Electronic Records Task Force Phase 2 Final Report

Electronic Records Task Force Phase 2 Final Report. John Butler, et al. University of Minnesota. August 23, 2017. [PDF, 68 pp.]
     The University of Minnesota Libraries sponsored an Electronic Records Task Force to monitor established workflows and to develop new workflows, policies, procedures and mechanisms for processing and providing access to electronic records. They are focused on the development of processing activities, best practices and guidelines. Creating finding aids, which are published online through ArchivesSpace, are the first step in providing access to electronic records. The long-term preservation of electronic records is a concern and this effort continues to be a work-in-progress. To keep up with the influx of electronic records, the Electronic Records Task Force provides the following recommendations:

1. Staffing: Hire a permanent full time employee to work exclusively with electronic records
2. Long-term Management: Create an Electronic Records Management Group to address ongoing electronic records needs
3. Preservation: Review current workflows and long-term management requirements to address immediate and long-term solutions for file backup, recovery, and preservation according to policies and standards
4. Security: Conduct a thorough review of security requirements
5. Equipment: Establish initial and ongoing financial support for hardware, software and collections
6. Access to Materials: Explore options for providing access to electronic records, including both access and preservation of these materials.

Project Tasks and Deliverables

1. Develop Workflows for Processing Ingested Collections
2. Define Processing Levels (minimal, intermediate, full)
3. Develop Access Methods that Address End-user Needs, Copyright, Data Privacy and other Information Security Requirements
4. Monitor Ingest Workflows and adjust as necessary

Additional notes:

• "In the long-term, a full-time dedicated staff person is the most responsible approach to working effectively and efficiently, to achieve quality work, and to maintain our leadership role in the field of electronic records management. This is arguably the only way to address the ingest and processing activities that assist with long-term access to and preservation of electronic materials. Without a dedicated person who has an in-depth understanding of evolving workflows and protocols and who can provide a consistent approach with curatorial staff, any headway in addressing the records being collected will be made slowly."
• The goal of processing unique electronic archival material is to make it available to end users, whether they be skilled researchers or a high school student working on a project.
• Given divergent requirements, a singular asset management, backup, and preservation solution may not be a feasible goal in either the near or long term. However, efforts can be made to establish a limited number of processes to manage the vast majority of preservation use cases.

Digital Preservation Matters.