CA It is still too early to tell which models (like Pitt or UBC) actually work until we have had time to evaluate them. Archivists need to learn new skills in order to be effective in the electronic environment, and cannot wait for an out-of-the-box solution. Most likely, any solution will require a combination of strategies. Most of all, one must remain flexible and open to new ways of doing things.
Phrases
<P1> Unlike paper documents where context and physical form are united in a medium that provides the record of the transaction, and where relationships among documents can be observed, electronic records are not physical but are logically constructed and often "virtual" entities. Therefore, it is argued, efforts to document business transactions based on the examination of "views" or of automated forms will fail to reveal the nature of the business transactions. Consequently, methods other than direct observation and review must be employed to properly document automated systems. (p.25) <P2> System metadata typically do not contain all the information archivists need to describe electronic records, in particular, all the necessary contextual data required to understand the context of the transaction are not present. Therefore it is suggested that archivists will need to know which metadata elements are required to fully describe these records and must be in a position to add these descriptive elements to the system, preferably at the design stage. (p.26)
Conclusions
RQ What is involved in effecting a major shift from creating descriptive data to capturing, managing and adding value to system metadata?
