Guide for Managing Electronic Records from an Archival Perspective

The Guide is designed to help archival institutions reposition themselves to address the management of archival electronic records. Part I begins with an overview of the technological, organizational and legal trends that are having an impact on the ability of organizations, including archives, to keep and manage records that are in electronic form. It continues with a discussion of key concepts such as "record" and "record keeping" describing how these are impacted upon in the electronic environment, and then proposes strategies for accomplishing the life-cycle management of electronic records.

Part I concludes by describing - from the legal, organizational, human resources and technological perspectives - the implications for archives of repositioning themselves to manage archival electronic records. Over time, implementing the proposed strategies will require the crafting of tactics, including standards, which can be recommended for adoption by archives.

Part II of the Guide represents a first attempt by Committee members to articulate such a tactical approach. It is anticipated that the contents of Part II will be expanded over time, and that it will form the basis for the development of a series of recommendations to guide archives at the "how to" level.