PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

Electronic-Records Archival Repository [ElectRAR]

Research Report

Photo: Display at Digital Curation Centre, 2004

Ken Schroyer, AIS Project Manager and Jackie Esposito, University Archivist June 2010

This report summarizes the work of an interdepartmental team that reviewed the possible requirements for establishing an electronic archival repository at Penn State University. This repository would focus on the retention and management of University business records during and after their life cycle.

SPONSORS: Mairead Martin, Senior Director, Digital Libraries Tech’s William Joyce, Special Collections Library Head

PROJECT MANAGER: Kenneth Schroyer, AIS Project Manager/ITS Disaster Recovery Strategy Manager

FUNCTIONAL MGNRS: Jacqueline Esposito, University Archivist Lynn Garrison, DLT DirectorSara Kalin, Associate Dean, University Libraries

TEAM MEMBERS: Kevin Clair, Metadata LibrarianRobyn Dyke, Records ManagerDebra Ellenberger, DLT Administrative AssistantBenjamin Grissinger, DLT Systems AnalystLinda Klimczyk, Assistant Department Head, I-TechCecelia Merkel, WPSU Metadata SpecialistJustin Patterson, DLT Programmer/Analyst

• Work Team was created from an identified need generated by the University’s Digital Preservation Committee

• Charged to create a series of operational recommendations for a proposed Electronic Records Archival Repository (ElectRAR)

• Provided a complete description of the behavior of an electronic system to be developed including

• Data Details• Functional requirements• System Constraints

• Careful to define only “What to do” not “How to do it”

• Team met weekly due to enormity of the project

• 7 Month effort – December 08 to June 09

BACKGROUND HISTORY

PURPOSE

• The ElectRAR will insure the capacity to reconstruct Events, Decisions and Procedures during a specified period of time in University history required for historical, legal, fiscal, evidential and administrative value.

• May store some information electronically up to 75 years and beyond

• Three Primary Purposes1. Actively maintain and manage specified born University digital records

starting from the year 2000 while conforming to three (3) major criteria:1. Authenticity2. Relialibility3. Integrity

2. Provide navigational assistance to other stand-alone University Repositories via a Google-like search engine

3. Provide Best Practices Guidelines to other stand-alone University repositories

SCOPE

• Only a small percentage of records need to be maintained as mandated by AD35 – University Archives and Records Management Policy

• Representative (not inclusive) information

. Faculty Senate Course Submissions, Course Proposals, Meeting Minutes and Agendas,

and Supporting Documents

. Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes and Agendas, and Supporting Documents

. University Web Bulletin

. Newswires including Photographs and Multimedia Presentations (all colleges, campuses, departments, and administrative units)

. Central Policy and Procedures Manuals

. Enrollment Management Guidelines and Procedures

. Selected websites including the University’s Main page and its informational homepages at

the College, Department, Campus and Administrative levels. Websites to capture will be identified by the Records Management Advisory Committee (RMAC). They will be

captured three (3) times per year [Fall semester, October 15; Spring semester, March 15; and Summer, June 15]

. University Fact Book, Rankings, and Annual Budget/Financial WebPages

. Designated segments of the Data Warehouse as required by University Retention Schedules [Appendices 1B & 1C]

. Selected University office emails (not entire systems) as identified in University Retention Schedules (for example, President, Provost, Dean)

SCOPE - continued

• Initially the repository, ElectRAR, will contain only Born-Digital Records from 2000 forward unless records are digitized prior to ingestion.

• ElectRAR will NOT duplicate information housed in:

• IBIS – University Business System

• ISIS – University Student Records System

• Sponsored Programs/Research Accounting System

• ANGEL – Course Management System

• Libraries CAT (including all licensed databases)

• Individual Faculty Research Projects

• Scholarly Publications

• Other Stand-Alone Systems

INTENDED AUDIENCE/S

• Primary• PSU Faculty• PSU Staff• PSU Administration• Conducting daily business operations

• Secondary• Undergraduate Students• Graduate Students• Academic Researchers• Pennsylvania Legislators• Pennsylvania Administrative Offices • Pennsylvania Citizens

• Tertiary• General Public

PROCESS FLOW REQUIREMENTS

• There are 3 Major Functional

Process Flows:• Ingest• Information Management• Output

• Detailed Functional Requirements

in each Process Flow as follows:

INGEST PROCESS

• The process by which the Contributor is guided in entering an

object (documents, photographs, audio, video or multimedia

presentation) into the ElectRAR and creates the associated

Metadata links to the objects.

• The Process Flow diagram describes the Main and Sub-

Processes. The boxes on the left represent the Major Ingest

Functions. The folders to the right represent inputs and/or

outputs to these functions.

INGEST PROCESS

INGEST PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Information (object) to be archived may be created in any format

• The CONTRIBUTOR of the object MUST CONVERT the object to an ACCEPTED FORMAT

• PDF for Text• JPG for Graphics• MP3 for Audio• AVI for Video• Quicktime for Multimedia

• Contributor can utilize INTERACTIVE APPLETS to assist in Ingestion• Interactive Help System with intuitive responses to a wide range of operational questions• Interactive Tutorials• Comprehensive set of Templates to assure completeness • Comprehensive set of Auto-Completing Forms that retain information from previous

entries

• Contributor MUST ATTACH METADATA to the ingested object• Interactive Metadata Generator to guide the creation of Metadata to assure proper

cataloging and retrieval of the object • Interactive Mapping Tool to take parts of previously generated metadata and assign to

the new object• The Contributor is responsible for providing information to imbedded links to other

objects , determining security level and if encryption is required

INGEST PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS - CONTINUED

• Submit the object to the ElectRAR• The contributor must be authenticated

• Role defines level, not the individual• ElectRAR must validate

• Metadata is sufficient• Security level• Retention schedule• Check for viruses and malware• Submission rules followed• Utilization of approved file format• File size limits• All Department/Unit information is included

• ElectRAR adds the retention schedule, data classification and authorizes the object for

ingestion into the system

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

• The University’s E-Records Archival Repository (ElectRAR) is required to

manage all objects for their lifetime which may in some cases exceed

seventy-five (75) years. This process details the steps required to

maintain authentic and reliable records with the original integrity as

required by federal, state or local law and Penn State policies and

procedures.

• The Process Flow diagram describes the main and sub-processes. The

boxes on the left represent the Major Information Management Functions.

The folders to the right represent inputs and/or outputs to these functions.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Storage Techniques must consider• Retention schedules, File size, Interfaces with other systems, Data retrieval

times, Priority levels, Simultaneous users, Access control, Physical locations,

Search techniques, Open Archival Information System model requirements,

Data harvest, Disaster recovery/Business continuity

• Collection Control• ElectRAR must have the ability to link objects without prior id of links• All collections will be subdivided into Record Groups and Subgroups, Record

Series and Subseries and File Folder Titles• Original Contributor order must be maintained if Object is merged • A Version Control Process to document updates to original files must be

developed. The original file must be retained.

• Data Classification• Confidential – Highest level. A small number of employees will have access• Private – Classification for vast majority of objects. Available to a limited

number of employees. Opened to Public 20 years after creation.• Public – Open to all users without Password or Authentication • Access to Confidential or Private content validated throughout the life cycle

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Collection Maintenance• Use of Metadata to execute maintenance• Ability to respond to events exclusive of digital content

• Application upgrades• Unscheduled audits

• Movement of objects to alternate locations triggered by • Use patterns• Time triggers• Administrative override

• Format Conversion• Globally convert digital content of one file type to another file format to allow

for new file types• i.e. MP3 to a new audio format

• Utilize a Storage Gateway to route objects to a storage pool of an ever-

evolving mix of new, current and aged storage technologies

• Encryption/Format/Version Control• Employed at time of Ingest, during the life cycle and during retrieval operations

OUTPUT PROCESS

• The process by which a user can access the information contained in

ElectRAR. The output must be fast, intuitive, complete and able to assist

a user in developing a successful search and retrieval operation. It will

also comply with all regulations for E-Discovery.

• The Process Flow diagram (following page) describes the main and sub-

processes. The boxes on the left represent the Major Output Functions.

The folders to the right represent inputs and/or outputs to these functions.

OUTPUT PROCESS

OUTPUT PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Control Access Levels• Using the PSU Data Classification Scheme, access to Public content can

occur without a login to ElectRAR• Confidential or Private content will require a login to authenticate user and role • An automated authorization system will route requests to the University’s

Records Management Advisory Committee (RMAC)• May be adapted to work with other Identity Management (IAM)

ongoing efforts

• Graphical User Interface (GUI) / Browser• Interface must be highly interactive with numerous self-help features

• Highly intuitive • Provide search suggestions

• Search• Full text across all Metadata fields• Dynamic search across subsets of content• Virtual views of the repository

• Must restrict views and search results to authorization level• Auto-Complete function

OUTPUT PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Initial Description of Search Results• First Level

• Text only, with a minimum of description to allow user determination• Second Level

• If the first level returns content that appears desirable, all the

Metadata for the object will be displayed• Thumbnail graphics will be displayed

• Third Level• If the second level returns content that appears desirable, the

detailed content can be displayed

• Standard Reports• Reports for Technical, Administrative & Descriptive Metadata will be available• Screen outputs, Selective printing as per copyright and other restrictions,

Selective electronic output as per copyright and other restrictions, User Forms• Ad-hoc file conversion such as RTF, CSV, HTML

• Output• Reports (see above), email, favorites

SUMMARY

• This Report provides the structure by which the ElectRAR can operate, manage, and preserve University electronic records for the next century.

• ElectRAR will provide a centralized repository for these services to insure the capability of

reconstruction of events within the University during a specific period of time to document their historical, fiscal, administrative, and evidential value.

• All Penn State University employees must ensure that electronic records are maintained so

they are readily available for appropriate use.

• The ElectRAR will serve three (3) primary purposes relative to University records:

• Actively maintain and manage born digital records and conform to requirements of authenticity, reliability, and integrity.

• Provide navigational guidance via a user interface (GUI) for specified access to stand-alone University repositories, designated by the Records Management Advisory Committee.

• Provide best ingest, management and output practices for the guidance of other stand-alone University e-repositories

SUMMARY, continued

• Three major Process Flows:

* Ingest – The process by which the contributor is guided in entering an object (documents, photographs, audio, video or multimedia presentation) into the ElectRAR

* Information Management – ElectRAR is required to manage all objects and files for their lifetime which may in some cases exceed 75 years

* Output – The process by which a user can access the information contained in the ElectRAR. The output must be fast, intuitive and complete.

Electrar will serve as a digital information asset for the entire University community. It will operate electronically the way that the paper archives currently functions.

For More Information

• Contact –

Jackie R. Esposito, University Archivist and Head, Records Management Services

Penn State University

122 Paterno Library

University Park, Pa 16802

814-863-3791

jxe2@psu.edu