Governance and Recordkeeping, May 2023

The first set of requirements pertaining to the Act (PDF) came into effect in September 2022. The Act modernizes the framework applicable to the protection of personal information in various Acts. The Act also gives better control for citizens over their personal information, and it provides new powers to the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec.

The government has announced that it is working on a project to develop electronic governance. This will enable a transition to a modern and transparent digital administration, to guarantee effective service to citizens and businesses. In addition, a government portal will be created to access public services, and legislation on digitization is being drafted.

A national committee, working with agencies and entities of the Argentine public sector, will develop public policies and technological solutions based on blockchain technology.

The data strategy (PDF) focuses on four strategic objectives that embed data as a fundamental business enabler: maximizing the value of data, data is trusted and protected, enabling data use, and building data capability.
See also: National Archives releases Personal Records Collections Acquisitions Policy and Strategic Framework 2021–24

The government has announced that it is making tremendous progress in its public sector modernization and digitization efforts. Millions of records have already been digitized, including public service records, and several measures are producing tangible results.
See also: Archives department has digitized more than 50,000 pages of historical documents

The state has adopted legislation on the compulsory declassification of classified documents. This ensures more efficient management of classified archives, as well as initiating or accelerating their declassification, thereby reducing infrastructure costs.

As of April 30, 2022, the digital signature mechanism must be used in the bodies and agencies of the Central State Administration, the Central Bank of Cuba, all national institutions and local bodies of the People’s Power. This will achieve greater efficiency in the management of public administration within the framework of the Digital Government.

The government has announced that construction on the new National Library will begin in 2022 and is expected to finish by early 2023.
See also: National Library construction begins (El Salvador)

The new building covers 45,000 square metres. The National Library of Israel’s collection includes more than five million rare volumes, manuscripts, incunabula, books and miscellaneous printed material.

The repository will store the Netherlands’ printed and written heritage safely and sustainably in a secure, energy-neutral, long-term storage facility. It will be almost fully automated, with a robot installation managing the collection and allowing the millions of books, newspapers and magazines to be kept in low-oxygen conditions.

The action plan commits Scotland to publishing much more public sector data in line with the doctrine of “open government.” The focus is on openness, transparency and citizen participation, involving people in decisions on making data open and accessible across key areas of government and understanding how public finances work.

Singapore’s National AI office will use Google Cloud’s AI expertise to build AI applications and train public sector officers on AI. Dedicated training resources and certification programs will also be provided to cultivate deep AI and machine-learning proficiency for identified public sector officers.

President Yoon Suk-yeol has called for improving public services through the establishment of a “digital platform government” that connects data across the private and public sectors. The Presidential Committee of Digital Platform Government will be responsible for developing an overall strategy for the “digital platform government” and evaluating policies and projects under categories including artificial intelligence, infrastructure and services.

The Abu Dhabi Data Program focuses on all aspects of data management. This includes building data capabilities and skill sets; activating and building of data foundations across government sectors; deploying the necessary regulatory data toolkits; and developing sectoral executive dashboards, to be used by Abu Dhabi government entities.

Previous records retention rules explicitly applied to email communications only. Now the rules have expanded to all pertinent electronic messages. Federal agencies are under new requirements to save electronic messages to and from top agency officials, a move that goes beyond previous email-specific rules to include chat apps and text messages.
See also: Records retention guidance broadened to include text messages; Expanding the use of a role-based approach (Capstone) for electronic messages

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is making its Digital Preservation Framework available as a linked open dataset, a first for the agency. Aimed at sharing NARA’s research with digital preservation professionals around the world, the dataset expands access that was previously available only through GitHub. The dataset will be updated quarterly to keep pace with new formats and evolving digital preservation standards.

25–27 May; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

1–2 June; Toronto, Ontario, Canada

6–9 June

6–9 June

12–15 June; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

13–16 June

14–16 June; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

28 June–1 July; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

16–19 July; Toronto, Ontario, Canada

18–21 July; Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

22–29 July; Washington, D.C., United States

30 August–1 September; Belfast, Northern Ireland

4–7 September; Melbourne, Australia

7–8 September; Lisbon, Portugal

19–22 September; Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States

28 September–1 October; Louisville, Kentucky, United States

3 October; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

9–13 October; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The lab carries out research projects and investigates the relationship between non-digital media, such as books, paintings, photographs and analog tape, and digital media, such as software, websites and social media. The lab explores questions about what scholars and the general public know about digitized cultural history.

The project’s aim is to investigate and archive electronic literature. LabEL has three main goals: acquisition, archiving and sustainability; visibility and accessibility; and research.

The project will help to safeguard European cultural treasures through digital infrastructure, fostering co-operation and co-creation among cultural, creative and technology sectors. Cutting-edge technologies will be provided for digitizing artifacts, researching artworks and documenting data. These tools will add a new digital dimension to cultural heritage preservation, conservation and restoration.

The Public Record Office of Ireland was destroyed by fire in 1922, with hundreds of thousands of historical documents relating to all aspects of Irish life lost, apparently forever. Not so. The Virtual Record Treasury brings these documents back to life. As of June 2022, collections from the years 1174 to 1922 include more than 150,000 database records and over 6,000 maps.
See also: Groundbreaking project brings lost archive back to life

Tens of thousands of handwritten medieval manuscripts in the National Library of Israel’s KTIV International Collection of Digitized Hebrew Manuscripts will be analyzed by artificial intelligence–driven technologies. A computational analysis of 95,000 old manuscripts and fragments in the National Library will be developed.

Over the next 15 years, the National Archives plans to scan about 10 percent of its entire collection. That is more than 10 million scans a year, with part of the collection to be transcribed to make it more accessible. Using handwritten-text recognition technology, the handwritten text will be automatically transcribed and converted into a digital text file.

The National Library has launched a project to digitize its collection of foreign-language newspapers, comprising nearly 16,000 documents from the 19th and 20th centuries. The goal is to enhance this historic and fragile collection, in order to preserve this heritage, as well as to make these resources, which are a reflection of the country’s history, accessible to researchers and academics.

Project Omega is reinventing the internal catalogue and editorial process to refashion archival practice for the 21st century. The editorial process manages the addition of new records, corrections and other improvements. At the centre of this process are “edit sets.” These are selected collections of records that are worked on together and are used to share and distribute the work.

A new workstation is now available in the reading room of the library’s Manuscript Division. The workstation is equipped with specialized software that allows members of the public to examine complex and legacy born-digital files in the division’s collections; it represents the fruition of the 2020 Staff Innovator project, Born Digital Access Now! Born-digital collection materials are files created and maintained in digital form.

To be implemented in 2022 and 2023, the project's goal to define a PDF file format to store documents. This includes a mechanism to display electronic documents in a way that maintains their visual appearance over time, independent of the tools and systems used to create, store or display the files. In addition, a framework for recording the context and history of electronic documents as metadata in appropriate formats will be provided.

Organizations in the municipal sector are required to manage and retain their records according to a conservation schedule submitted for the approval of BAnQ. To establish their schedule, and therefore comply with the requirements of the Archives Act, these organizations can refer to this document, which replaces the Guide de gestion des documents municipaux [municipal document management guide].

Using digital file formats, which have a low risk of becoming obsolete, preserves the authenticity and integrity of government records for future use and reuse. These standards have been issued to ensure the preservation, accessibility and interoperability of digital information across government agencies over the long term.

PROV was approached by a government agency for advice regarding the preservation of two public websites that were due to be decommissioned. As the websites were relatively small (in terms of the number of pages), it was decided to try to capture them using Conifer. Conifer, previously known as WebRecorder, is an open-source web archiving tool that allows for the capture of dynamic websites, including content relying on JavaScript and embedded media.

Alphabetica is a single general catalog containing millions of bibliographic records and digital materials. This search tool allows individuals to simultaneously, and in an integrated way, consult all information databases.

The app is designed to engage users, keep them informed about the library’s services and provide on-the-go access to resources and information. This includes immediate access to e-books and audiobooks, as well as newspapers and magazines from around the world. Users can also use the app to search for print books, book a room, send questions to Qatar National Library (QNL) librarians, keep up to date with the latest news, and much more.

The applications will be used by the National Library Board as automation solutions for its library staff and patrons. These solutions will help to improve the library experience, whether in person at the library or online.

A new method from the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons allows archive data to be converted into linked open data, enabling data inventory from archives to be linked together. The method can be transferred to any archive almost automatically.

The platform finder will assist in finding the right platform, based on the audience that is being targeted and the content that is chosen. If interested in exploring a particular content type for the audience (audio, text, images or video), the platform finder will suggest the best platform for each format.

Email has a prominent role in government, but adequate governance of email records and practices has lagged behind the adoption of email as a key technology. Topics include general statement of email policy, statement of scope and operational requirements.

Three members of the ICA Expert Group on Archival Description will introduce the new Records in Contexts (RiC) standard. The session will discuss the rationale for, and history of, developing the standard. It will also provide an overview of RiC-IAD (Introduction to Archival Description).

Designed to facilitate simplified end-to-end approval and signing workflows, this cloud solution allows employees, partners and customers of any organization to electronically and digitally sign and manage documents through a single user-friendly and secure platform.
See also: La plateforme cloud avec un workflow d’approbation et de signature numérique (French only)

The maturity report’s (PDF) preparation was coordinated by Capgemini on behalf of the Publications Office of the European Union, as part of the European Commission’s data.europa.eu initiative providing the official portal for Europe’s open data.

The 2022 report aims to help participating countries better understand their level of open data maturity, capture their progress over time, find areas for improvement and benchmark their maturity against other countries. The report identifies best practices that can be transferred to other national and local contexts.

Thirty-five countries participated, including the 27 European Union Member States, 3 European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), 4 candidate countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine), and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The M365 survey results were collected from 200 information governance professionals, including from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries around the world.

The survey is designed to collect and share valuable information within the world of information governance. The survey explored organizational use of M365, a product available since July 2017. In April 2022, the M365 Compliance portfolio was updated to Microsoft Purview to provide “a comprehensive set of solutions to help govern, protect, and manage entire data estates”.

The survey contains nine key messages.

The Flexera report explores the thinking of 753 global cloud decision-makers and users. Insights into their adoption of cloud infrastructure and services are included. Their answers provide a comprehensive perspective on the state of the cloud.

Highlighting year-over-year changes to help identify trends, the Flexera report provides insights to guide organizations’ cloud computing strategy, digital business decision-making processes, cloud migration, vendor and technology selection, cost forecasting, and investment strategies to support the upcoming stages of their cloud journeys.

This report explores some applications of artificial intelligence in the records management sector. Also highlighted are their implications for the functioning of archives and data management within organizations, and the role and skills of documentation professionals. The main advantages and challenges associated with the implementation of these technologies in the field are then discussed.

The aim of this discussion paper includes determining the extent to which agencies are proactively and/or informally releasing information in response to, or outside of, Freedom of Information requests, and identifying the tools and resources used by agencies that successfully and consistently release information proactively and/or informally.

Digital Legal Deposit at the National Library of France has been archiving the French web for 20 years. The article discusses this history, from the first collection machines to Heritrix: a small robot that captures and collects data from millions of websites.

The data model of the software used for managing web harvests is described. The article first discusses how the metadata relating to web archives can be modelled in the digital asset management and preservation system Rosetta. Then it considers a bibliographic context using the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Library Reference Model and the Resource Description and Access cataloging rules. Finally, the article examines a linked data context with the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model ontology.

In the age of data, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that an organization now has to manage. As a result, businesses do not take the time necessary to create a strategic framework for the management of information. A strategic, encompassing and dynamic approach, with an ongoing road map for the management of data, is beneficial from both the expenditure and the protecting-reputational-risk points of view.

In the past, there was no way to quickly search whole pre-modern collections for relevant documents. Instead, the search would be conducted through shelves and boxes, trying to find the papers. To solve this problem and make it easier to access these documents, the State Archives is currently using Transkribus and read&search to create digital versions of the collections. Christian Sieber, who leads the digitization team at the Zurich archive, speaks about their first Transkribus project and their experience with the software.

Contemporary culture is increasingly digital. However, this prevalence of digital culture poses a significant challenge to collecting organizations that are responsible for acquiring, preserving and making culture available to the public, now and in the future. In considering how to make national collections accessible, born-digital and hybrid material must be considered as an increasingly important and uniquely challenging part of those collections. The report focuses on three challenges: collections management, digital preservation and conservation, and meaningful access and experience.

Amid growing backlogs of archival data, states are turning to machine learning to streamline records management. This article highlights the work of various organizations with machine-learning tools. This includes assisting with the identification, classification and categorization of records received for preservation and retention, applying machine learning tools to millions of email messages, and using data privacy and governance software to analyze unstructured data.

Collection Thinking is a volume of essays thinking across and beyond critical frameworks from library, archival and museum studies to understand the meaning of “collection” as an entity and as an act. It offers new models for understanding how collections have been imagined and defined, assembled, created, and used as cultural phenomena.

The information governance industry has experienced dramatic and often sudden changes, including the proliferation of data privacy rules and regulations. This book focuses on core information governance principles, with an emphasis on how they apply to the target audience. This includes law librarians, legal and research staff, and other individuals and departments in both the public and private sectors who engage deeply with regulatory compliance matters.

The digital transformation of documentation processes encourages information and library professionals to manage not only printed or digital documents, but also digital data. All libraries produce data concerning their activity (attendance, loans, users, etc.) that must be managed and secured under new regulations such as the General Protection Data Regulation (GPDR). From this overview of the world of data, information and library professionals will be able to detect challenges and opportunities in their professional practices.

The role and responsibilities of managing business archives are articulated, and direction is provided, for archivists making decisions in a dynamic business climate. Successful management of business archives is based upon core archival principles, and in this book nine corporate archivists apply these core archival functions.

Three modules guide archivists in managing born-digital design records through historical overviews, use cases, practical tool registries, sample workflows and robust glossaries of terms. This volume applies to archivists in business archives, architectural firms, museums, universities and government offices. The three modules are Navigating the Technical Landscape of Born-Digital Design Records; Emerging Best Practices in the Accession, Preservation, and Emulation of Born-Digital Design Records; and Case Studies in Born-Digital Design Records.