#erecsday

This is what it looked like to use a computer in 1979!

Our electronic records date back even further than that - to 1971! Learn about our #DigiPres framework to protect, preserve, and share the records in our care.

Electronic Records Day observed today on 10/10 (a nod to binary code) is all about getting the word out on the huge amount of digital information we create and how vital it is to manage and save it properly. Government archives, like the Multnomah County Archives, preserve documents that validate what the government has done: what worked, what failed, and what lessons might be learned. Access to these documents can inform decision-making and policy creation.

How are you preserving your own digital footprint? Use this 4 step method to protect your most important digital files, from family photos to vital documents.

1. Locate your digital files stored on electronic devices, in the Cloud and on external storage devices. With so much data created daily, focus on what you would most regret losing.

2. Organize and name your digital files which will make them easier to find and manage for years to come. Use short descriptive file names, arrange your files in folders in a logical hierarchy, and delete duplicates.

3. Back up using the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of your data which includes the original file and 2 backups located on Cloud storage or an external drive.

4. Maintain and migrate: Monitor your storage annually to check a few files to ensure they are still readable, and every 5-7 years migrate at-risk file formats to more stable, modern formats.

October 10 is Electronic Records Day. 

Electronic records and their preservation are a special challenge for archivists.

Our staff realized this as early as the 1960s, when Meyer Fishbein asked the Census Bureau what they did with the magnetic tapes that they were using for data. The Bureau replied they erased the tapes and reused them (thus saving $12.50 per tape—a hefty sum in those days).

Fishbein immediately recognized the need to retain the tapes and similar mediums--and the National Archives began to officially tackle the problem of machine-readable records—what we now call electronic records

Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Department of Energy) bubble chamber measuring projector which reduced bubble chamber film to machine-readable data, January 18, 1960. (National Archives Identifier 22123348)

In recognition of Electronic Records Day 2015, here’s 10 reasons from the Council of State Archivists on why electronic records need special attention:

1. Managing electronic records is like caring for a perpetual toddler: they need regular attention and care in order to remain accessible.

2. Electronic records can become unreadable very quickly.  While records on paper have been read after thousands of years, digital files can be virtually inaccessible after just a few.

3. Scanning paper records is not the end of the preservation process: it is the beginning.  Careful planning for ongoing management expenses must be involved as well.

4. There are no permanent storage media.  Hard drives, CDs, Magnetic tape or any other storage formats will need to be tested and replaced on a regular schedule.  Proactive management is required to avoid catastrophic loss of records.

5. The lack of a “physical” presence can make it very easy to lose track of electronic records.  Special care must be taken to ensure they remain in controlled custody and do not get lost in masses of other data.

6. It can be easy to create copies of electronic records and share them with others, but this can raise concerns about the authenticity of those records.  Extra security precautions are needed to ensure e-records are not altered inappropriately.

7. The best time to plan for electronic records preservation is when they are created.  Don’t wait until software is being replaced or a project is ending to think about how records are going to be preserved.

8. No one system you buy will solve all your e-records problems. Despite what vendors say, there’s no magic bullet that will manage and preserve your e-records for you.

9. Electronic records can help ensure the rights of the public through greater accessibility than ever before, but only if creators, managers and users all recognize their importance and contribute resources to their preservation.

10. While they may seem commonplace now, electronic records will form the backbone of the historical record for researchers of the future.

Check out our Records Express blog for more about electronic records!