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Critical Archival Concerns and Interests in the Development and Implementation
of the National Information Infrastructure
A Position Statement Adopted Society of American Archivists,
June 4, 1995
(Published in Archival Outlook, July 1995.)
General Principles
Archives are an essential component of our cultural heritage and are
fundamental to our understanding of our nation, our values, and our identity.
Access to archives enables citizens to hold governments at all levels
accountable and responsible for their actions, and ensures that the rights
of citizens and obligations of governments are upheld.
Statement of Interest
Archivists have primary responsibility for the identification, preservation,
and accessibility of those documents necessary to provide an accurate
record of the goals, actions, and achievements of the nation, its institutions,
and its citizens. Computers and telecommunications technologies are dramatically
changing the manner in which individuals and organizations communicate
and conduct business and the way in which records are created, stored,
and disseminated.
The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is central to the development
of this new information paradigm and will radically alter the manner in
which records are communicated and used. The nature, composition, and
administration of NII is of critical interest to the archival profession,
and this statement reflects the centrality of these developments to the
future of records preservation and use. Therefore, the Society of American
Archivists, the largest and oldest association of archivists in the United
States, representing more than 3,000 individuals and 500 institutions,
does herein state those concerns deemed essential in the further development
and implementation of the NII.
Archival Concerns
1. Archival resources should be broadly accessible via the NII.
a. Archival resources include governmental, institutional, and corporate
records, manuscripts, and personal papers. Such resources may be created
digitally or be digital copies of records created in other media.1
b. Archival resources also include information describing records
and specifying their physical and/or electronic location.
c. Networked information discovery and retrieval tools should be
developed that can fully exploit the value of archival resources on
the NII. Those tools should convey the origin and original purpose
for creating the records.
2. The NII must support the creation and transmission of legally authentic
records in order to fulfill its potential as an effective means of communication
and an effective support for the rights of citizens.
a. The NII should incorporate methods that can overcome the transitory
and mutable nature of networked records so that authentic records
can be identified and maintained.
b. In our democracy, the availability of certifiable, authentic records
is critical to the effectiveness and equitable operation of the judicial
process, and other essential elements of governance.
3. The NII should support the capacity for the selection, preservation,
and long-term access to records of enduring value.
a. The NII should incorporate archival methodology and practices
to select records for preservation and access over time, based on
their legal, fiscal, administrative, or historical value.
b. The expertise of archivists in the long-term preservation of records
should be applied to ensure the availability of the electronic record
of today for future generations.
c. The developers of the NII should draw on archival methodology
and practice in identifying and preserving the records created by
transactions on the NII.
d. In the electronic age, it is critical to address the long-term
preservation of and access to records at the point of their creation,
or the nation risks their becoming inaccessible or lost when their
immediate use ceases.
4. The traditional archival commitment to open, fair, and equitable
access to records should be an essential element of the NII.2
a. It is essential that affordable access be provided to records
created using public funds.
b. In making records available on the NII, policies and practices
should be implemented that ensure that the privacy rights of individuals
are protected.
5. In providing access to archival records through the NII, there should
be a fair and equitable balance between the rights of creators and other
property owners and the needs of users.3
a. Fair use concepts and other exceptions to owners' rights conveyed
in the copyright law should continue in the electronic environment.
b. Mechanisms should be available to allow fair and reasonable compensation
for holders of intellectual and other property rights.
c. Original owners and archival repositories should be acknowledged,
and when appropriate, compensated.
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