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Research
Questions and Findings of the Preservation Task Force
Research
questions:
- What methods,
procedures and rules of long-term preservation are in use or being
developed?
- Which
of these meet the conceptual requirements for authenticity
identified in Domain I?
- Which
methods of long-term preservation need to be developed?
- Which
of these methods are required or subject to standards, regulations
and guidelines in specific industry or institutional settings?
- What are the procedural methods of authentication for preserved
electronic records?
- In what way can archival description be a method of authentication
for electronic records?
- In what way can appraisal and acquisition/accession reports
be constructed to allow for the authentication of electronic
records?
- What are the procedures for certifying electronic records
when they cross technical boundaries (e.g., refreshing, copying,
migrating) to preserve their authenticity?
- What are
the technical methods of authentication for preserved electronic
records?
- What are
the principles and criteria for media and storage management that
are required for the preservation of authentic electronic records?
- What are
the responsibilities for the long-term preservation of authentic
electronic records?
The main products resulting from the work of the Preservation Task Force are a survey
of current preservation practices in the area of electronic
records, a white paper on storage
media for digital information storage and a model
of the activities involved in the preservation of authentic
electronic records. The major activities represented in the preservation
model are:
- managing
the preservation process;
- bringing
in electronic records;
- maintaining
electronic records; and
- outputting
electronic records.
In addition,
main findings of the Preservation Task Force include the following:
- Electronic
records cannot be preserved as such; only the ability to reproduce
them can be preserved.
- Considering
that the processes of storage and retrieval imply transformations
both physical and of presentation, the traditional concept of
unbroken chain of custody must be extended to include the processes
necessary to ensure the unaltered transmission of the record through
time.
- Technology
cannot determine the solution to the long-term preservation of
electronic records.
- Archival
needs define the problem and archival principles must establish
the correctness and adequacy of each technical solution.
- Solutions
to the preservation problem are inherently dynamic.
The Preservation
Task Force Final Report provides a detailed account of all aspects
of the process of preservation, with recommendations relating to
the main requirements for implementation.
Documents
Public documents
for the Preservation Task Force are located here.
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