Electronic Records Management Guidelines
Annotated List of Resources
Cornell University. Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies for Long-term Problems. ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. 2007.C
A resource on digital preservation that provides a general background on preservation issues. Various preservation strategies are defined, including bit-stream copying, refreshing, back-ups, migration, replication, standards, normalization, and emulation as well as others.
Digital Curation Centre. Resources for Digital Curators. May 5, 2009.
The Digital Curation Centre in the UK is a central location for scientists, researchers and scholars to learn more about digital curation and preservation. The Resource Centre provides access to information about standards, legal issues, and current research. The Digital Curation Manual provides information about appraisal and selection, preservation metadata, archival metadata, and preservation strategies as well as other related topics. A life-cycle model provides a visual interpretation of the life-cycle of a digital object.
Beagrie, Neil and Brett Scillitoe. The Handbook. [online version] The Digital Preservation Coalition. Updated December 2008.
This handbook covers many aspects of digital records including preservation. The section on preservation provides a strategic overview of digital preservation and covers preservation issues of digital files including technological, organizational, and legal issues. A decision-making tree addresses the selection of digital materials for long-term retention based on rights and responsibilities, technical issues, documentation and metadata and overall cost.
Government Record Branch of North Carolina. Electronic Records. January 25, 2012.
A resource created specifically for government records in North Carolina that provides information on electronic record best practices, data transfer guidelines (including a user guide and video tutorials for BagIt), and email, web site, and digital imaging project guidelines.
Lefurgy, Bill. Digital Preservation Tools and Services. Agogified: Technology, Information and Culture, Mashed and Served. 2010.
A resource that lists some of the available digital repository services and systems, file format management utilities and references, file integrity utilities, and file transfer specifications and utilities.
Information Standards Quarterly (ISQ). Special Issue: Digital Preservation. National Information Standards Organization. Spring 2010, Vol. 22. Issue 2.
A discussion of digital preservation metadata, trustworthy digital repositories, audio-visual digitization guidelines, and digital preservation education.
Lavoie, Brian and Lorcan Dempsey. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at...Digital Preservation." D-Lib Magazine. Vol. 10, No 7/8. July/August 2004.
Digital preservation means many things, and this article shows the many different ways that people look at the idea of digital preservation which provides insight into the complexity of the idea of preservation. Topics include digital preservation as an ongoing activity, a set of agreed outcomes, an understood responsibility, a selection process, an economically sustainable activity, a cooperative effort, an innocuous activity, an aggregated or disaggregated service, a complement to other library services, a well-understood process, an arm’s length transaction, one of many options, and as a public good.
New York State Archives. Archival Needs Assessment Guide and Template. March 2001.
Background information on what a needs assessment is for and what is addressed during a needs assessment. Resources for more information can be found under each topic. The template helps to organize your own needs assessment.
Lawrence, Gregory W., William R. Kehoe, Oya Y. Rieger, William H. Walters, and Anne R. Kenney. Risk Management of Digital Information: A File Format Investigation. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources. June 2000.
This publication offers detailed guidance on migration (which is defined to include conversion) as a preservation technique through a risk assessment process. A useful workbook is provided to assist users in applying quantitative risk assessment measurements to their own environment.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Extensible Markup Language (XML).
The W3C is the international body responsible for the development and ongoing refinement of the XML family of standards. This site provides links to the specification itself, as well as pointers to working groups and other resources.
Library of Congress. Digital Preservation.
This is the current home page for the Library of Congress’s National Digital Stewardship Alliance, Digital Preservation Outreach and Education program, and the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. It includes links to publications, tools and services, program initiatives, and other related resources that are updated as individual projects develop.
Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC). Digital Preservation Readiness Webligraphy. Preservation Leaflets. 2007.
A list of resources on digital preservation covering general preservation topics, cost and business models, selection decisions, metadata, standards, copyright, and sample plans and policies.
Minnesota Historical Society, State Archives Department. Preserving and Disposing of Government Records. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, May 2008.
Developed for Minnesota government agencies, this overview of the basic principles of records management includes chapters on defining a government record, taking inventory of your records, developing records retention schedules, preserving archival records, disposing of records, and setting up a records storage area. A list of resources for more information is included, as well as information about applicable state law regarding electronic records management. Originally published by the Minnesota Department of Administration in July 2000, the guide was updated jointly by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota Government Records and Information Network (MNGRIN) in 2008.
Next Chapter, Business Case for Digital Preservation
Electronic Records Management Guidelines, March 2012, Version 5.
Links verified March 13. 2012.