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By Rosalind Johnson - July 2002
Rosalind Johnson reports on the DLM-Forum 2002 conference, Barcelona, 6-8 May 2002.
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In unseasonably wet and windy weather, records managers, archivists and information professionals gathered in Barcelona to attend the third DLM Forum on access and preservation of electronic records [1]. DLM is an acronym for the French Données lisibles par machine, or in English translation, 'machine readable data', although at the conference the acronym DLM was given an English meaning: Document Lifecycle Management.
The DLM-Forum is based on the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 17 June 1994 concerning greater co-operation in the management of electronic records. It was created as a platform for collaboration between technology providers and public institutions and administrations to address the issues involved in electronic records management, including technical solutions and the creation of guidelines and model requirements. DLM has published and sponsored a number of reports. Two previous European-level conferences have been held in 1996 and 1999.
The wealth of parallel sessions meant that I was unable to sit in on every presentation; and choices had to be made [2]. I chose to attend those sessions featuring 'best practice', especially those covering European Commission (EC) funded projects. Those which seemed to include the most relevant examples for my work included the sessions on the memory of the information age (preservation, migration and longer-term availability), the use of public information, and improving access to knowledge (training and education for information experts and users). This involved some swapping between parallel sessions, and, being unable to bi-locate, I was regrettably unable to attend other conference tracks and workshops which formed a significant part of the programme. These included parallel sessions on content management and delivery, organising records and archives, and capturing and transforming information with automatic indexing technologies and retrieval solutions. I was also obliged to miss the workshops on metadata, digital signatures and the legal admissibility of digital storage. However, that should give an insight into the overall content of the DLM-Forum, and the amount of information being presented. At the conclusion of the conference, it was recommended that the conference papers be made available on the DLM-Forum Web site. At the time of writing, this has not yet happened, but if it does, it should produce some interesting material.
Among the EC projects presented, the Open Archives Forum is a new project set up to support European and national initiatives that adopt, or are willing to adopt, an open-archives based approach [3]. Special attention will be dedicated to those initiatives implementing or using the Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Protocol [4].
Another European project, e-TERM sought to develop and test a multidisciplinary and adaptable course for teaching electronic records management to archivists, records managers, IT personnel and administrators [5]. The course modules were designed to be delivered in a wholly electronic environment. With partners across Europe, this made administrative sense, and reduced the need for face-to-face meetings. Yet the need for human contact remained; for social contact when it did occur was found to contribute to a better mutual understanding and commitment. Although the project has formally ended, the partners hope to work together to develop a European centre for higher archival education and training.
Several examples of national projects and best practice were presented. Naestved Kommune in Denmark claims to be the first local government in the country to employ a complete digital signature system to enable total electronic administration for local citizens [6]. Already, 80 per cent of households have access to a broadband connection. The aim is to focus on the different needs of citizens at different stages of their lives to provide a fully comprehensive service. This will be facilitated by the use of digital signatures, although there are legal issues to consider regarding the need for hard copy documents to be produced.
Frank Brady of the European Commission gave an interesting presentation on the EC's efforts to set up a single document management system. Investigating claims that 600 separate document management systems existed within the various EC departments led to the discovery that some 2,000 different systems could be identified. Developing a single new system was a considerable challenge, not only technically, but also with reference to convincing, and indeed coercing, EC staff into accepting the new system. The new electronic document management system will not only have to deal with internal administration, but also with the 8,000 external requests the EC receives every year for documents. Additionally, the query system must take into account different languages - for example, the many variants of the phrase 'mad cow disease'.
Despite the challenges faced by Frank Brady and his team, the new system should improve access to documents for EC staff and ultimately for Europe's citizens. A standardised procedure across the EC will demonstrate its transparency to the public. The EC has a reputation for secrecy and bureaucracy among the public which it has been working to correct; this is part of that overall work. The improved procedures will also benefit staff, by facilitating mobility and communication across different departments.
Emphasis was given at the conference to announcing and promoting: MoReq, the
model specification for the management of electronic records [7]. This has
been developed under the EC's IDA (Interchange of Data between Administrations)
programme [8]. MoReq is a high level specification, but also fairly comprehensive in
its approach. MoReq is largely intended for the archives community and is mainly
applicable to records which are originated and managed in the public sector. This
reflects its origins in archival standards, and their application to public
procurement of electronic records management systems. However, the impact of
MoReq could be felt elsewhere. One conference delegate felt this might be the
case if the EC's dreams of greater commercial exploitation of public sector
information comes to pass.
There were a few technical hitches during the conference. At least two speakers found their slides were unavailable, and one speaker chose not to speak at all, rather than present without them. This apparent reliance on technology has, of course, parallels with generations of lecturers reduced to canceling seminars on discovering that they have left their notes at home.
But new technology brings its own problems. Speaker Piero Corsini from IBM commented that people now demand information in 'two to three clicks', an impatience particularly noted in young people. He believes that many user interfaces in the public sector are in need of improvement. Other speakers also focused on the issues of the user interface and the need to involve users in the solutions to the problems of electronic records management; not only public servants who use such systems at work, but the citizen trying to access information and services.
Ulrich Kampfmeyer of AIIM International spoke of his belief that we stand at the beginning of new developments. The traditional problems of records management involved paper - its bulk, its relative fragility, its indexing. More recently, the migration to electronic management of records involved considerations of whether or not to preserve the original hard copies, and the durability of digital systems, but paper was still the core of the business, especially as multiple photocopies and print-outs found their way into filing systems across the world.
But with digital information, we face a new set of challenges unique to that environment. Ulrich Kampfmeyer quoted a statistic that the amount of information available world-wide now grows in one year more than in the previous 2,000 years. Much of it has no physical representation, and is therefore totally reliant on electronic systems for its survival and its use. Unlike the single physical format of paper, electronic data may be available in several formats - digital video, digital voice, different software packages. Standards, such as MoReq, are therefore of crucial importance to ensure preservation of the data, and to enable its fast and effective retrieval and use. The effectiveness of this use includes the training and education of users, and the design of efficient front ends and help systems.
Finally, a well-publicised feature of the conference were the six industry- sponsored White Papers on key issues facing electronic records in the public sector [9]. Summaries of these papers, and note of the conference conclusions, are available on the DLM-Forum Web site [10].
Rosalind Johnson
European Consultant
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
7 Ridgmount Street
LONDON WC1E 7AE
United Kingdom
URL: <http://www.cilip.org.uk
Email: rosalind.johnson@cilip.org.uk
Phone: +44 20 7255 0604
Fax: +44 20 7255 0501
Rosalind Johnson is a freelance editor and information consultant specialising in European information for the library and information sector. She attended the DLM-Forum 2002 on behalf of CILIP, for whom she acts as European Consultant.
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For citation purposes:
Johnson, R. "Access and Preservation of Electronic Information: Best Practice and Solutions", Cultivate Interactive, issue
7, 11 July 2002
URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue7/dlm/>
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