3: Strategic Goal 3
We will address the challenges of electronic records in Government to ensure success in fulfilling NARA’s mission in the digital
era
Other Information:
For many years, NARA’s mission involved preserving the paper records that have been created over more than two centuries of
our nation’s government. Over the past decade we have identified a course for dealing with the challenge of preserving electronic
records. Now, the volume of electronic records is increasing exponentially. Having the ability to find, manage, use, share,
and appropriately dispose of electronic records is vital for the effective functioning of the Federal Government. Across the
entire Federal Government, there is one prominent trend that is creating both challenges and opportunities for the National
Archives to assess and improve how it conducts its business—the increasing dependency of the U.S. Government on information
and networking technology to execute governmental functions. This transformation of government processes, also known as “e-Government,”
has resulted not only in the development and use of new tools to conduct business, and the creation of records in new and
varied formats, but also in the transformation of the way public business is carried out. This trend has critical implications
for the lifecycle management of records, creating an inherent tension for the National Archives. On the one hand, the Government
needs us to provide direction in this changing and uncharted landscape, and we must update our services for both the Government
and the public to deal with electronic records. On the other hand, we must recognize that information technology is dynamic,
and there is no predictable end to the evolution of the technology we use or in the characteristics of electronic records.
To successfully meet the needs of both Government and the public, the National Archives must continue to adapt and expand
its services as the shift to e-Government continues. Our primary response to the challenge of authentically preserving electronic
records free of specific hardware and software and providing access to these records in the future is the Electronic Records
Archives (ERA). When deployed, ERA will give us the means to preserve, process, and provide sustained access to Federal Government
electronic records of archival value and to provide economical storage and retrieval services for electronic records that
remain under the legal control of the originating agencies. ERA will provide a comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means
of preserving and providing continuing access to authentic electronic records over time. In addition, the National Archives
will develop new transfer standards to enable more efficient processing of electronic records being transferred to ERA. Finally,
we will continue to work closely with many partners to ensure that this technology is scalable for use by state and local
governments, the private sector, and other institutions with a need to preserve electronic records over time.
Objective(s):
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