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Re: Virtual Reading Rooms: Providing electronic reference to electronic records



What a lot of interesting questions Jim Suderman asks!

If there is anyone out there ambitious enough to attempt an answer, I would like
to add two questions of my own (well, three really) to his admirable list.
Perhaps, in their own way, they are answers to his last question ( "What
additional issues will archivists face in providing access to electronic
records?") :

(1) Will a virtual reading room provide access only to a corporation's "archival
holdings" or will it instead be synonymous with (or a sub-set of : ugh!) an
access regime for the totality of a corporation's records - a comprehensive
regime of access restrictions and permissions (constantly changing through time)
governing all access from the external environment into the corporation's
records?  How, if at all, will this differ from the regime governing access by
those within the corporation's span of control?

(2) Will it make any sense for a corporation to design different access systems
for (as distinct from comprehensive access systems which differentiate between)
records and other kinds of information resources under its control - even though
it may still be necessary to design different access (and even management)
regimes?

All the best
Chris Hurley
National Archives of New Zealand





"Suderman, Jim (CZR)" <Jim.Suderman@archives.gov.on.ca> on 04/05/2000 06:13:08
AM

To:   aus-archivists@asap.unimelb.edu.au, archives@listserv.muohio.edu,
      "'ICA-L@MAJORDOMO.SRV.UALBERTA.CA'" <ICA-L@MAJORDOMO.SRV.UALBERTA.CA>
cc:    (bcc: Chris Hurley/DIA)
Subject:  Virtual Reading Rooms:  Providing electronic reference to electro nic
      records





Current reference demand for the few electronic records already in the
custody of the Archives of Ontario thankfully remains very low.  However,
due to the increasing use of technology for core businesses within the
Ontario Government, it is expected that neither the quantity of holdings
will remain small nor the requests for access to electronic records remain
low for very long.

To the best of my knowledge, current reference practice for electronic
records consists of providing a copy of the requested records for use
outside the archives, or in a few cases making databases accessible on the
Web.  Will this approach be appropriate to meet researcher expectations and
'best' archival practices (including the requirements of access and privacy
legislation) ten years from now?  Five years from now?

Will researchers be able to draw together at their research table records in
electronic format with those of more traditional media?  Will they be able
to operate copiers (perhaps a la microfilm printers)?  Will archival
electronic records be retrieved as physical or intellectual record
aggregations (e.g., containers or series), or will retrieval be done at a
document (or even more granular) level?  Will archival holdings all be
on-line or near-line and perhaps accessible via the Web or will the
appropriate tapes or disks have to be physically retrieved and the
appropriate file(s) uploaded?

What are institutions doing or what plans are in development to create the
'virtual reading room'?  What additional issues will archivists face in
providing access to electronic records?

<<<  Please forgive cross-postings  >>>

Jim Suderman
Electronic Records Program Coordinator
Archives of Ontario

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