the information available. If the records programme receives and must accept electronic files that are not well documented, the transferring department should complete a transfer form. This will help in collecting precise technical specifications, including the following.
A transmittal form is useful for gathering this information, obtaining the necessary authorisations for the release of electronic data/records and keeping records of the transfer. The following is an example of a data file transfer/electronic records form. Records managers should maintain the documentation needed to plan, develop, operate and use machine-readable records and automated systems.
Figure 12: Example of Data File Transfer/Electronic Records Form Adapted from Hedstrom. Archives & Manuscripts: Machine-Readable Records, p. 47. Directory: documents -> educ training -> public sector rec documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included public sector rec -> Council on archives international records management trust Download 0.83 Mb. Share with your friends:
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