NARA Explores Possible Uses of XML U.S. National Archives and Records Administration NARA Explores Possible Uses of XML INTRODUCE PRESENTATION: Welcome to a briefing on the ERA Program. This presentation expands upon the key ERA messages published in the Archivist’s Information Sheets. DESCRIBE: This presentation will accomplish several things Educate you on ERA program – it’s a tool for you! Explain the ERA initiative Discuss what ERA means for records managers PROVIDE BACKGROUND: Instructor Background Discuss your experience with NARA- how many years have you been employed with NARA What different positions have you held? How do you deal with Electronic Records in your job? Presented to ERPANET Workshop Fynnette Eaton National Archives Records Administration 10 October 2002 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

NARA’s Strategic Response - ERA Archivist’s Directive The Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Program is NARA’s strategic response to the problem of electronic records. Its goal is to enable NARA to preserve and provide access to any type of electronic record created anywhere in the Federal Government. ASK: Why can’t NARA just grow the current system? ANSWER: We can but it would require a great deal of manpower and it would require basically rebuilding it. 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

NARA’s Strategic Response - ERA Archivist’s Directive ERA Vision Statement “ERA will authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record, free from dependency on any specific hardware or software, enabling NARA to carry out its mission into the future.” John W. Carlin Archivist of the United States ASK: What are we going to do about it? ANSWER: Build the archives of the future….ERA. VISION STATEMENT: As a strategic response to this dilemma, this ERA Vision has been recently released from the Archivist of the United States. COMMENT: ERA is a Virtual System An Archives 3. Won’t be tangible with walls and stacks but web-based. You’ll sit at your computer to access it. EXPLAIN: Other Examples of a virtual system include: Your checkbook: it is just a representation of what’s in an account Your favorite actor: he/she is just a representation of a character Your debit card: it is just a representation of money 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Electronic Records Challenge NARA’s Current Electronic Records System 30 years of experience Simple Files (i.e. Structured databases, tables, etc.) Currently expanding preservation methods and storage capabilities BULLETS: Greatest challenge to managing and preserving electronic records is that the challenge is unpredictable. ASK: Where NARA is today? ANSWER: Current files mainly consist of structured data (typically databases) that are independent of their original hardware and software formats. Need to expand simple files. We can copy and store anything but how do you get it back is another challenge. Don’t have enough storage on disk drives. BACKGROUND ON NARA’S CURRENT CAPABILITIES: NARA provides access to approximately 140,000 flat files, early generation database files, relational databases & other records that could be represented in highly-structured tabular manner. Stores data in a software and hardware-independent format (typically fixed length or delimited files in a standard character set, such as the American Standard Code for Information Interchange [ASCII]), on a master and back-up copy of proven, commercially available storage media. To preserve data, NARA adheres to prescribed environmental standards, performs annual statistical sampling to guard against any loss of data, and copies the records onto new media before any deterioration of the current media occurs. Historically, media refreshment has occurred on a 10-year cycle and media are stored offline. Current services allow researchers to search NARA-created finding aids (in hard copy or on the World Wide Web), researchers can obtain copies of documentation on the structure and content of those collections or to visit NARA’s facility in College Park, MD to review that documentation and purchase copies of entire data sets for their own use. NARA also has made the content of a few of its most frequently requested collections available via the Internet and it has the ability to produce public use versions of data files that contain some restricted data elements. 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Electronic Records Challenge A Tidal Wave is Coming Clinton Administration 40 million email messages State Department 25 million electronic diplomatic messages Department of Defense 54 million images from electronic official military personnel files annually Census Bureau 600 to 800 million image files (2000 census) TITLE: A second issue raised by electronic records is the volume of records is being created and when ERA is ready, NARA will get them all at once. BULLETS: This slides emphasizes that NARA will get a large volume of records at one time. The first wave of records in arrived from the Clinton Administration. The next wave will arrive in five years from the military DISCLAIMER: Statistics shown here are current as of May 2002. 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

National Archives and Records Administration Recent Challenges Diversity office automation, image, video and audio formats Complexity decision support systems, GIS, applets and interactive WWW pages Volume, both in bytes and files Rapidly changing nature of systems used to create records 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

National Archives and Records Administration What do we need to do? Overcome technological obsolescence in a manner that preserves demonstrably authentic records Build a dynamic solution that incorporates the expectation of continuing change in information technology and in the records its produces. Find ways to take advantage of continuing progress in information technology so as to maintain and improve both performance and customer service 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Transformation Strategies Includes Persistent Object Preservation approach emerging from collaborative research in which NARA is participating. Does not preserve records in original technological state. Requires precise specification of archival requirements related to context, context, structure and presentation of records and the collections to which they belong. 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Persistent Object Preservation (POP) Application of Distributed Object Computational Testbed (DOCT) technologies to archival preservation and access Comprehensive, scalable, infrastructure independent, flexible Established in the core technologies of the next generation National Information Infrastructure Implementation of Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (NASA-Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems) 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

National Archives and Records Administration Preservation Issues Uses of XML XML DTDs or XML Schema to manage attributes and semantics XML based tools to mediate between heterogeneous collections XTM (XML Topic Map) DTDs to manage relationships. Use of XSL; Stylesheets to manage presentation Bullet 1: Semantics associated with records and records collections Bullet 2: for querying collections Bullet 3: Between concepts in the records creator’s domain and the attributes used in the collections 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Additional Initiatives San Diego Supercomputer Center - Virtual Data Grids NARA’s Electronic Records Management initiative, one of 24 e-Government Initiatives 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Electronic Records Initiative “System Design Requirements for Electronic Records Preservation and Future Use: E-Mail with Attachments” Discusses content requirements, context requirements and structure requirements Request records be transferred in standard markup language, such as XML Other formats to be considered: Image files PDF 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

NARA’s Strategic Response - ERA ERA Requirements Persistent To manage and access the records over time. Authentic To ensure that these are the original records Records that are created with attached documentary information Scalable To grow and adapt to increasing volumes and evolving types of electronic records To serve a variety of user groups 1) Bullet 1: It is important to be able to access records forever. 2) Bullet 2: You cannot preserve an electronic record. You can only preserve the ability to reproduce it. You must preserve the information and all of the records key characteristics. 3) Bullet 3: Scalable the system needs to be scalable both vertically and horizontally. Meaning up and down in size. And across a very heterogeneous collection of records. 4) It needs to accommodate not only the variety of record structures but also the records format. Future system needs to satisfy: persistence, authenticity, scalability (checklist), and and provide a framework for other NARA systems. Eventually other systems will be either inside or a bolt to ERA. ERA must provide guidance and policy directives to coordinate the records of other agencies. We can’t afford to have information to be obsolete. It must be persistent. ERs are vulnerable due to hackers etc. Records agencies send over the records our researchers access. (Dave does not understand the previous sentence.) 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Keys to Success Government and Private Sector National Science Foundation San Diego Super Computer NASA IEE ERA has a GLOBAL Strategy Shows some of the key partners helping. Archivists, scientists, computer experts have come together to establish rules. We’re partnering, we need you to partner too! DESCRIBE: The ERA web site will have links to each of the research web site for additional information. Army Research Laboratory 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

National Archives and Records Administration ERA Timeline 1998 - 2001 (Past) The Archivist established the ERA Program Research partners are formed to find solutions to the electronics archiving challenge Contractor Team hired to assist with program management Optional Slide: BULLET 2: Research & Development (R&D) validates NARA’s vision for ERA 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

ERA Timeline 2001 - 2002 (Present) Continue Research & Development Key Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) Chartered Key Program documents finalized Continued staffing of the Project Management Office (PMO) 4/02 7/02 8/02 9/02 4QFY03 1QFY04 Optional Slide: Continue R& D Fully staff the Program Management Office 04/02 Develop ERA Concept of Operations 07/02 Document System Requirements 07/02 Conduct an Analysis of Alternatives 09/02 Conduct a Business Case Analysis Requirements L1 Business Case Analysis Request For Information RFI) OMB300 Request for Proposal Contract Award Concept of Operations Analysis of Alternatives Requirements L0 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

ERA Timeline 2003-2007 (Future) Official Military Personnel Files Test online public access Request for Proposal (RFP) Award to Performance-based Contractor Continue Research and Development Census 2006 (Mountain Information) Optional Slide: BULLET 1: Test the digital preservation strategy of digital Official Military Personnel Files TEXT: Develop advanced tools needed for large volumes of electronic records that have special requirements (i.e. Presidential records); and test the means for providing online public access to electronic databases, and continue R&D 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration

Electronic Records Archives Program Management Office Contact Information Electronic Records Archives Program Management Office Fynnette Eaton (301) 837-2007 ERA Website: http://www.archives.gov/electronic_records_archives/index.html 11/15/2018 National Archives and Records Administration