1. 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
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National Archives and Records Administration

2. 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.
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National Archives and Records Administration

3. 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
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National Archives and Records Administration

4. 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

5. Electronic Records Challenge A Tidal Wave is Coming
Clinton Administration
40 million 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

6. 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
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National Archives and Records Administration

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)
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National Archives and Records Administration

10. 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
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National Archives and Records Administration

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

12. Electronic Records Initiative
“System Design Requirements for Electronic Records Preservation and Future Use: 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

13. 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

14. 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
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National Archives and Records Administration

15. National Archives and Records Administration
ERA Timeline (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
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National Archives and Records Administration

16. 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

17. 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

18. Electronic Records Archives Program Management Office
Contact Information
Electronic Records Archives
Program Management Office
Fynnette Eaton
(301)
ERA Website:
11/15/2018
National Archives and Records Administration