ERA Infopaper 2005
The Electronic Records Archives
NARA's Mission
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ensures, for the citizen, the President, the Congress, and the Courts, access to records that document the rights of citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience. NARA plays a key role in fostering effective and responsible government through management of the records in all three branches of the Federal Government and through sustained access to historically valuable records in the National Archives and the Presidential Libraries.The Challenge of Electronic Records
Federal agencies are creating an exponentially increasing volume of diverse and complex digital records. As electronic record formats become more and more sophisticated, they grow increasingly difficult to manage and evolve more rapidly, making older technologies and formats obsolete. The more complex the materials, the more difficult they are to preserve, and no current system exists to preserve these digital records over time. Therefore, many electronic records will be lost.
The Electronic Records Archives (ERA) System
ERA will provide NARA with the capability to authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record free from dependence on any specific hardware or software. Our research and development have provided us with knowledge that supports new technologies to transfer, preserve, manage, and provide sustained access to all types of electronic records.
The ERA System will ensure that anyone, at any time, from any place, has access to the best tools to find and use the electronic records that NARA preserves. This system will enable NARA to fulfill its mission in the future and to improve its services to other Federal agencies, researchers, genealogists, veterans, students, and teachers. ERA will make it easier for Federal agencies, Congress, and the Courts to transfer their electronic records to NARA. Examples of ERA's many benefits are to:
Enable intelligence agencies to better store and share vital historical security information;
Access geographic information systems and virtual reality models used in some patent applications;
Ensure the electronic records documenting drugs and related research data are accessible over time to the Food and Drug Administration;
Permit the Federal Aviation Administration full access to electronic aircraft safety records;
Facilitate the repair of the Department of the Navy's damaged ships, whose design records are only available as electronic computer aided design (CAD) files; and
Share drug application information between pharmaceutical companies and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"...This is an exciting time for the National Archives and for its partners. Together, we are creating a capability that does not exist today - a capability that will ensure, for our great, great grandchildren access to the records of our time. We have extraordinary staff of archivists, contractors, and partners to help us meet the challenge - and we will."
-- L. Reynolds Cahoon, Assistant Archivist for Human Resources and Information Services
ERA Program Successes
Since 1998, the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Program has partnered with its key users and stakeholders from Federal agencies, government organizations, academia, the private sector, professional associations, and other nations, to develop its vision of the Archives of the Future.
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For Information about ERA contact:
Telephone: 301-837-0740
E-mail: ERA.Program@nara.gov
ERA Web site: http://www.archives.gov/era/
NARA Web site: http://www.archives.gov/
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