David Weinberg and Barbara Byers

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David Weinberg and Barbara Byers
NARA Electronic Records Services Meeting
Customer Demand

• RACO West ? Denver CO ? August 30, 2004

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Electronic Records ServicesPresentation Overview

• Background
• Introduction
• Services
• Advantages

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A solid history

• Since the opening of the National Archives and
  Records Administration's first records center in
  1950, NARA has provided quality records storage
  and servicing for agencies of the Federal
  government.

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poised for the future

• For years, NARA has been entrusted with
  protecting and preserving the information assets
  of the Federal Government.
• Agency-wide, NARA is planning to continue this
  mission in the age of electronic records.

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Why Electronic Records Services?

• Respond to customer needs
• Full integration with ERA
• Integral part of NARAs suite of records
  management services

RCP vision is to support agency needs and life
cycle management of Federal records, now and in
the future
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Initial customer targets

• Targeting those agency business operations with
  electronic records and information that are
• Maintained for more than 5 years
• Vital e-records
• Systems backup media

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Action Plan

• Identify and research potential e-record services
• What are Agencys most pressing needs for
  e-services on inactive records?
• Plan and develop NARA RCP e-records services
• What level(s) of service are appropriate?
• Implement pilots to test e-record services
• Expand service to other sites

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e-Services to be investigated

• Physical media storage
• Conversion of analog records into e-records
• Disaster recovery of vital records
• Digital repository
• Other services

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2005 Initiatives(concurrent projects)

• Implement two electronic media storage units
• Document conversion
• SmartScan electronic document delivery service
• Market research for additional e-records services

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Electronic Media Storage Units

• Shelve and store
• in an environmentally controlled, specially
  equipped storage area
• Service and Rotation
• pick-up and delivery of e-media
• Media refreshing

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Document Conversion Services

• Convert paper records into scanned images
• Possible related conversion services
• create e-finding aids via expanded metadata
• append converted record to existing
  e-index/metadata
• create dissemination formats
• perform optical character recognition (OCR)
  process

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SmartScan

• Same day, electronic delivery of reference
  requests right to customers desktop via email

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RCP and ERA (Electronic Records Archives)

• Within NARA, RCP will work w/ERA to ensure
  agencies needs are met for inactive records
  storage

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RCP Advantages for Agencies

• Confidence that records are managed by NARA
  experts
• Single source for paper and e-records services
• Reduced risk of inaccessible records/ information
• Confidence in continued authenticity of records
• E-records are protected

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RCP Advantages for Agencies, contd

• Access to classified storage capacity
• Automated application lifting of freezes
• Records are maintained to protect rights
  accountability
• Knowledge of and involvement with agencies in
  lifecycle management of e-records

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Advantages for NARA

• Records are maintained to protect rights and
  accountability.
• E-records are protected and more easily
  accessioned.
• Knowledge of and involvement with agencies in
  life-cycle management of electronic records.
• Enhance NARAs leadership role in support of
  e-Gov and other initiatives

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Advantages for NARA, contd

• Assistance to agencies in using
  standard-compliant RMAs, which in turn supports
  ease of records preservation.
• Reduce risk related to estrayed e-records.
• Provides a staging area or triage for permanent
  records.

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Thank you!

• RCP Point of Contact
• David Weinberg, Director, RCP
• david.weinberg_at_nara.gov
• 301-837-3115
• ERST Points of Contact
• Barbara Byers, Senior Records Analyst
• barbara.byers_at_nara.gov
• 816 268-8033
• Karen Shaw, Senior Records Analyst
• karen.shaw_at_nara.gov
• 816 268 8034