2023 NAGARA Conference – Cincinnati, Ohio

Looking to get some additional in-depth information regarding electronic records? This year’s National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators Annual Conference will feature several pre-conference digital records workshops and conference presentations. Several Ohio Electronic Records Committee members will be presenting.

Individuals can attend pre-conference workshops and do not have to attend the NAGARA conference.

For a full listing of Pre-Conference Workshops – https://nagara.org/AC2023/PreCon-Workshops.aspx

Pre-Conference Workshops that Ohio ERC members will be presenting:

DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2023, from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Disaster Preparedness & Response for Record-Keepers

PRESENTERS: Nick Crossley, Becca Halbmaier, Daria Labinsky, Pari Swift (Ohio ERC Member)

PRICE: $150.00

OVERVIEW: “If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes” is a popular saying in Ohio. But don’t wait until disaster strikes to come up with a recovery plan! It is vital that governments be prepared for small-scale to large-scale disasters of various types (man-made, natural, internal, external, etc.) that could affect records. In fact, some records are essential (or vital) to the recovery efforts themselves and the resumption of business. This full-day interactive workshop will be conducted by persons with a passion for disaster recovery planning and experience in government and emergency management.

DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2023, from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Introduction to Digital Imaging & Digital Preservation Requirements

PRESENTERS: Jahzerah Brooks, Nathan Owens (Ohio ERC Member), Tina Ratcliff (Ohio ERC Member), John Runion (Ohio ERC Member)

PRICE: $75.00

OVERVIEW: Access to government records and archival collections has always been important, but is now even more imperative in today’s “remote work” setting. Digital imaging of hard-copy records may be the solution to increase availability and transparency, but once a record is scanned, records programs and archives will then have digital preservation requirements and other regulations to meet. Join the Ohio Electronic Records Committee in this introductory workshop covering the journey of a “paper” record becoming a digital image and the considerations we must have for assuring digital preservation.

There are several electronic records presentations throughout the conference. Please check out the list of presentations that will be given from Wednesday, July 18th thru Friday, July 20th. https://nagara.org/AC2023/program-schedule.aspx?78b74a36c4ea=3#78b74a36c4ea

We hope to see many of you in Cincinnati this year!

Elise Kelly
Ohio ERC Member

County Records Centers and Archives and the need for a Digital Preservation System

Many County Records Centers and Archives face the challenges of modest budgets and limited staff. Oftentimes, we have to prioritize projects and rely on volunteers for additional help. Planning is a must but frequently in a small office, plans change and staff need to be able to communicate with one another and adapt to changes in plans.

For a number of years, we at the Greene County Records Center and Archives were aware that we would need to acquire a digital preservation system for the growing number of permanent/long-term County digital records. Priorities and a limited budget prolonged tackling this issue. In 2021, we began speaking with and surveying many of the County Offices/Departments regarding the direction they were going with their records. We found that Offices/Departments were either completely going digital for their records or were doing a hybrid approach – paper and electronic. We also learned that the County’s Offices/Departments’ in-house data management systems, were no longer going to be supported by the County’s IT Department. We knew that we needed to act soon for providing an alternative for these Offices/Departments.

We researched the best digital preservation systems and found that Preservica met all of our needs. Below are the following points that sold us on Preservica.

  1. Digital preservation system that preserves long-term/permanent records
  2. Addresses hardware and software obsolescence through migrations
  3. Protects digital records from degradation/corruption of formats by monitoring the fixity of records
  4. Converts records to open formats based on archival standards
  5. Secure/Controlled digital environment – backed up on five different Cloud servers around the world multiple times
    1. 24/7 monitoring
    1. Encryption of all files
  6. Can add metadata to make records searchable
  7. User Security Settings
    1. Public User – public records
    1. Internal User – Public and Confidential records
    1. Internal Administrative User – Public and Confidential records
  8. Cannot accidentally or intentionally delete records without the action being reviewed by County Records Manager. County Records Manager can deny a deletion request if the Office /Department has not signed off on an RC-3 or if the records do not meet the retention schedule.

Purchasing Preservica was just the tip of the iceberg. There were many challenges and lessons learned along our year journey of implementing Preservica. These challenges and lessons learned will be documented in a tip sheet and will be available later this year.

Elise Kelly
Greene County Records Center and Archives

“Hey Siri, manage my records:” the records management implications of emerging cognitive technologies

Human decision-making is being supported or replaced by several emerging cognitive technologies, including Internet of Things, Robotic Process Automation, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Recently, the National Archives and Records Administration issued a white paper that provides a review and analysis of these cognitive technologies and their potential impact on records management.

The white paper focuses on the following emerging cognitive technologies:

Internet of Things: The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data. Devices like Alexa and Siri can be used to operate lights, lock doors, add calendar items, answer questions, and more. In 2016, the City of San Diego approved a plant to retrofit streetlights with processors and data storage to gather data and analytics to improve parking, traffic and safety.

Robotic Process Automation: Robotic Process Automation is a technology platform that enables a software robot (“bot”) to interact with applications. The white paper offers an example of a bot that assists members of the public asking for information about a topic. The bot opens a chat, scans the content, opens the agency’s reference request system, populates the requester’s contact information, makes a best guess at the purpose of the request, and provides resources to help the requester find the information they seek.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: Machine learning refers to a software programming technique that uses algorithms to autonomously improve decisions through analysis. Artificial intelligence is described as teaching machines to learn and solve problems so they can make yes or no decisions. The white paper discusses the use of these tools by governmental entities to classify emails to allow the public to search and more easily access certain government officials’ emails.

In addition to exploring the cultural and societal considerations associated with the use of cognitive technologies, the white paper explores the records management implications associated with their use and reminds readers of the following:

  • While the volume of data created by these technologies can be staggering, the data must be managed by agencies within a records management framework.
  • The length of retention continues to be driven by business needs and legal requirements.
  • These technologies may impact existing policies and standards, such as ensuring records management controls requirements for electronic information systems, and ensuring they adequately maintain the authenticity and integrity of records.

Although the white paper focuses primarily on federal records, it highlights the need for forethought from any public entity interested in incorporating these technologies into their business practices.