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ODU CS 791 - Victorian Electronic Record Strategy

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VERS: Victorian Electronic Record StrategyVERS Project: BackgroundVERS Project Stage 1: InvestigationVERS Project Stage 2: Prototype Archival SystemVERS Project Stage 3: ImplementationVERS Project: Rejected StrategiesVERS Project ResultsVERS Project: Encapsulation as Recommended StrategyVERS Encapsulated ObjectVERS: Conclusion4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 1VERS:Victorian Electronic Record StrategyDigital Preservation SeminarODU Spring 20044 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 2VERS Project: Background•3-Stage Project1. Investigation2. Prototype3. Implementation“Electronic records need enduring evidential status and long life, despite the fact that computing systems have short life and information can be easily corrupted.” (quoted from VERS final project report)4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 3VERS Project Stage 1:Investigation•Project began in 1995 by Public Record Office Victoria (Australia) as an investigation in “how to safeguard digital records against obsolescence caused by changes and developments in computer software, hardware and storage media.”–Evidentiary reliability one of many motivators–Participants included researchers (CSIRO, U Melbourne) and Industry (Ernst & Young)–Goal was to produce a conceptual answer:•Recommend a solution/methodology•Identify key issues•Present a business case (but not cost estimates)–Recommendations published in 1997, “Keeping Electronic Records Forever”•115-page report by consultants Ernst & Young•Notes that no satisfactory solution existed at the time•Recommended encapsulation as suitable technique4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 4VERS Project Stage 2:Prototype Archival System•$500K funding in late 1997 to address an actual implementation of the original recommendations–Project was to be a proof of concept – more than a theoretical exercise –Address “the transfer, storage, preservation, access and disposal of [electronic] records” –Provide “for records to be maintained as evidence”–Examine feasibility as well as real costs–Assess impact of the switch to an electronic format on the on-going maintenance of paper records•Are agencies sloppy?•Is there significant or only minor loss of data?•Can capture and preservation be automated (from proprietary apps like Word, Excel)?4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 5VERS Project Stage 3:Implementation•$4.8M funding for implementation at Department of Infrastructure (State of Victoria, Australia)–Website (http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/welcome.htm) says nearly complete •but overdue (was to be a 2 year project)•Latest standards release was July 2003–Project resulted in development of a VERS toolkit, an Australian government standard for the management of electronic records, and the “VERS Encapsulation Object” (among other things)–“Victoria is leading the world in e-government, with more than 150 transactions available to the public on the Internet” (Apr 2001 press release)4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 6VERS Project: Rejected Strategies•System Preservation–Keep the hardware & the software–Indefinite care and feeding…•Emulation–Not practical over long-term–Issues similar to system preservation•Migration–Depends on closely matching functionality of original–Requires active, systems-based approach–Might break “do minimal harm” rule of preservation•Data modification may degrade the information element•Sequential migrations have been shown to effectively lose data accessibility•Standardization–Biggest issue is appropriateness of the standard preservation format–Evolution of standards poses risks similar to migration4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 7VERS Project Results•Defined a long term preservation format for electronic records.–Encapsulation was the preferred solution –recommended XML for metadata –PDF for content!•Justification for PDF is that it passes the “public library test”•http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/faq.htm•Created the VERS Encapsulation Object– to wrap it all up nice and neat…4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 8VERS Project:Encapsulation as Recommended StrategyReasons for choosing this approach:–Simple & self-documenting (within limits)•Text-based encoding for the wrapper•Human-readable to some degree (except binary encoded portions)•Simple to implement on a computer–Self sufficient•All relevant information is enclosed within the object•Metadata provides functional and organizational information–Tag names are meaningful–Content documentation•Clear identification of data formats used in encoding content•Widely available format specifications–Organizational Preservation•Information about how the data is used or why it is important4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 9VERS Encapsulated Object4 Mar 2004 http://www.joanasmith.com/education/719digPres.html 10VERS: Conclusion•Victoria government took a practical approach to data preservation•Sought to invest minimal effort in creating new elements•Took advantage of widespread technologies that have some reasonable potential for longer-term survival (compared with others)•Made credible efforts toward automated digital


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