Back in April I introduced you to the EDRMS task force.
Our initial plan was to meet for six months and to carry out some of the following activities:
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Articulating the challenge/s of preserving records from an EDRMS
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Sharing experiences of tackling these issues and learning from each other
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Highlighting other useful case studies or examples of good practice
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Gathering together existing sources of guidance
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Highlighting gaps in current guidance
...and this is what we have been doing but we are nearly at that six month point and we realise there is still work to be done.
Quite a lot of work actually…
This is all good because what use is a task force without a task?
The group is enthusiastically throwing themselves into a range of activities, looking to answer questions such as:
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What factors does an institution need to think about when considering the preservation of records within an EDRMS?
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What metadata fields should be transferred alongside records from an EDRMS to a digital archive?
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What functionality should we be looking for in an EDRMS system to help facilitate transfer of records (and associated metadata) to a digital archive.
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If records aren’t being transferred to a digital archive, what needs to be in place to provide assurance that records are safe ‘in situ’?
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What case studies and further resources would be helpful to an institution looking to tackle this challenge?
We have set ourselves some ambitious goals and deadlines, arranged sub-group meetings and are planning a ‘book sprint’ for January (there may be cake!). We’d like to work towards releasing our outputs and holding an event in April 2021. These are indeed exciting times for EDRMS preservation!
But before we really get our heads down and start work we wanted to extend an invitation to other DPC Members to join our group. We have space for three or four more members, so if you have experience in this area, capacity to help or feel that our goals align well with the work you are currently carrying out in your own institution, we’d love to hear from you. It goes without saying that we encourage participation from all corners of the globe!
Do drop me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know about your own EDRMS preservation experiences and what you might be able to help us with.
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