This article is more than 5 years old.

On Friday, November 16, I attended a symposium on electronic records storage at the Wilson Library at UNC-Chapel Hill. Once inside, I had the pleasure of listening to the always intriguing Helen Tibbo, UNC-CH-SILS, and also saw colleagues Kathy Wisser, of NCEcho and Elizabeth Hull, UNC Photo Archivist and NCPC Board member.

The keynote was The Evolution of Data Creation: Towards a Policy Driven Collection Management by Richard Marciano and Reagan Moore.

The basic idea these two guys have is to automate a data grid which administers a digitial repository. Erik would’ve loved these guys. They have developed a system called iRODS or integrated Rule based Data system. They feel that preservation is management of communication from the past. iRODS attempts to make assertions about authenticity, integrity, and chain of custody about this information from the past and carry it into the future. The iRODS data system implements data curation processes as micro-services that can be migrated to new storage systems over time. In short, you save a digital file, and as policy create a replica of that file. Micro-services can automate this process as well as periodically check to see if these files are corrupt, and if so, a curator will be notified. This system can be finely calibrated to fit each institution’s management policies and also enforces periodic validations of assertions about collection properties.

Towards a Global XML Data Model-New Mexico Public Records
By Daphne DeLeon

DeLeon examined New Mexico state records to calculate what common information was needed for each group who needed the state data. This project looked at several data models to arrive at the final model – “Global Justice XML Data Model. GJXML enables the effective exchange of information between sources. DeLeon identified needs for public records in New Mexico and mapped to GJXML and identified any gaps. A comparison between the identified information needs of the general records and data elements of Global Justice XML helped establish data structure. This is needed because all records in New Mexico have a retention schedule. DeLeon used PREMIS-Preservation Metadata Implementation Strategies as a guideline.

Developing Processing Practices and Workflows for Electronic Archival Records
by Don Chalfant and Kathy Jordan, The Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia developed a digital archive to hold the records of Gov. Mark Warner: email from the Governor and cabinet secretaries, and individual files. The Library of Virginia is mandated to preserve these public records-and is supported in creating a digital archive by the governor. The State Library of Virginia used DigiTool as the library’s digital asset management system. The idea was to develop workflows that would facilitate the processing and management of archival electronic records collected by state departments. This project allowed the planning of how the archive would be constructed and managed using pre-determined preservation, administrative and descriptive metadata criteria. A relational database was created which allowed access and examination of individual electronic records in the State Library holdings.

Lunch discussion with Kathy Wisser–
I mentioned to Kathy we were investigating an institutional repsoitory of some kind. She said many faculty do not trust this concept of placing their intellectual contributions out there for anyone to access. Wisser said there is no incentive for them to do this-because they live in a world where they are continually judged by this output. If its out there for free, someone else could rob them of one of their most valuable assets. This is something to consider as we are thinking about including faculty intellectual content in our repository in whatever form it takes.

A Recordkeeping Framework for Social Scientists Conducting Data-Intensive Research
by Erin O’Meara, University of Oregon Libraries

This project was initiated because of the volume of data being created at research institutions, and because social scientists are not always thinking about resources for record keeping when conducting research. Social scientists were interviewed about the data intensive research they were conducting. The project attempted to create connections between researchers so their work did not just stand alone, but was interconnected. This project has not been implemented yet at Oregon, but an institutional repository will be pursued in the future. This is the project website.

Implications of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 on Electronic Record Keeping in the Wine and Grape Industries
By Kari Smith, University of Michigan

What?? The Bioterrorism Act of 2002 is administered by the FDA and is designed to protect the public health by requiring growers to keep electronic records. Sales and production information on virtually every aspect of the business is now required by this act, as of 2006. Using a case study methodology, Smith created a survey and recommendations for the grape and wine industry. Her findings were that record keeping in the wine industry is minimal. Most wine producers feel the cost if too high to implement the requirement of the act and the chances of being caught are low. This is the same issue that involved e- coli and bagged spinach problem last year.

As the afternoon lingered on, the number of people in the room dwindled from 70 to 20.

Afternoon presenters discussed past successes from grants:

• William Wallach, Univeristy of Michigan-Bentley Fellowship ProgramThis program continued for 15 years and hired fellows to look at electronic records issues, such as best practices, appraisal, description and administration of electronic records.
• Joan Krizack, Northeastern University- NHPRC Electronic Fellowships in BostonThis program had 9 fellows over the years who looked at electronic records issues.
• Paul Conway, University of Michigan School of Information- NHPRC Electronic Fellowships at UNC-CH. NHPRC works for basic and applied research regarding all aspects of electronic records.