6.3: Electronic Records Archives (ERA)

Preserve electronic records, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software, and improve preservation of and access to computer-based records

Other Information:

(http://www.archives.gov/era/) - Changes in the Federal Government, in our society, and in the nature of records themselves drive us to make changes in the way we do business and how we address the needs of all our users. As our nation’s record keeper, we see the constantly changing benefits and demands of technology shaping the way the Government does business. The Electronic Records Archives (ERA) is a major IT acquisition for preserving electronic records, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software, and will improve preservation of and access to computer-based records into the future. The development of the Electronic Records Archives is crucial to open government because of the role it will provide in long-term preservation and access to electronic records. The system will manage the entire lifecycle of electronic records – from their ingestion into the system through their preservation and dissemination to customers. Over the next decade, ERA will become increasingly capable, enabling the National Archives to process and make available valuable Government electronic records. ERA is designed to support access by authorized users within the National Archives and across the Federal Government, as well as any individual any where who has access to the appropriate network connections. Proliferation of Records - Our holdings are constantly growing as the proliferation of Government electronic records continues. New records are arriving faster than they can be processed. At the same time, the public demand for access is increasing. The expectation of easy online access to our holdings continues to grow. In Fiscal Year 2009, the volume of data stored in ERA grew from zero to 80 terabytes (TB) (20 billion pages of printed text). Between now and 2020, the volume of records accumulated and stored within ERA is projected to grow to 227 petabytes, the equivalent of 56.75 trillion pages of text. Transforming How We Do Business with Federal Agencies - ERA will transform the way that NARA currently works with Federal agencies to manage their records and business information, regardless of format. The system, through its supporting workflows and communications tools, will allow agency records managers and NARA staff to collaborate on a number of archival and records management functions that are currently done manually. In FY 2010, NARA will expand its current records management capabilities to 25 Federal agencies. As the ERA's system capabilities increase over time, NARA staff will be able to provide more consistent, informed, and timely assistance to agency records officers and will ensure NARA identifies, preserves, and makes available archival records for future generations. Collaboration with ERA Stakeholders - To ensure continued engagement and partnership with ERA stakeholders, NARA holds monthly meetings with Federal agencies that will be using ERA; engages in a robust program of communications, advocacy and outreach with the wider archival community, including non-Federal entities; and provides support to quarterly meetings of the Federal Advisory Committee on the Electronic Records Archives (ACERA). NARA participates in the Transcontinental Persistent Archives Prototype (TPAP) with the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the University of Maryland, and the University of North Carolina. NARA also contributes to the InterPARES 2 (International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems) project by identifying and characterizing records in interactive, dynamic and experiential computing environments. NARA’s InterPARES work also includes work on and leading-edge problems related to preserving authentic, reusable, electronic records in computer assisted engineering, design and manufacture of complex systems. For more information about the Electronic Records Archive, please visit http://www.archives.gov/era and NARA’s 2009 E-Gov Report, http://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/e-gov/,describes.

Stakeholder(s):

• Federal Advisory Committee on the Electronic Records Archives (ACERA)


• Archival Community


• San Diego Supercomputer Center


• University of Maryland


• University of North Carolina

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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