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2.1 This chapter will review a number of the factors affecting the ways in which information is created, manipulated, stored, and disseminated. It is not the intention of the author to provide a detailed summary of all the technological changes which have had and continue to have a major impact on records creation. Technological trends are covered in a wide number of journals, magazines and books. It is important to provide an overview of some of the major developments in order to appreciate the impact which these changes have on the creation of electronic records and the problems these changes pose to archives.
2.2 The major trend which has affected the way records are created results from the rapid penetration of microcomputers into the market in the last five years and, in particular, into the office environment in both the government and private sectors. The centralization of EDP/ADP services is disappearing with the use of microcomputers in the workplace. Managers, officers, and clerks have as much computing power on their desks today as the mainframe computers provided in the seventies. The ability to create, manipulate, access and disseminate data has been, or is in the process of being, decentralized to the records creators. The trend to purchase off-the shelf software has taken away form the centralized ADP/EDP units in the creation of in-house software and data base systems. The software is more user friendly, thus permitting non-edp professionals the ability to create databases, images, and text.
2.3 Linked to the penetration of microcomputers is the development of Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (LANs). The linking of staff within an organization provides for the creation and revision of documents which can be done on-line with only the final version being available in either hard copy or electronic format. Voice annotation of such documents is also available. Not only are staff able to be linked electronically, they can also access a multitude of on-line data base systems from their desks transferring specific data or combining data from a variety of sources. The ability to document the evolution of policy and changes in administration is seriously challenged by the variety of sources used in decision-making and the lack of reference to some of these sources. To date, most local area networks do not provide any control over the records being created as is found with traditional recordkeeping systems. Efforts are underway to develop software which provide for the management of information created in an electronic environment. Examples of such efforts can be found in some of the newer integrated software packages as well as the development of records keeping software.
2.4 New techniques for software development such as fourth generation languages and expert systems are becoming important tools providing for faster and more flexible software development and more user interfaces. Databases can be created by non-ADP professionals with such software as D-Base 111. Expert systems which can be defined as " an intelligent computer program that uses knowledge and inference procedures to solve problems that are difficult enough to require significant human expertise for their solution", (1) are only in the early stages of practical application yet their uses will have a major impact on recordkeeping. The potential of expert systems to assist with complex planning and scheduling tasks, diagnose diseases, etc... is enormous. The combination of expert systems and database management systems could provide for a major increase in the practical application of expert systems. Data base management systems provide the ability to search and retrieve specific data efficiently from large amounts of data. The expert system can enhance these capabilities through the use of an inference engine and a knowledge base of specific expertise. " Information not explicitly stored in the data base could be inferred by combining facts in the database with rule based knowledge encoded in assertions. The system can show the conclusion and lines of reasoning to the user. Finally, the system can indicate inconsistent information and give explanations which may be much more valuable to a user than simple categorical answers." (2)
2.5 A major change can be seen in the development and interest in communication standards. The lack of compatibility between hardware has been, and continues to be, a major problem to the increased use of data. The efforts now seen in the development of international standards is encouraging. The trend to adopt the Open Systems Interconnection standard protocols provide for the possibility of connecting systems with -different hardware. Hardware and software vendors and telecommunications companies are moving away from proprietary telecommunications standards for their products. Instead, they are embracing internationally approved standards based on the OSI Reference Model which will permit interconnectivity between telecommunications systems. Other international standards are also under development, particularly in office automation and data transfer. The Office Document Architecture / Office Document Interchange Format (ODA/ODIF) is beginning to be implemented by software vendors. ODA/ODIF is a standardized document architecture and interchange format which applies to any type of document. The format provides for the interchange of documents through communication and permits the user to process the document. The standard, itself, is independent of hardware and software technology for storage, retrieval and interchange. Other standards are being developed for data bases (Information Resource Dictionary Standard, Remote Data Access, Standard Query Language), EDI, Vocabulary, and Representation of Data Elements.
2.6 Storage capacities are increasing with the acceptance of optical disc systems. The ability to link an optical disc drive with a microcomputer or as a part of a local area network provides accessibility to massive amounts of data from the workstation. The ability to store the discs in the office environment increases the accessibility of the information stored on the disc. The continued improvements to the storage media will permit accessibility and storage of more and more records on-site.
2.7 A major part of the technological change, and one which should be highlighted, is the trend towards integrated systems and applications. The cost of collecting, storing, and retrieving data is diminishing. The awareness to maximize the usefulness of collected information is reflected in the trend towards integrated systems and applications which can serve multiple purposes. The "compound" or "smart" document and geographic information systems (GIS) illustrate these types of applications.
2.8 The smart or compound document which is the result of the integration of voice, data, documents and images oversteps the traditional media boundaries. All outputs are reduced to the common language of binary code. Not only is it feasible to create the compound document, but it may also have been created from information which was only accessible on the screen for a brief moment. The source of the information created may not be traceable. The adoption of communication standards will make the transferability of the data in these systems much easier.
2.9 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are beginning to play a major role in the information society. Today's systems only superficially resemble the automated mapping systems of the sixties. GIS are increasingly being used to conserve and manage a wide variety of data from natural resources to environmental pollution, as well as being active systems for the planning and management of cities, such as land information systems, and cross organizational and sectoral boundaries and represent an opportunity to develop new information based products and services.
2.10 In summary, all of these technological trends will have an impact on the creation of records. These trends require that Archives focus their resources on resolving issues arising form the technological changes if records created today are to be available for future generations. The technological trends and changes will force archivists to review and adapt existing theories and practices to meet these challenges.
1. Harmon, Paul and David King. Expert Systems. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1985,p.5.
2. Floria, Doris. "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Information Management: Questions and Answers". IMC Journal, Number 6. 1988. pp. 18-21.