Director of Collections and Technology “Seamless Flow” David Thomas Director of Collections and Technology The National Archives

A new vision for The National Archives Seamless Flow Welcome and thanks for taking the time to come along today I have asked staff what they would like to hear from Senior Managers and Directors, one of the main things people said was ‘tell us where we’re going’. Well today is all about communicating what is and where we are going with the biggest programme of work at TNA, Seamless Flow Today I shall outline : How SF addresses the life cycle management of digital records The challenges we face and how the SFP will address them How the Seamless Flow Programme supports our Vision and Values for the National Archives The objectives for today (information, communication and fun !) 28th November 2006

Seamless Flow Programme Digital Records Life Cycle Management (Seamless Flow) Creation Selection Transfer Archiving Preservation Presentation Why we all need to change How The National Archives will respond Our Vision and the Seamless Flow Programme The SFP is a programme of projects that addresses the complete life cycle management of digital records Creation Selection Transfer Archiving Preservation Presentation There are people here from a range of backgrounds – people who deal with the online world every day, and people who don’t. Therefore am going to give some background on the pressures on TNA to adapt to the E-world and what’s changing around us.

The world and TNA today So where does that leave us today? Well, let’s first take a look at the changing world beyond TNA. Whilst The National Archives has been evolving, what else has been happening?

Other information players Wider information management community Grappling with major change challenges – and need to reinforce roles ‘Paradigm shift’ in most elements of work – from record capture to preservation Focusing on ‘information management’ as they attempt to dovetail initiatives and guidance from FOI to data protection and re-use Merging management of ‘records’ and ‘information’… clarity disappearing Requiring very different skills base – in addition to traditional skills Struggling to raise their profile within their organisations/ industries to ensure importance recognised Technology Users & researchers Other information players Government Draw out desperate need for leadership Changing the way we operate in the future Paper records will be here for years to come But… How will SF support our Vision in addressing the challenges we face ? Wider information management community

The Vision and Seamless Flow Those are the challenges. However, the good news is that we do have plans for addressing them We will briefly look at these challenges and how the Vision embraces the challenges and how the SFP will address them

The Vision 1. Lead and transform information management The Challenges We’ve moved from a predictable world of paper to a volatile world of information of all kinds. Government and the wider information sector need better information management to strengthen accountability and get the most from their assets. The Vision 1. Lead and transform information management Read the challenge (first challenge). Talked about already how difficult this is. What the UK needs is someone to lead this – and join up information management to ensure that we do have good info management to underpin good decision making. Our vision is that TNA should lead and transform information management. The SFP is leading the development of e-appraisal techniques and automated systems for the capture and storage of digital records Seamless Flow Leading the development of e-appraisal techniques and automated systems for capture and storage of digital records

The Challenges In addition to preserving the nation’s existing paper records, we need to rise to the new challenge of ensuring the survival of digital information for future generations. The Vision 2. Guarantee the survival of today’s information for tomorrow Read the challenge As I mentioned there are 30 years’ worth of paper records yet to arrive at TNA… …but we’ll be busy while we wait for them. Digital preservation is a global challenge – no-one wants us to be the generation that left no records behind because we didn’t know how to make them last more than 5 years The SFP will build a secure storage and preservation system designed to migrate records to state of the art software before the records become unreadable on modern systems whilst maintaining the authenticity of the ‘original’ record’s format and appearance Ensuring the right information is preserved for today’s business and tomorrow’s history Seamless Flow Building secure storage and preservation systems

The Vision 3. Bring history to life for everyone The Challenges Increasingly people expect to find, use and learn from information online. They expect it to be personalised and connected to their wider life. They expect it now. The Vision 3. Bring history to life for everyone Read the challenge Most people now routinely use the Internet for every day business The great online success stories such as eBay and Google have all understood how to connect people and information in ways that enhance people’s lives Broadband, which is the fastest-growing technology of all time, has done away with what was left of our patience – these days we don’t tolerate anything that takes longer than a few seconds Our vision is that TNA should bring history to life for everyone. This isn’t just about holding the records – it’s about providing access which makes them accessible to everyone, and brings them alive. The SFP is developing modern systems to search and present our history online throughout the world 24 / 7, therefore enabling people to search and view records from the comfort of their own homes whilst our onsite reading rooms continue to provide expert advice to all visitors Seamless Flow Developing modern systems to search and present our history online

How this fits with our values The Vision Lead and transform information management Guarantee the survival of today’s information for tomorrow Bring history to life for everyone The Values Putting customers first Responsible guardians Setting open information free Trusted to deliver Working together Everything we are trying to achieve in the SFP fits in with our Values Customers first Help OGDs manage digital records Records available online Responsible guardians Secure storage Preserved for future generations Setting open information free Available online worldwide 24/7 Trusted to deliver Will have an accredited digital repository Working together Pulling together the whole of TNA Cross functional Project Teams Open day !!!

Welcome to the Seamless Flow World All you wanted to know about S… but were afraid to ask! A lay person’s guide to Seamless Flow The life cycle of a born digital record What happens to a digital record when at TNA ( A Rough person’s guide to Seamless Flow ) What it means to you/your department 3 year programme, 8 separate projects, 3.5million budget – will have a major impact on TNA in the future! Hope to add a little fun and participation by running a simple quiz alongside Propose two teams – left and right Might be a small prize for the best team!

The Life and Times of a Born Digital Record Creation Selection Transfer/Catalogue Just a quick overview of the full record life-cycle There are 6 main stages These are: Creation – records created in government departments in various formats an on various media The need for new methods of selecting those records worthy of permanent preservation Next there is the need to transfer the records to TNA with the necessary descriptive information (cataloguing) Once at TNA for archiving, we need the safe and secure storage of records, ensuring their integrity and authenticity And to this end we need to employ “Active Preservation” to ensure records will be accessible into the future And finally, we need comprehensive presentation facilities for people to be able to see the records Archiving Preservation Presentation

What types of electronic record can we create? Civil Servant at Work I wonder if this reminds you of someone ? Our record begins life within a government department What forms could this record take? Word file, Spreadsheet, Database, email Website Pdf Audio(mp3) Video(wav) Virtual reality GIS Others And on what media? Hard drive Flash drive Magnetic tape (12” reel) Floppy disk (5¼, 3½) Reel to reel tape CD DVD Helical tape What types of electronic record can we create?

Selected for Archiving We work with OGDs to : Agree Appraisal schedules Agree selection criteria Agree and sign Transfer Agreements – what we are going to take/what they are going to give us Only take a small percentage of paper records 1-2% More difficult to be selective with electronic records – probably will therefore end up taking more! Simple appraisal methods no good here, need an improved process to deal with digital records Need to take action at creation to get good description of the record being created. Looks like this record scored as highly as Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest ! How do we appraise and select records for archiving?

How can we transfer records to TNA for archiving? Transfer to TNA After selection the record is passed to us (accessioned) A variety of methods are available to us to undertake this transfer What mechanisms could we use to transfer records to us? What attributes would these methods need to have? – volume, security, control How automated can we make these processes? What is best for Seamless Flow? Sneakerware Email CD DVD Online data transfer Secure online Eventually automatically ! How can we transfer records to TNA for archiving?

Load into Digital Store When we are happy with the record it is loaded into it’s permanent home, the Digital Object Store, for safekeeping. What issues do we need to consider when holding digital records Virus free Authenticity Integrity Security Recovery Longevity Others What issues do we need to consider when holding records?

Why do we need to take action to preserve electronic records? Preserve Record Music Timeline A key function of TNA is to preserve public records As guardians of public records they must be securely stored and protected The problem with digital records is that they are much more vulnerable In time access mechanisms will become obsolete As computer software or hardware becomes obsolete, we will transfer the record to a modern software equivalent to ensure the record can be read into the future ! As you can see no-one will mess with our records ! How should we undertake this active preservation Hardware? – preserve the original hardware environment so that original software both operating system and application can still operate to display the record ie. keep old vinyl record players Software? – preserve the software operating system environment ie provide new players for existing media Data? – migrate the data ie. transform the data on the existing media to a new format which is playable on today’s systems What is best for seamless flow? Why do we need to take action to preserve electronic records?

Make a Presentation Copy Another key function of TNA is to make records available on request (unless an FOI exemption applies !) We make a separate copy of the record which is available on demand over our website What forms could the presentation copy take in order for it to be possible to publish on the Internet? As a web page A pdf A word file A bit map A picture Audio Video Others What issues do we need to address with regard to publishing files over the internet Customer equipment and software Quality of screen Browser version Size of file, time to download Any plug-in software requirements Sensitivity of subject matter Copyright issues How can we make records available for the public to see?

What forms could customer access take? Users can request access from home via PC Can view on site via PC Can request copies (for a modest fee !) How should we provide access to the public? Issues to address: Copyright Any fee payable Sensitivity Confidentiality – FOI Scale/size Technology requirements – virtual reality Possible solutions Over the internet On an intranet at Kew Special visits to see sensitive or technologically difficult material What forms could customer access take?