Thinking Digital:Tips and Advice from the

National ArchivesMeg PhillipsExternal Affairs Liaison

June 13, 2016Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference

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Thinking Digital at the National Archives• Meg Phillips, External Affairs Liaison• NARA: Maximizing our Value to the Nation

• Theodore Hull, Electronic Records Division Director• Electronic Records Division: Making Access Happen

• Denise Henderson, Internal Digitization Coordinator, Office of Innovation• Office of Innovation: Connecting with Our Customers

• Q &A

What is the National Archives?

NARA is America’s record keeper!

In a democracy, records belong to the people. The National Archives preserves and provides access to the records of the United States of America. Records help us claim our rights and entitlements, hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, and document

our history as a nation.

NARA’s Strategic Goals

• Make Access Happen • Connect with Customers • Maximize NARA’s Value to the Nation • Build Our Future through Our People

http://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/strategic-plan/

National Archives locations, including Presidential Libraries

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Identifies, preserves, and makes available the historical records of the Federal Government – including in digital form!

Runs Government-wide records management program to identify records of permanent value and assure the timely disposal of temporary records

Runs Presidential Libraries

Enhances civic literacy through museum, outreach, and education programs

The National Archives:

Publishes the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register, and other publications

Administers the Electoral College and the constitutional amendment process

Ensures that classified national security information is protected, and that it is declassified as soon as it no longer requires protection

Provides grants to help non-Federal institutions preserve and make other records of historical value broadly accessible through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission

The National Archives:

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Where do NARA’s Digital Records Come From?• Domain: Records of US Federal Government• History: • Electronic records covered by records law from 1943 (“other documentary

materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics”) • NARA started collecting electronic records in 1970

• Process: Content selected for archives either through specific law or through the records scheduling process. “Permanent” records:• Document individual rights• Document actions of officials: provide government accountability• Document the national experience

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Records Control Schedules

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Resources for Scheduling, Managing, and Capture of Digital Records• Your gov’t agency Records Officer and appraisal archivist

• Federal contacts at the links, but most levels of government have something like this • Managing Government Records Directive (2012): Transition to digital

government! Specific milestones:• All permanent electronic records managed electronically by end of 2019• All email managed electronically by end of 2016

• Guidance on a New Approach to Managing Email Records (“Capstone,” 2013)• Revised Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records (

2014)• Metadata Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records (2015)