The InterPARES International Research Project.

• Author: DURANTI, LUCIANA
• Position: International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems

The International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) is a large, multinational, collaborative research endeavor that aims to formulate principles and criteria for the development of international, national, and organizational policies, strategies, and standards for the long-term preservation of authentic electronic records. (See Figure 1 for information about research participants and funding.) The research project investigates issues related to the authenticity, retrievability, and accessibility -- over the long term -- of records made, received, and stored in digital form. Its area of inquiry is divided into four domains.

Domain I

Domain I aims to identify requirements for preserving electronic records whose authenticity can be verified for an indefinite period of time, regardless of the number of migrations that have occurred from an obsolete technology to a newer one. The research questions being addressed are directed toward

* categorizing electronic records based on the elements that must be preserved to ensure their authenticity, including identifying the elements that all electronic records share

* differentiating between different types of electronic records

* verifying their authenticity over time

* verifying their authenticity in time (i.e., at the point at which they are originally used)

* ascertaining whether records can be removed from where they are currently found to a place where they can more easily be preserved -- but still maintain the same degree of value

Domain II

Research in Domain II seeks to establish whether, to satisfy the requirements for authenticity identified in Domain I, the appraisal criteria and methods for electronic records need to be revised or even radically changed by considering

* the influence of digital technology on appraisal criteria

* the ways appraisal differs, depending on the type of system prevalent in each computing phase

* the influence of the records' medium and extrinsic elements on appraisal

* how retrievability, intelligibility, functionality, and research needs influence appraisal

* the matter of whether restraints can be imposed onto the modification of systems at the time of appraisal

* whether the life cycle of electronic records differs from that of traditional records

* when electronic records should be appraised

* whether electronic records should be appraised more than once in the course of their existence and, if so, when

* how electronic records are scheduled

* identifying who should be responsible for appraising electronic records

Domain III

The purpose of Domain III is to develop methods, procedures, and rules for the preservation of electronic records according to the requirements identified in Domain I and to define the responsibilities for implementing them, considering

* what methods, procedures, and rules of long-term preservation are in use or being developed

* which of these methods meet the conceptual requirements for authenticity identified in Domain I

* which methods of long-term preservation need to be developed

* which methods are either mandated or subject to standards, regulations, and guidelines in specific industry (e.g., biochemical) or institutional (e.g., university) settings

* the procedural methods of authentication for preserving electronic records

* whether archival description can be a method of authentication for electronic records

* if appraisal and acquisition/ accession reports can be constructed to allow for authentication of electronic records

* determining procedures for certifying electronic records when they cross physical or technical boundaries (e.g., refreshing, copying, migrating) to preserve their authenticity

* technical methods of authentication for preserved electronic records

* the principles and criteria for both media and storage management required for the preservation of authentic electronic records

* the responsibilities for the long-term preservation of authentic electronic records

Domain IV

Domain IV focuses on developing a framework for the formulation of strategies, policies, and standards by examining

* what principles should guide the formulation of international policies, strategies, and standards related to long-term preservation of authentic electronic records

* the criteria for developing national policies, strategies, and standards

* the criteria for developing organizational policies, strategies, and standards

The Project's Theoretical Roots

The theoretical foundation of the research comes from diplomatics, archival science, and law. (Diplomatics is a science developed in the 17th century for determining the authenticity and legal validity of medieval charters and deeds; in the 19th century, historians adopted its analytical techniques as a tool for assessing the authority of medieval records as historical sources.)

From the theoretical foundations, the basic concepts to be examined are those of "record," "electronic record," "reliability," "authenticity," and "authentication." A record may be understood as any document (i.e., recorded organizational information) created (i.e., made or received and set aside) in the course of a practical activity as an instrument and as residue of it.

An electronic record is any record that, in the ordinary course of business, is used and set aside or stored in digital form regardless of whether it was made or received in such form. (Note that, according to this definition, a record received on paper, scanned into a computer, used, and set aside in digital form is an electronic record. Conversely, however, a record received electronically, printed out, inserted into a paper file, used, and set aside in paper form, is a paper record.)

Reliability refers to the ability of a record to stand for the facts it contains (i.e., the trustworthiness of the record's content). Reliability depends on two factors: the degree of completeness of the record's form and the degree of control exercised over its procedure of creation. Therefore, reliability is of greater concern to the record's creator than to its preserver.

Authenticity refers to the fact that a record is what it purports to be and has not been tampered with or otherwise corrupted since its creation...