An archival/records management perspective on PDF/A
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Pages | 51-56 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09565690610654783 |
| Author | Susan J. Sullivan |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
An archival/records management
perspective on PDF/A
Susan J. Sullivan
US National Archives and Records Administration, CollegePark, Maryland, USA
Abstract
Purpose – This article sets out to explain the purpose of PDF/A, how it addresses archival and
records management concerns, how PDF/A was designed to have “desirable properties of a long-term
preservation format”, and the future of PDF/A.
Design/methodology/approach – The contents of this article are based on the author’s knowledge
and experience of the subject.
Findings – It is emphasized that PDF/A must be implemented in conjunction with policies and
procedures, including quality assurance procedures to ensure acceptable replication of source material.
Originality/value – This article will be of interest to anyone working with PDF files. Work has
already begun on PDF/A Part 2 which will be based on PDF 1.6. Application notes and a listing of
frequently asked questions will be made publicly available to assist developers of PDF/A applications
to better understand the requirements of the file format and provide implementation guidance.
Keywords Portable documentformat, Electronic media, Archivesmanagement, Records management
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Just about everyone who has used the internet has come into contact with the portable
document format (PDF). Adobe Systems Incorporated openly publishes the PDF
specification and encourages vendors to use it to develop software that creates and
processes PDF files (Adobe, 2001) http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/pdf/
index_reference.html).
PDF is a digital format for representing documents. PDF files may be converted
from other electronic formats or digitized from hard copy formats. Businesses,
governments, libraries, archives and other institutions and individuals around the
world maintain considerable bodies of important information in PDF. Much of this
information must be kept for substantial lengths of time; some must be kept
permanently. These PDF files must remain useable and accessible across multiple
generations of technology. The future use of, and access to, these objects depends upon
maintaining their visual appearance as well as their higher-order properties, such as
the logical organization of pages, sections, and paragraphs, machine recoverable text
stream in natural reading order, and a variety of administrative, preservation and
descriptive metadata.
The problem
The problem is that the feature-rich nature of PDF can create difficulties in preserving
PDF information over time. For example, PDF files can be encrypted, requiring secret
passwords to access the content. Al so, PDF documents are not necessar ily
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
Management
perspectives on
PDF/A
51
Records Management Journal
Vol. 16 No. 1, 2006
pp. 51-56
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/09565690610654783
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