Multidisciplinary aspects of electronic records

by Hans Hofman
National Archives of the Netherlands
DLM-Forum Brussels, 18-20 December 1996

1.	Introduction

Just a few days ago I read an article in the newspaper about the possibility of connecting the human brain to the computer and of using the different types of brainswaves for controlling the computer.
The brain as systemprogram and application at the same time. It is not a new idea as I understood, because already in the sixties there were experiments in this direction and perhaps you have seen the movie ‘Firefox’ where Clint Eastwood tries to control a fighter jet with his brain. Does this all mean that the human being will be part of the computer and if so, will this, extending the idea to the extreme and relating it with the issues of this Forum, lead to the situation that records will be stored in our mind and everyone a record keeper ? What then about accessibility, authenticity or reliability ?

Will this be once reality or will this be only a futuristic, totally irrealistic idea ?
My point here is, that almost every barrier, physical or logical, seems to disappear in the world of information technology (IT). Boundaries are not sacred any more.
The program committee has asked me to talk about ‘multidisciplinary aspects of electronic records’. The example I just gave you shows that information technology will irrepressible force existing disciplines of all sorts to cooperate or even to merge.

The situation to date however is still quite different. There a lot of barriers to overcome, even within disciplines. Based on my experience with cooperation within the archival world a lot of discussion is necessary to understand each other and to find a common basis. Just looking at the two other items within the title of my presentation, the life cycle of records and workflow management, there too are many interpretations about what they are or should be.

Except barriers within and between disciplines we have to deal with other barriers in the European scene: national, cultural, linguistic, with respect to expertise and so on.

Since 1993 workflow vendors, users and analysts has themselves organized into an international organization, called the Workflow Management Coalition, in order to develop a framework for the establishment of workflow standards. The reasons for this cooperation are to increase the value of customers’ investment, to decrease the risk of using workflow products and to create a better market for them. 
Apart of the necessity to coordinate the products sold by different vendors, we see here also a kind of multidisciplinary cooperation, but limited to a single product.

Another example of cooperation is the archival world, represented in the ICA-committee on electronic records, which has during the past 4 years tried to formulate strategies for dealing with electronic records and as mentioned produced a draft guide.

Lawyers as a third dicipline, are confronted with the problem of authenticity and the evidential value of documents and records. They are trying to define characteristics that determine the authenticity and juridical aspects of records.

Apparently every discipline, including IT-specialists, is searching for solutions or strategies within its own field of activity to deal with the challenges of the information age. Information technology has confronted them with a whole new and unknown world, which forces them to think about how to carry out their function, how to adapt their methods and how to use or design the new instruments offered by the new information technology. There exist many platforms where these discussions are taking place.

The topic of electronic records has become a high priority since the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the European Union in june 1994. This DLM-Forum however is the first concrete step in this respect made by the European Commission and the objective is to establish or better to initiate a form of cooperation between the memberstates and between the different parties involved. In order to accomplish this objective a lot has to be done.
Another product are the ‘Draft guidelines: best practices for using machine readable data’, which guide is mainly dealing with data and documents.

To find the answers we have first to formulate the right questions, which are in my opinion here:
-	first of all what are we talking about or what framework for such a cooperation can be defined,
-	secondly who are involved in record keeping, the multidisciplinary aspect, and 
-	finally what issues in the field of electronic records to be addressed in the European Union during the coming years can be identified.

There are also advantageous conditions for cooperation. Information technology has its own dynamics, but the most important impact of information technology is just that the existing boundaries between disciplines will disappear or better will offer new opportunities for cooperation. It makes it even possible for different disciplines to cooperate and to create new structures.

First of all what is the context in which we are working: the information society.

2.	The information society: developments and consequences

The world today produces ever more information and modern information technology makes it possible to manage it and to use it effectively. The information society is in the making, in which almost everything seems to turn around data and information. Example ‘par excellence’ is the Internet, which gives access to an enormous, almost inexhaustible and virtual world of information. It is estimated that 95% of all information exists in digital form and more than 10% of information is now digitally exchanged. In the world of EDI it is even possible to carry out processes automatically without any human intervention

Information technology has also an enormous impact on communication between people and organisations with all its organisational, cultural and societal consequences. Especially the last few years show us the impact of IT on society. Existing boundaries (such as between organisations but also between nations) at all levels are no longer a problem and easily crossed by datacommunication and networks. These new developments are also a consequence of the integration of the different types of information. Text, data, graphics, audio, video etc. are culminating into multimedia and compound documents. Parallel to this there is the integration of different technologies such as computers, television, telephone, fax etc. In the USA for instance a standard has recently been established for HDTV, which integrates television and computer screens.

All these developments create new opportunities especially with respect to organisational structures. One interesting example is a modern phenomenon which is called chain management. It means that management no longer is limited to one organisation, but encompasses the whole chain of activities of a function to be carried out. Subsequently business processes, which are looked at as chains of tasks, become leading in the management of functions and of information necessary to fulfill these functions. It results into a shift of emphasis (attention) from the organisation which carries out a certain function toward the function which has to be carried out by one or more organisations. One of the consequences is the flattening of hierarchies. (more horizontally)

In the field of record keeping the possibilities of communication and networking have as effect that place and time are no longer crucial and that information and also records could be everywhere and used anytime. One of the consequences is that it will be more difficult to establish the provenance and use of electronic records which is determined by the context in which they are created.

To put it otherwise: the interaction between information technology and organisational changes has a crucial impact on record creating and record keeping (within government organisations). These changes have not only archival or records management aspects, but also juridical, legal, informational, organisational, administrative/political, and technological aspects. The technology push however still dominates the scene and comes up in a rapid succession with new toys and instruments with new possibilities. They are greedily adopted by organisations in their search for a cost-effective accomplishment of their functions or tasks. But once having created records record creators are dependent upon lawyers for advise on the juridical status of electronic records and upon record managers for access and accessibility.

Every discipline faces the impact of IT within its profession/ field (even information technology itself) and tries to find the answers. In doing that each discipline is confronted with the enormous possibilities and complexity of the information society. Although natural to solve problems first within the own sphere, there is a growing awareness of the interaction and perhaps even of solidarity, between the different disciplines involved.

The challenge for records managers or archivists is to reposition themselves in this fast changing world and to anticipate new developments. Records managers who are responsible for the record keeping function, face the change of nature of records; which makes that the rules for the management of paper records are not applicable on electronic records and consequently not adequate anymore. Furthermore the implementation of requirements based on the different interests has become obsolete.

IT has made it possible to create electronic records and during the last decade a lot has been written about this subject, but there are still hardly instruments to deal adequately with electronic records. In their search for solutions records managers and archivists have to take into account also future developments, such as the object oriented approach, which will lead to the integration within documents of data and procedures, and compound documents which consist of dynamic relations.

To accomplish the archival function within the electronic record keeping world archivists need to position themselves at the ‘front end’ even before records are created. 
The recommendation of the ICA-guide that contacts and alliances need to be developed between the different parties having an interest in good record keeping is in this respect very natural.

Converging tendencies become recognizable. Converging in the way that for instance different disciplines as records managers, archivists, librarians and information managers are more and more dealing with the same object at the same time from different points of view. The necessity of cooperation between different disciplines seems to be a natural consequence. Another consequence will be that the traditional division of roles in the management of information and records will change.

In order to cooperate a common basis is necessary. Elements of this basis should be a framework which encompasses the domain of record keeping and a common language or terminology.

3.	The record (keeping) domain: a framework for looking at (electronic) records

As said the context of record keeping in organisations is changing and it is obvious that record keeping has to change as well. But the developments in IT are so fast that the changes in record keeping are somewhat delayed and that existing regulations in this field don’t keep up with IT developments. Archivists and records managers are now forced into in a defensive position by the overwhelming power of information technology and the glamour of all the new possibilities of computers and information systems. Instead archivists and records managers should be more assertive and use their expertise and capabilities in this respect.

To be able to anticipate coming developments it is necessary to have a clear, but above all common idea about record keeping. To adapt existing rules and procedures we need as said a framework.

The first step is to identify why records are created at all. In the Netherlands we distinguish three main reasons for record keeping:
1.	to support and enable the business process
2. 	to ensure accountability
3.	to safeguard cultural heritage and enable future (historical) research.

These reasons determine what I call the records (or record keeping) domain, which consists of the record keeping function, the archival function and of course the records themselves (diagram). 
The record keeping function encompasses all the activities which support the business process and ensure accountability. As such it supports the organisation in providing evidence of activities carried out and serves the corporate memory. This function is the responsibility of the records manager. The archival function is in fact a subfunction within the record keeping function and safeguards the records wghich are appraised as having archival value for future research. It tries to achieve the preservation and accessibility of these archival records.

It is interesting to match the important existing research-projects on electronic records, such as the Pittsburgh-project, the project of the University of British Columbia (Canada) and the work of the ICA-committee on electronic records. Each of these projects is finished or about of finishing and has published about the results.
The Pittsburgh project mainly has dealt with the record keeping function and has defined the functional requirements for proper record keeping, based on societal needs (legal, archival etc.). Its focus was primarily on accountability.
The research project of the University of British Columbia (UBC) is especially interested in the authenticity and reliability of the records themselves. This projects has tried to define the requirements for reliable and authentic electronic records based on the principles of the old profession of diplomatics.
The ICA-committee on electronic records finally has its focus on the archival function and has formulated strategies for archival institutions to deal with electronic records. As a framework for archives when dealing with electronic records the committee recommends four principles, which should lead to the situation that archivists are more actively involved in the life cycle of records.

Based on this superficial matching the conclusion could be drawn that the whole domain is covered. Each project however has its own angle or perspective. An overall view is still missing, even a shared and common terminology does not exist yet.

Two important notions out of the world of record managers and archivists can serve as an example in this respect: the life cycle of records and contextual information. There are different interpretations of both terms, because of different backgrounds determined by different traditions in record keeping.
The life cycle is only a conceptual model which is used in records and archives management.
To accomplish the record keeping function and the archival function archivists and records managers use this concept, because it enables them to identify the important issues concerning electronic records at the different stages and to position the instruments for dealing with electronic records.

Although there exist different views of the life cycle I will use the concept of the ICA-committee on electronic records, which in a way is also used in the ‘Draft guidelines for using machine readable data’, issued by the European Commission. In this view the life cycle consists of three stages: conception, creation and maintenance.
The essential difference with the life cycle concept of paper records, is that the latter does not have a conception stage. The reason to add this stage or should I say to be aware of this stage is that functional requirements for record keeping should be identified before information systems, including record keeping systems are developed. 

There are several reasons to distinguish this conception stage. In the case of the archival function for instance it is necessary to establish where potential archival records (or records with archival value) will be created. The best way to accomplish this is functional appraisal, which means the appraisal of the functions or activities to be carried out by government organisations. This kind of appraisal makes it possible to identify in which business processes archival records potentially will be produced, so functional requirements can be implemented in information systems and record keeping systems which support these business processes.
What we see is that record creators, record managers, archivists and IT-specialists meet each other at the conception stage in order to implement their (different) requirements into information systems. This will be probably even more enforced by the expected development that the actual and historical information (or records) will no longer be physically separated, but equally available within the same system.

We have to be aware of the fact that the record keeping system and the life cycle only exist in close relation with a business process, in which they fulfil a role. To understand the records we need information about the business process, in which they are created. This so-called contextual information must always be available for the right interpretation of records.
But as said there exist different definitions of contextual information, which term has also to compete with the term ‘metadata’.

The big difference with the paper world is that nothing is obvious any more. Archivists and record managers however are familiar with the formal characteristics of paper records, which make them authentic, reliable etc. and are therefore able to identify them so that they can be implemented in the electronic enviroment. Because this is a new environment it has to be done explicitly otherwise information will be lost.

In the next paragraph I will try to identify the main issues with respect to electronic records.

4.	Issues with multidisciplinary aspects and possibilities for cooperation

An important and special part of the information flood is made up by government records. These records in particular have our attention at this Forum, because they have special status in the administrative and political world and furthermore because they are part of our collective memory.
This special status is rooted in societal needs, such as democracy, equality of rights, legal security etc.
To be able to exert this special function government records need to meet certain requirements based upon reliability, authenticity, integrity and accessibility.

As is indicated before each area within the record domain has its own specific issues. In the record keeping function the main issue is the ensurance of accountability. 
Accountability is based on the legal context and therefore the interpretation can differ in different countries. 

Information about provenance (organisation/record creator and process), procedures and responsibilities are necessary to ensure accountability. This contextual information is essential to be able to interpret the records well. Characteristic for decision making within government organisations is that not only the result itself has to be preserved, but also information about the decision process (the how).
To achieve record keeping which meets these requirements it is necessary to look at the whole business process and to incorporate the requirements in the working process.
Such an implementation is only possible in close cooperation between record creators, organisation consultants, lawyers, records managers and archivists and IT-specialists.

In the area of the archival function has as its objective the preservation and accessibility of archival records through time. The first step is to identify as early as possible which functions or activities within government will create records which will have archival value. As already indicated the best instrument is functional appraisal.

The preservation of archival records through time is especially a technological problem. The many platforms that exist, the lack of standardisation, the rapid developments in IT, they all make it difficult to solve the problem of keeping electronic records available and accessible.
Metadata about technical aspects of electronic records, such as format, program version, platform used, system software etc., together with standardisation can help in solving this problem 

A third issue within the area of the archival function is accessibility or how to keep archival records accessible through time. The basis for accessibility is the contextual information which is already part of the record and the record keeping system. But in an electronic environment accessibility is also determined if there is sufficient information about the structure and the method of accessibility used. Apart from that archivists describe also records or record groups and record creating organisations in order to enhance accessibility (and to be able to manage records) for researchers.
Concerning the use of (archival) electronic records there is a opportunity with respect to multidisciplinary cooperation made possible by modern technology. The different sources of historical information, such as archeological information, information about monuments, historical objects in musea, films, photo’s, video, information published in books etc., now still managed or controlled by different organisations, could be integrated in a virtual world.

The results of research projects are all yet rather theoretical. What is done at this moment, is to asses record keeping and archival principles within the new situation. The record keeping function, including the archival function, needs to be redefined or reshaped in order to be accomplished in an electronic environment. The Pittsburgh, UBC- and ICA-projects, I mentioned have been doing that.

It is interesting to establish that it was the archival discipline which saw and recognized the problems around electronic records and the consequences for record keeping. Paradoxically enough because archivists are at the end of the life cycle (certainly in the paper age). So far they were working however only within their own sphere.
They tried to inventory what was happening and to identify the issues to be addressed. They also realized that it all starts at the beginning of the life cycle of records, at the conception stage and within the record creating organisation.
It took some years before also the other disciplines involved were aware of the developments in this field and their consequences. And even now there are doubts among some people about the real issues and they question the threats of information loss etc. forecasted.
The point is that record creating organisations are not very much interested in the issues just mentioned, because they have their focus on accomplishing their tasks.

Archivists and records managers have furthermore the equipment or instruments to deal with electronic records and record keeping.
The point is they can’t do it alone because they are as contended, not the only discipline involved. The reasons in this respect are:

1.	As pointed out in the beginning the impact of IT has complicated and innovative consequences. Therefore an integrated approach taking into account the different aspects (juridical, organisational, technical, archival, etc) is necessary.
2.	record keeping is not on its own, but as said is determined by the organisational, juridical and legal context.

When we agree about the why of record keeping, we can define the requirements for record keeping systems in electronic environments. At this moment however these requirements are not formulated completely. So it is yet not possible to develop adequate record keeping systems. 
But more important in this respect is that the cultural and legal context determines the principles of a record keeping system. A European record keeping system therefore shall differ from a Northern-American record keeping system. Even within Europe there can and will be differences.
How to implement these new definitions, once translated into new requirements, into concrete instruments is the next step. That can be done in pilot projects. In The Netherlands for instance an information system is being developed for the Parliament which should include a record keeping system. The experience that is acquired with this project will help to define the systems requirements better.

Another question is: are there developments within administrations which could be linked to the record keeping requirements, such as contextual information, authenticity, accessibility etc. There are a few trends that look promising. I will mention one.

Workflow management systems could be a linking point to record keeping systems. The purpose of these systems is to manage working processes efficiently. In enabling that they already have a lot of contextual information, such as information about the process and the different steps or tasks of which it consists of, about the procedures, about who are responsible etc. Furthermore workflowmanagement systems are mostly connected to document management systems which store the documents created and used. 
What is missing however, is that there are no guarantees for authenticity and reliability, since documents or records can be re-used and changed/altered. Other deficiencies are the lack of management of different versions of documents, and the fact that there are no disposition schedules implemented.

To meet these requirements a record keeping system is necessary. One of the possibilities could be to link a record keeping system to a workflow management system. The best of two worlds, that of the working or business process and that of the documents and records, could be linked together. As mentioned there exist a WFM-coalition which has developed a framework for the establishment of workflow standards. In this reference-model they have specified the characteristics, functions and interfaces for workflow systems.
So this reference model could be a good starting point to see what is possible regarding record keeping. One of the conditions is that the record keeping system ought not to be part of business applications.

Having presented an overview of the ‘battle field’ (the parties involved and some of the main issues), it is necessary to formulate some criteria for succesful cooperation. 

These criteria should take into account the many barriers, which still exist.
The cultural, legal, linguistic and national barriers I already mentioned are based on a long tradition in record keeping and in fact determined by history. To overcome these barriers will take a lot of time, if they need to be levelled out at all. It is first of all necessary to find common interests. One major issue is that we need to speak the same language, otherwise cooperation will end up nowhere.

So as generic criteria we can formulate that:
-	results must be generic which means applicable in all countries/memberstates
-	activities must help to bridge the gap in knowledge and expertise between memberstates
-	results must be achieved within a limited timespan
-	results must be based upon an integrated multidisciplinary approach.

Examples of such areas are:
-	The development of a standard reference model for record keeping, including a common terminology. Several parties are involved here: record creators, record managers and archivists and IT-specialists;
-	the definition of the requirements for a technological infrastructure to manage and to preserve electronic records. Here cooperation of archivists together with librarians, who face the same problems in the field of electronic publishing, and IT-specialists is useful and necessary.
-	the formulation of functional requirements and quality requirements for record keeping systems (part of this is the making of an inventory of the existing record keeping rules and their implementation within the European Union).
-	a last but not less important field is training and education concerning electronic records and strategies to be followed.

6.	Summary

As a summary I want to have a look again at the diagram I presented.
It is possible to extend this model, in a way that it illustrates also the influence of the political, societal and legal context of records and record keeping.

Actually there are three main areas in this diagram:
-	the records themselves
-	with at the one hand the record management functions, that serve the different interests of the business process, accountability, and historical research,
-	and last but not least at the other hand the ‘user’, who creates and uses the records. The ‘user’ can also be an auditor or (historical) researcher.

They are closely related. This system is influenced from outside by the legal, political, juridical, financial measures and developments. These influences will affect the user (or the organisation) and through him every change of the environment has its effect on the records and the management of records.

Apart from this the whole system will also be influenced at the same time by information technology at different points, such as the user and the business process, the records and the way they are produced, and both functions within the records and archives management.

Digitizing information and creating electronic records means that a virtual world will be created, which requires a new approach. Time and place are no barriers any more and as such no longer crucial. In the present world most things however are organized just because of the difference of time and place.

What I like to emphasize here again is that each discipline involved in (electronic) records should not restrict itself to its own sphere and perspective, but in dealing with the effects of information technology on its activities should be aware of the connections with other related disciplines a common framework is very useful in this respect. It does not mean that the activities of the different disciplines will become unnecessary, but that record managers and archivists compared to the paper world need to be organised in another way. They have to make clear to other disciplines the importance of viable records for an organisation and even society. 
The idea is to look across the boundaries of one’s own discipline without loosing one’s identity. In practice this means that they will or should meet each other in the design stage of information systems and record keeping systems: the conception stage of the life cycle of records.

This Forum could be the beginning of such a new cooperation. The first step in this respect has to be to establish an agenda, including which parties will be involved and these activities should be carried out in close relation with what is going on elsewhere in the world, especially with the ICA and its committees on information technology and on electronic records and other current records.