[DOC] ICA Publications on Electronic Records

[Terry Kuny]

The International Council on Archives (ICA) is pleased to announce the
publication of three products prepared by the ICA Committee on Electronic
Records.  The mandate of the Committee, which was established in 1993 and
concluded its work in 1997, was to undertake study and research, promote
the exchange of experience and draft standards and directives concerning
the creation and archival processing of electronic records.

The first product is the Guide for Managing Electronic Records from an
Archival Perspective. The Guide is designed to help archival institutions
address the management of electronic records. Part I examines the
technological, organizational and legal trends impacting on the ability of
institutions (including archives) to manage these records, presents a
discussion of the  concepts of "record", "record keeping", "electronic
record", and other related terms which were developed for the purposes of
the Guide and proposes strategies for the management of electronic records.
Part I concludes with some discussion about the implications for archives
as they reposition themselves to manage electronic records of archival
value. Part II of the Guide describes the first of a number of the tactics
archives can use to implement the strategies described in Part 1.

The second product of the Committee is the Electronic Records: A Literature
Review.  Based on an exhaustive review of the international literature on
electronic records, Alf Erlandsson of the International Monetary Fund
produced for the use of the Committee a substantial document that provided
an excellent overview of the evolution that has taken place in the concepts
and strategies related to the management of electronic records from an
archival perspective.  The Committee concluded that because 
the literature review could help archivists understand the broad 
context within which strategies such as
those discussed in the Committee's draft Guide have been placed, it should
be made available more broadly.  It is hoped that the literature review
will provide an important tool for use in education and training programs
that focus on electronic records.

The third product of the Committee is the Electronic Records Programs:
Report on the 1994/95 Survey. The purpose of the survey, which was
generously supported by the Centre des Archives contemporaines [Les
Archives nationales de France] and the National Archives of Singapore, was
to compile a directory of those archival institutions that have established
or are planning to establish a program to manage electronic records.  The
directory is intended to facilitate information sharing and to highlight
problem areas that the Committee should address.  It is also intended to
serve as a baseline upon which progress in establishing electronic records
programs at the international level can be assessed through time.  As well
as a report on the findings of the survey, the product contains detailed
tables describing information on the organizational and legal frameworks
for electronic records programs, their program structures, and their
technical specifications, information holdings, and access provisions.

All three products are available in both electronic (WordPerfect 6.1) and
hard copy form or by accessing the ICA web site at

http://www.archives.ca/ica/p-er/english.html

For additional information on the products of the Committee on Electronic
Records please contact:

        Information Management Standards & Practices
        National Archives of Canada
        395 Wellington Street
        Ottawa ON   K1A ON3

        Tel:      (613) 947-1515
        Fax:      (613) 947-1500
        Internet:       IMSP at archives.ca

The members of the Committee on Electronic Records are:

Peter Anderson, Scottish Record Office; Niklaus Buetikofer, Federal
Archives of Switzerland; Michèle Conchon, National Archives of France; Ivar
Fonnes, National Archives of Norway Hans Hofman, National Archives of the
Netherlands; Gertrude Long, International Monetary Fund; John McDonald
(Chair), National Archives of Canada; Steve Stuckey, Australian Archives;
Ken Thibodeau (Secretary), U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration; Pitt Kuan Wah, National Archives of Singapore.


******************************
John McDonald
Director
Information Management Standards & Practices
National Archives of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N3
tel: (613) 947-1510
fax: (613) 947-1500
e-mail: jmcdonald at archives.ca