Agencies indicated that there are delays in digitization projects and disposition of records. Image: Chinnabanchon9Job/Shutterstock.com
While the pandemic has “highlighted the importance of electronic access to records,” it also has hampered efforts toward complying with a goal of transitioning to fully electronic record-keeping by the end of this year, a report by the National Archives and Records Administration says.
Agencies over the last year “refined their efforts to support electronic recordkeeping” under a 2019 joint NARA/OMB memo but “there was a considerable drop in agencies’ confidence in meeting” that memo’s goals for managing permanent records with associated metadata and temporary records in electronic formats, it said.
It said that while in 2020, 98 percent of agencies had expressed confidence in meeting that goal for permanent records and 94 percent for temporary records, those numbers dropped in 2021 to 66 and 63 percent. Thirty-four percent indicated that they expect to have to ask for an exception, while another 24 percent said they didn’t know.
“Agencies indicated that there are delays in digitization projects and disposition of records, as access to hard copy records in offices and other storage spaces continued to be limited,” it said. “In general, not just due to COVID-19, while most records are created and stored electronically, there are still challenges to maintaining all records in electronic format particularly for metadata capture and for long-term preservation for permanent electronic records.”
It added that while 80 percent reported having an information governance framework, “there were distinct differences in how agencies interpreted what constitutes” such a framework. Also, while a 75 percent have policies and procedures that instruct staff on managing permanent records in all formats, only 24 percent said their permanent electronic records meet the transfer guidance, contain the appropriate metadata, and have tested and/or successfully transferred these records to the National Archives.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continued to require alternative means to access and capture records and intensified the need to make this transition. The pandemic has proven that the transition to electronic recordkeeping is essential and no longer optional,” it said.
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