What lessons can be learned from the US archivist’s digital mandate for 2019 and is there potential for applying them in lower resource countries?
| Published date | 18 July 2016 |
| Date | 18 July 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-04-2015-0015 |
| Pages | 206-217 |
| Author | Jason R. Baron,Anne Thurston |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
What lessons can be learned
from the US archivist’s digital
mandate for 2019 and is there
potential for applying them in
lower resource countries?
Jason R. Baron
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Washington, DC, USA, and
Anne Thurston
The International Records Management Trust, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to present a high-level summary of the US archivist’s digital mandate for
2019, embodied in the publication “Managing Government Records”, issued on August 24, 2012, and a
summary of US policy. The authors then consider the implications of the US e-recordkeeping initiative
for lower-resource countries.
Design/methodology/approach – After setting out key elements of the US Archivist’s digital
mandate, the paper proceeds to evaluate its policy implications for lower-resource countries based on
the authors’ eld experience and knowledge of case studies.
Findings – The USA is embarking on a state of the art approach for managing public sector archives
in a digital form, with deadlines approaching for all federal agencies to manage e-mail and other
e-records. Although a similar need exists in lesser-resourced countries, there are enormous barriers to
successful implementation of a similar approach.
Research limitations/implications – The archivist’s 2019 digital mandate assumes that the
technology sector will embrace the needs of public sector agencies in working on applicable electronic
archiving solutions.
Practical implications – The Archivist’s Directive has the potential to be an enormous driver of
change in the records management profession with respect to future management of increasingly
digital archive collections. Vast collections of public sector e-mail and other forms of e-records
potentially will be preserved under the directive, raising the stakes that archivists and records
managers work on solutions in the area of long-term preservation and future access.
Social implications – The importance of capturing the activities of public-sector institutions in all
countries for the purpose of openness, transparency and access cannot be overstated. In an increasingly
digital age, new methods are needed to ensure that the historical record of governmental institutions is
preserved and made accessible.
Originality/value – The US Archivist’s mandate represents a cutting-edge approach to long-term
digital archiving with potential future applicability to the management of public sector records
worldwide.
Keywords Archives management, Public sector organizations, Electronic records management,
Laws
Paper type Conceptual paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
RMJ
26,2
206
Received 11 April 2015
Revised 8 February 2016
Accepted 9 February 2016
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.26 No. 2, 2016
pp.206-217
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-04-2015-0015
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