3.6 Digital Archives Identification and Administration
3.6.1 Digital archiving practices
3.6.1.1 Creation
The raison d’eˆtre for archivists and archives are the selection, organisation, maintenance and preservation of records in all formats including digital archives (Akmon, Zimmerman, Daniels and Hedstrom 2011:330). However, creation of records is a key concern for archivists as it determines the quality of digital objects that eventually gain entry into the Archives. Efficiency in the process of managing records and archives is a guarantee for the creation and capture of reliable records which will be useful for the proper running of organizational business (Asogwa 2013:792). Akmon et al. (2011:329) observed that the current technological dispensation has had a great impact on the creation of data, leading to the proliferation of digital records, also referred to as a “data deluge” – an era in which our capability to create digital content, has seemingly outrun our ability to comprehend and manage it efficiently. Recordkeeping research globally has shown that ICTs have led to the increased generation of records in digital formats which include websites, e-mails, and databases, among others.
With the foregoing global developments, questions have come to the fore regarding which data should be preserved; who should be responsible for preserving it, what kind of metadata should be captured to sufficiently describe the data, and how to protect privacy and confidentiality while providing access to it (Akmon et al. 2011).
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With these issues in mind, Colwell (2020:181-2) postulates that in the digital environment there is a thin line between records and archives management, records objectivity and the role of records creators and custodians. Further, Colwell (2020:181-2) raises pertinent issues concerning records creation in general and ponders that unlike in the Library Science domain, the focus on user orientation in the recordkeeping profession is skewed, with the record taking centre-stage as opposed to the user who is the originator of the record. In this regard, Thomas (2015:544) recommended that archival repositories should integrate programmes to train and re- train users on digital records creation and use.
The increased use of ICTs for records creation, storage and dissemination in public sector organisations has introduced challenges which have aggravated weaknesses in recordkeeping systems and lessened their probability to produce records of integrity for accountability and transparency in organizations (Lemieux 2016:6). Kwatsha (2010) conducted a study to examine recordkeeping problems in South Africa’s office of the President and noted that some of these problems emanate from the diverse methods of creation and storage introduced by ICTs. Similar conclusions were made by studies done in Kenya (Ambira 2016; Ambira, Kemoni and Ngulube 2019), affirming Asogwa’s observation that digital technologies impact upon records creation (Asogwa 2012). Therefore, Dikopoulou and Mihiotis (2012:126) advise that public organizations should inculcate effective controls in the creation of records because this ensures:
i. Records created within an organization are linked to business processes;
ii. Creation, storage, appraisal and disposal of non-essential records is prevented, thereby cutting down on the costs of managing large volumes of records and reducing the risk of misuse of records; and
iii. Vital records in an organisation are identified at creation and managed accordingly.
Citing the Digital Preservation Coalition (2002), Mutula (2014:364) posits that there are two formats in which digital content is created: (born digital (referring to materials that were never meant to have analogue equivalents and made digital (connoting the conversion of analogue formats to digital by scanning or other means).
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Cocciolo (2014:239) notes that born-digital records are those that originate on computer systems and may have (or may not have) analogue equivalents, for example print copies. Born-digital archives are distinct from archives created by digitization to create access copies or surrogates which originated from film, paper or any other analog medium. Cocciolo (2014:239) defines the concept of born-digital archiving as the task of appraisal, preservation and provision of access to born-digital records that have enduring values within an institution or organization. It is prudent therefore, that born-digital records should be subjected to suitable stewardship or digital preservation strategies from creation to secure the long-term persistence of the content therein (Lavoie 2004:4).
The quantity of digital records created in organizations today is a subject of concern to records and archives practitioners. Johnson et al. (2014) carried out a study on the implications of volume on tomorrow’s archives and focused their research on the growth in the volume of born-digital archives and its implication on information professionals. In the words of the authors, “the scale and breadth of data being created, retained and used is enormous; a volume boom so enormous and unprecedented that it has coined its own term: big data” (Johnson et al. 2014:225).
The concept of ‘big data’ is commonly defined in terms of its research value, that is, data so large that they require new methodologies to enable their interrogation and use. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (2013:3) defined big data as follows:
Big data are high volume, high velocity, and/or high variety information assets that require new forms of processing”. In other words, “big data comprises information resources which are so large that they exceed the capacity of commonly used software and other tools, so that users have perforce to develop new approaches and methodologies to analyze them.
The study by Johnson et al. (2014) revealed that large-scale data creation is a concern for recordkeeping because of challenges that arise from handling unprecedented volumes of records. Connected to this concern are issues of variety and velocity which have serious implications on recordkeeping. Specifically, big data poses the following challenges in digital archiving:
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i. Straightforward functions in digital archiving become complex and demanding;
ii. It’s no longer feasible to undertake human operations such as file-by-file sensitivity reviews due to the prohibitive costs involved;
iii. Technical processes like migration, backing up and carrying out integrity checks have to be done in short intervals, which is computationally expensive;
and
iv. The problem of scale introduced by the very Big-ness of big data has a big impact on cost (McDonald and Leveille 2015:111; Johnson, Ranade and Thomas 2014:226).
Made-digital (converted) archives
Archival institutions the world over have been managing collections in manual environments for a long time but are being forced by technological advancements to transit to hybrid and digital recordkeeping systems. This has forced archival repositories to recognize the necessity to come up with permanent solutions for the survival of born-analogue archival materials that are facing the risks of damage both physically and internally. Archival repositories have had to harness technological solutions that enable conversion of analogue records to digital formats and migrating the digital records to more durable formats. This process is what is generally referred to as records conversion, which brings forth the “made-digital” archives. Cohen (2015:28) explicates the distinction between paper (analogue) and digital records as follows:
Paper documents are fixed to media in a documentary form that is altered over time by intentional acts and natural effects of the environment. But digital documents, as created, are not fixed to a documentary form. They are composed of depictions produced by finite state machines (FSMs) and displayed to the originator who uses input devices to alter the form, often reflected in an updated displayed form, temporarily fixed to the display, but periodically (at a rate too fast to notice) updated from a different form fixed temporarily in digital memory as a feedback loop, and replaced by newer versions over time as a result of acts by the user and other mechanisms.
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Converting of analogue records into digital formats is done using computerized applications, hence the term digitization, for example scanning of paper records. Jones (2001) in Manaf and Ismail (2015:108) explain that the process of digitization enables conversion of information materials from formats that can be read by humans (analogue) to machine-readable formats (digital). The advantages of digitization for archival repositories include but are not limited to: facilitating permanent preservation by producing high-quality digital images; increased accessibility; and enhanced profiling of archival repositories (Manaf and Ismail 2015:108). Martin and Vacca (2018:337) affirm that digitization and the online dissemination of archives increases opportunities for archival memory utility. Rahman (2020:22) agrees that creation of born-digital records and digitization of records from their original analogue formats are the demand of the new era.
With the increased creation of born-digital and made-digital collections, archivists are facing constant changes as they circumvent through the hybrid terrain. Therefore, recordkeeping professionals should lay down strategies for creating and generating records that can be trusted. Duranti (2010:85-6) proposes three cardinal rules that should be adhered to for trustworthiness of records to be guaranteed during creation.
The first measure is to embed routine records creation rules in the centralized, agency- wide recordkeeping system, as well as for business integration and documentation.
Secondly, institute procedures for linking the digital and non-digital records within the organization. Thirdly, integrate the management of digital and non-digital records belonging within a hybrid recordkeeping system. In retrospect, an emphasis should be placed on the maintenance of standardization and consistency in naming and describing digital records across an organization to facilitate easy access and retrieval.
After all is said and done, the crux of the matter for digital recordkeeping ultimately lies in creating records that can withstand the challenges of time and still maintain the qualities of ‘recordness’. Mutula and Mostert (2010:39) reported that the Kenyan government had undertaken a number of initiatives in line with regulatory framework, policy issues and ICT infrastructure to ensure creation of sound digital records, some of which include formulating and implementing the ICT policy, freedom of information policy and the Universal Access policy (Mutula and Mostert 2010:39-40).
A study by Mosweu (2018) investigating the governance of liquid communication
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generated though social media by the Botswana government emphasized the significance of proper management of such records to ward off privacy, security and trust issues. The present study acts as a follow-up to such related studies by benchmarking on progress made in digital archiving practices which included creation.