Newsletter Review: Periodic Electronic Newsletters (PENs).

• Author: DRYDEN, JEAN
• Position: Brief Article

TITLE: Periodic Electronic Newsletters (PENs)

PUBLISHER: Audata Limited

PUBLICATION DATE OF FIRST ISSUE: 1999

FREQUENCY: Quarterly

PRICE: Subscription to next 4 issues $78 (incl. postage and packing)

Single copies $28 (plus postage and packing)

SOURCE: Audata Limited (www.audata.co.uk)

For many, it is hard to keep up with the latest developments in electronic records technology. It would be a real advantage to have a knowledgeable assistant go through the articles, check the Web sites, attend the conferences, and note what's important. Well, grab a PEN! Not a pen -- a PEN. PEN stands for Periodic Electronic Newsletter, a quarterly CD-ROM publication produced by the British consulting firm Audata Limited. Audata provides consulting services in document and record management. Their staff routinely track and analyze changes in current technology and other developments relevant to records and information managers. PENs are a useful product of that process.

PENs highlight research findings and information sources in records management, archives, and electronic document management. Audata staff attend conferences and review the relevant literature, conference papers, and Web sites to gather evidence of emerging standards, identify best practices, and become aware of the issues that affect all institutions managing electronic records. Each issue will cover a different topic. The theme of the first issue is "Current Electronic Records Initiatives." The second issue ("Records Management A-Z") is a selected listing of online resources. The third issue focuses on information protection security.

PENs come in a CD-ROM from which the information is presented in the form of a Web site. To use the files on the CD, only Web browser software is needed; no active Internet connection is required. Paper copies are also available for an extra fee.

Nancy McGovern, Audata's principal records and information consultant and a specialist in electronic records, summarizes the material. Included are summaries of the following meetings which took place in late 1998: the second planning meeting of the InterPARES project (International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems); the annual meeting of ANAI [National Association of Italian Archivists] held in Cagliari, Italy; and Cohasset's MER '98 Conference (Managing Electronic Records) held in Chicago. Also included is a page summarizing the activities of CENSA (Collaborative Electronic Notebook...