Safeguarding the Freedom of Information: Digital Archive Initiatives in the United States Federal Government Michael Paul Huff Information Resource Officer United States Department of State

The Freedom of Information Act

National Archives and Record Administration Mission “NARA ensures, for the citizen and the public servant, for the President and for the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence.” “NARA ensures, for the citizen and the public servant, for the President and for the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence.” –essential evidence: material generated by or received by the Federal Government, that documents  the rights of citizens,  the actions of Federal officials, and  the national experience.

NARA’s Electronic Records Challenge Preserve any type of record, Preserve any type of record, Created using any type of application, Created using any type of application, On any computing platform On any computing platform From any entity in the Federal Government and any donor From any entity in the Federal Government and any donor Provide discovery and delivery to anyone with an interest and legal right of access Provide discovery and delivery to anyone with an interest and legal right of access Now and for the life of the Republic, and Now and for the life of the Republic, and Provide effective policies, strategies, standards, guidance, and tools for federal agencies to manage electronic records in support of their lines of business Provide effective policies, strategies, standards, guidance, and tools for federal agencies to manage electronic records in support of their lines of business

The ERA Program Acquisition of the ERA system Acquisition of the ERA system –Support NARA’s end-to-end process for lifecycle management of all federal records –Preserve, and provide access to valuable electronic records Organizational change management Organizational change management –Ensure NARA successfully implements the system to achieve its strategic goals Research and Exploratory Development Research and Exploratory Development –Address new challenges posed by continuing change in Information Technology and its use in government –Capitalize on progress in technology

NARA’s Strategy Attack the critical preservation problem Attack the critical preservation problem Define the requirements in terms of the lifecycle management of records Define the requirements in terms of the lifecycle management of records Find solutions in commercially viable, mainstream technologies being developed to support e- commerce, e-government and the next generation national information infrastructure Find solutions in commercially viable, mainstream technologies being developed to support e- commerce, e-government and the next generation national information infrastructure Align with overall direction of IT in the U.S. Government Align with overall direction of IT in the U.S. Government

ERA’s Characteristics The resulting system will have three primary characteristics: The resulting system will have three primary characteristics: –It must be persistent; –it must preserve authentic records; –and it must be scalable.

R e c o r d s L i f e c y c l e M a n a g e m e n t R e c o r d s L i f e c y c l e M a n a g e m e n t ERA Virtual Workspaces Reference Workbench Find Records Present Records Produce Special Versions Identify Sensitive Content R e p o s i t o r y Data about Collections Original Format Electronic Records Persistent Format Electronic Records Read Digital Media Verify Transfers Accept Online Transfer Describe Records Transform to Archival Format Accesioning Workbench Congress President Donors Agencies Public Business Other Government Other Government Federal Agencies Federal Agencies Workflow Management Request to Transfer Records Disposition Agreement Request for Assistance FOIA Request Redact Sensitive Records Classified Electronic Records

ERA System Acquisition Lifecycle Milestones Mission Need, Vision Statement, Analysis of Possibilities Mission Need, Vision Statement, Analysis of Possibilities Contract Award Contract Award Design Selection Design Selection Needs Definition Concept Exploration A Currently here Concept Development & Initial Production B1B1 C1C1 C2C2 C3C3 C4C4 C5C5 Operations & Support B

Virtual Archives Prototype

National Science Foundation San Diego Supercomputer Center NIST ERA Partnerships Global Grid Forum National Computational Science Alliance National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure Army Research Laboratory National Agricultural Library

Sources PRESERVING OUR DIGITAL HERITAGE: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, October 2002 PRESERVING OUR DIGITAL HERITAGE: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, October 2002 ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT: Initiatives Sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget Have Made Mixed Progress, March 24, 2004 ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT: Initiatives Sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget Have Made Mixed Progress, March 24, 2004 NARA | US National Archives & Records Administration, NARA | US National Archives & Records Administration, NARA | Electronic Records Management, NARA | Electronic Records Management, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), meeting of the National Digital Strategy Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., June 28th, 2004, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), meeting of the National Digital Strategy Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., June 28th, 2004, Department of State | Freedom of Information Act Reading Room, Department of State | Freedom of Information Act Reading Room, Department of State | Partnership between the Department of State and the National Archives, Department of State | Partnership between the Department of State and the National Archives,