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5. Arrangement and description
5.1 Arrangement is defined as "the process of putting archives and records into order in accordance with accepted archival principles, particularly those of provenance and original order. If there is not original order, the archivist may impose an order which presents the records objectivity and facilitates their use."(1) A further expansion of this definition states that arrangement is the process and results of organizing archives, records, and manuscripts in accordance with accepted archival principles, particularly provenance, at as many as necessary of the following levels: repository, record group or comparable control unit, subgroup(s), series, file unit, and document. The process usually includes packing, labeling, and shelving of archives, records and manuscripts; and is intended to achieve physical or administrative control and basic identification of the holdings. It is in the arrangement of electronic records that the major impact of the new technology will occur.
5.2 Although packing and shelving find no equivalent in the arrangement of machine readable records, activities related to ensuring both physical and administrative control are undertaken. In fact, the arrangement of electronic records is a vital component of the archival process to ensure long term accessibility of the records. This is commonly referred to as processing. The major objective of processing is to review the records with the supporting documentation in order to verify that the record layout is valid. This work is accomplished through the use of computer programs. The treatment of the arrangement of machine readable records can be divided into two types: existing procedures which have tried to follow existing archival practices for other types of archival records; and future practices which will be required to handle the new types of electronic records.
5.3 To date most of the experience with machine readable records has been gained through the processing of alpha numeric data files. The procedures which have evolved over the past twenty years and have been adopted by those archival repositories with machine readable records programs are similar in content and differ only in terms of the extent to which they are applied. The arrangement or processing of the records requires two basic components: access to a computer and technical knowledge.
5.4 As part of the appraisal process, a technical analysis of the records is undertaken. This analysis is performed in order to ensure that the records are readable; to determine the software and hardware implications; and to understand the physical structure of the file (hierarchical, rectangular, etc.); and the position of the data elements within the file. The technical analysis provides the archivist with a knowledge that the records are readable and an understanding of both the layout and the technical implications. In most instances, more work is required to ensure that the records are accessible both physically and intellectually.
It is at the processing stage that the implications of acquiring electronic records is most keenly felt as the processing of the records requires a level of technical knowledge in order to adapt computer programs to verify the records. The following is a list of basic steps which are completed to process the most elementary numeric data files:
1. Two copies of the data file are made.
2. A comparison of the documentation provided by the transferring agency and the data is undertaken using statistical programs such as SPSS,SAS,etc..
3. Errors in the documentation are identified and documented.
4. Other checks may be performed such as inter-record and inter-variable checks to ensure that the data are consistent.
5. The transferring agency or donor is consulted should there be difficulties of unidentified codes, errors and inconsistencies in the data.
6. The files are documented indicating any of the difficulties which may have been discovered.
This is a simplified description of the activities which are undertaken but they do point out the need for archivists to have access to computing facilities, a certain amount of technical knowledge in order to write simple programs and an understanding of how the data were created in order to document clearly any inconsistencies or errors which may have been identified. The need to undertake the complete processing of the records stems from the fact that these records, when acquired are not in human readable form. The use of statistical programs becomes an essential step in verifying that the information is there. The programs provide information on the range of codes found and the number of cases for each code. The results provide the archivist with proof that the correct number of records exist; that the records layout is a true map of the data found; and that should codes exist which are not documented the archivist can then contact the donor and attempt to resolve the problems. The last point is an important one in that those involved in the creation of systems are nomadic and do not reside in the same position for any length of time.
5.5 A great deal of experience has been gained on the arrangement of the numeric data files, particularly those resulting form main frame systems, surveys and case files. Some experience has been gained in the processing of text files which, to some extent, are easier in that on screen or in the form of printouts these files are often human readable. Certain coding information imbedded in these files require interpretation.
5.6 It is with the variety of more complex file structures resulting from new database techniques, integrated office systems and resulting electronic compound documents that little experience has been gained. The way in which electronic information is created and used will have an impact on how records are arranged within archival repositories. The major problem which has plagued the processing and conservation of electronic records has been the incompatibility of hardware and software. A number of interesting developments are now being pursued to overcome these difficulties. The activities are occurring on the international level through the International Standards Organization, more particularly the drive to develop information technology standards that address the issues of portability of applications and the interworking of several applications. Database and programming language standards are addressing the issue of application portability. Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standards are concerned with interoperability, that is, attempting to ensure that different application processes are able to interwork to achieve the application objectives.
Application portability is the ability to move an application from one computing environment to another with little or no change to the application. Application portability makes it possible to distribute applications and data throughout an organization according to business needs rather than according to system compatibility. The portability of application software can result in benefits for both users and vendors. For users, an increased degree of application portability implies a greater degree of vendor independence.
The Open Systems Interconnection reference model has been an invaluable aid to standardization in that it provides a framework and methodology in which standards can be developed. The objective of the OSI Reference Model is to establish a framework for coordinating the development of existing and future standards for the interconnection of systems.
Other standards are in the process of development. One such standard is the Office Document Architecture/ Office Document Interchange Format (ODA/ODlF). This standard provides for the transferability of text in a processible format and is a necessity in the increasing incompatibility of office systems.
Information technology standards now have the potential to dramatically change the extent to which application systems and data have been portable in the past. Standards addressing the interworking of systems increase the ability for computer systems to perform information exchange with other computer systems. In an increasingly electronic office environment, it is critical that appropriate information technology standards be developed in a timely manner in order to avoid the development of numerous information systems which cannot communicate with each other.(2)
5.7 Archives are the major repositories for records of enduring value. As electronic records become more prevalent, all repositories will have to develop methods to deal with incompatibility of the hardware and software that created the records. As major and long term users of technology, archival institutions should become actively involved in the development of international information technology standards. It is through the development and application of these types of standards that the technical problems of electronic records can be addressed.
5.8 "The digitization of information through the common language of binary code is bringing about a convergence of voice, image and data."(3) Archives have tended to expand programs along media-based responsibilities with each specialty developing guidelines and procedures based on traditional archival principles with variations depending upon the requirements of the medium. Just as different technologies separated fonds in the past, technology may now be the driving force behind the integration of different types of records and now play a role in bringing together the various types of records as the media on which the information resides becomes the common element. Rather than separating fonds physically, and to some degree intellectually, electronic records can be physically stored and intellectually described as a whole.
1. Gracey, David B.II. Archives and Manuscripts: Arrangement and Description. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1977.
2. Henshall, John and Sandy Shaw. OSI Explained. Ellis Horword Ltd. 1988.
3. Forester, Tom. High-Tech Society. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988.p. 1.