Educating Legislators

One of our bigger challenges as archivists is educating lawmakers on the importance of what we do; particularly in regards to how electronic records are impacting our ability to preserve our cultural and intellectual heritage. Few lawmakers understand archives, fewer still understand what it means to archive especially when it comes to what to do with email. Educating them on the importance of e-records management is an important first step in we are to get funding, staffing and authority to execute on our legal mandates of preserving records of enduring value in the electronic world. Here is an interesting article I had bookmarked back in Feburary from Newsweek. It speaks on the need for politicians to be more tech savy - and points out the we have an open door to help educate them on tech AND archives at the same time; provided we have the understanding and expertise ourselves to translate 'geek heavy' topics into 'plain speak' (one of my topics to speak on!)

A New Standard

On Apr 2nd, ISO DIS29500 received the necessary international votes to become a standard. This standard, better known as Office OpenXML is the file format standards that Microsoft uses in Office 2007 (all those .docx, .xlsx, .pptx files). For an archivial standpoint, this could have a huge impact in our ability to maintain, migrate and view MSOffice files in the decades to come. As part of the Office 2007 release, Microsoft also released a 'file converter' that will forward migrate the 'old' binary file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt) into the OOXML file format. With the native ability to save as PDF, and plugins available to save as Open Document Format, it will be very interesting to see how this space will evolve in the coming years. Creating this file format as a standard is move that Microsoft should applauded for (I have been pressing various high level Microsoft employees since 2003 for such a move). Assuming MSFT stays true to the file format standard, this is a great advancement forward for archivists everywhere. Note: There have been a LOT of nay-sayers for this standard and a lot of controversy surround it -- but its approved now. If nothing else, this whole issue has brought to the forefront the importance of standards and 'open formats' to governments in a way that archivists couldn't. The door has been openned for you, now step through it, follow up, educate and push for better management and preservation of electronic records.

What a Digital Archives SHOULD be!

For those of you who have not seen it, Columbia University has a very fine example of what online collections should be: accessible, intelligible, easy to navigate, and educational. Their Mapping the African American Past (at www.maap.columbia.edu) . It contains a very rich selection of maps, primary source accounts, photos, streaming video, a very slick historic maps interactive timeline (http://www.maap.columbia.edu/place/index.html), and (in my opinion, most importantly) LESSON PLANS (http://www.maap.columbia.edu/module/index.html)! Columbia has given a guide to teachers in 8-12 grades of how to integrate the primary source materials from their collection in to high school history classes. This is a well conceived plan that I have been advocating for years, it is one thing to read about history and see a 3"x5" map in a textbook printed who knows where, it is a very different and engaging experience to read first hand events and research history on your own. By engaging students still in high school and showing them the importance of primary source materials, we can strongly illustrate that not all knowledge can be found on the Wikipedia site. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think.

Importance of Accessibility

One of the distinct advantages that electronic records offer over traditional analog materials is the ability to make them much more globally accessible - multiple users at the same time, accessible at 3am on a Saturday, from anywhere in the world, etc. But one of the greatest areas of accessibility that is often overlooked is how we, as archivists, can make our holdings accessible to an entirely new group of researchers -- those who are visually impaired and/or have reading disabilities. While speaking at a media event in Bellevue back in January, I met George Kerscher, Secretary General, from the DAISY Consortium and learned about some amazing work they are doing with XML standards to increase the readability of any web based information. DAISY stands for Digital Accessible Information SYstem and they have been working with Adobe, Microsoft and any other major vendor that will listen. By using special XML tags, digital readers are better able to convene the context of the information (such as when new paragraphs start, or section headers). Microsoft and Adobe have incorporated 'save as' functionality for DAISY XML into their latest offerings, and I think it is worth exploring for incorporation into how archives save and web render their documents. Learn more about DAISY here: http://www.daisy.org/

Welcome to my Digital Archiving Blog

This is the temporary location for the Dkives Digital Archiving Blog until I get my webpage up and running next month. This weekly blog will cover topics dealing with the preservation and management of electronic records of permanent legal, historical or fiscal value. I will be sharing and commenting on news articles of interest to share my interpretation of how this affects digital archiving with my fellow archivists and IT professionals who are interested in this sector. There will also be comments on new and upcoming technologies and their potential impact on electronic record preservation. If you ask for it, I will also cover the basics of network technologies, database design and management and the basics of programming - I am finishing an Interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Business Administration and Computer Science so I know a little something about something. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with you and encourage you to post your comments, questions and links that you find. If you have a burning question about archiving or technology, go ahead and ask me, I love the challenge and open dialog.-Adam adam@dkives.com

Understanding the importance of media relations,Pt 1

I cannot stress enough the importance of forging and maintaining strong media relations. Archives tend to be viewed as dusty, musty places where old 'things' go to die. Legislators and public officials specifically need to understand the importance of the function of the archives, while creating a ground swell of citizen concern. One of the better ways to generate the understanding of the 'public value' (a concept I will cover in an upcoming blog) is an often difficult process for archives with limited resources, staff and media expertise. I recently completed a feasibility study for the Nebraska State Historical Society on their institution capacity to support a digital archiving initiative. Shortly after the final version was submitted to the Society and Secretary of State, the JournalStar ran a great article in their Sunday edition about how history is being lost due to the electronic nature of today's communication (Note the sidebar article discussing the feasibility study - already starting to make the case for increased funding and staff). By increasing public awareness -- and the distribution of several hundred copies to key legislators and stakeholders, important education and outreach can be accomplished. NSHS will find more doors open and key individuals receptive to their needs, while the newspaper gets a great human interest story. A win-win all around. Start working on your media contacts, newspaper, TV, Radio, Magazines now to generate support for you upcoming digital initiatives. To be Continued....