Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Technology:
Preservation for the Ages?
Presented by:
Jerry Handfield
Handfield Consulting Group
San Diego, California
September 12, 2014
Connecticut Town Clerks
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Wonderful you men of Athens, wonderful is the custody
of public records-390-324 BC
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
“Electronic Records are Coming!
Electronic Records are Coming!”
2008!
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Happy Mail Family History
It is frustrating to know where a
family member lived and probably
married, but that particular State
of County does not even have an
index. I cannot order a copy of a
birth certificate unless I know the
family member was there, and
while some offer to do look ups
for me, that takes time and delays
my research. With this site, I
enter the name and instantly
know if the relative was here.
Thank you so much,
Virginia L.
I just want to thank everyone
who is involved in putting up the
digital records on the Internet. I
was able to find my grandparents’
wedding certificate from 1923, and
my 81 year old dad is SO
HAPPY! He never knew whether
they were married or not! We
spent years searching California,
and it’s a tedious process when
you have to go to separate
counties. This is a wonderful
service!
Thanks,
Jeanne
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Happy Mail Elected Officials
I want to thank the Digital Archives Staff for your
refinement of a really useful tool to deliver public
documents in a place and manner that is useful to the
public. The application that you developed for us is not
only useful to the public but is very beneficial to my
office when you serve the public by producing the
record and depositing the statutory fee directly to
my account without my staff having to service the
request. In these times of continued demands and
less resources, the service has been invaluable.
Siri Wood, Chelan County Clerk
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
International Visitors
China- two delegations
Singapore
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Timeline Preserving Your Public Records — One Byte at a Time
2001 $1 Fee on Recorded Documents
2001 - 2004 Design Build and Implement
2004 Grand Opening
2005 Auditor records online
3 staff members
2006 Launch of Disaster Recovery Storage Service (DRSS)
2007 Library of Congress/National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation
Program, $1M grant program (5 states)
2008 Audio search tool goes live
2009 Clerk records online
King County marriage records online
2010 13 staff members
All 39 county Auditors will have marriage records online
2010 LOC/NDIIPP 11 states
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Digital Archives Mission
The Washington Digital Archives is the nation's
first archives dedicated specifically to the
preservation of electronic records from both State
and Local agencies that have permanent legal,
fiscal or historical value.
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Washington State Archives 1963
Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962
Three stories
Nuclear Bomb Shelter
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Why a Digital Archives in
Washington State?
• 1990s – System of Five Branch Archives
• Supported by fees $1.00 on recorded
documents and tax warrants – County Auditors
and Clerks.
• Conversion to imaging systems by local
government
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
• Comply with statutory & regulatory mandates
• Avoid loss of legal & historical records
• Manage risk (avoid litigation losses)
• Preserve rare paper records
• Centralize access to permanent electronic records
for government
• Improve access for citizens
Why a Digital Archives in
Washington State?
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Preservation Myth #1
• “Paperless society” – 1950s
– Paper production still increasing
– Digital files printed 60 times…(source)
– Printing paper backups
– Acid-free paper common and less expensive
– Archives and records centers bursting with
boxes of paper records
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Preservation Myth #2
• “Microfilm is rapidly becoming obsolete as a
viable format and is being replaced by digital
alternatives” (Pepperdine University Libraries website)
– Microfilm production & distribution more
centralized
– Major manufacturers: ImageLink (Kodak), Fuji,
Agfa
– Microfilm readers readily available
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Preservation Myth #3
• Digital version adequately replaces analog
versions for long-term preservation
– CDs and DVDs touted as archival solution 1990s
– NASA loses space data and photos
– King County, Washington without Superior Court
records for 5 weeks – 2005
– Laws changing to allow only digital backups
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Archivist & Archives: Assignment-500
• Preserve records to make them accessible for
500+ years
• Develop a recording and management
strategy for all vital and archival records
• Create a dependable archive system utilizing
multiple formats to safeguard records as part
of a modern records management solution
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Archivist & Archives: Assignment
• Accomplish preservation without integrity loss
• Manage growth of records
• Handle increase in document types and size
• Adapt to complex & changing legal
environment
– Privacy
– Public records requests
– Legal holds
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Democracy and Connecticut Clerks
• Charter Oak
• Keepers of the Records
• Masters of the Rolls
• Clerks
• Secretary of State
• Northwest Ordinance 1787
• Local, state and national archivists
Documenting Democracy
Sacred duty of the archivist: Protect the Past . . .
Capture the Present . . . Enable the Future
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Nutmegs to Share
• Technology and progress? Edison cylinder
• Change/revolution-wood stove
• Trust, authenticity, custody
• Computers, Washington digital archives
• EMP – your pulse?
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
EMP
Electromagnetic Pulse
• Ancient Observations – Galileo 1633 Sunspots
And Solar Flares
• Interference With Communication – Telegraph
1850s
• 2014 – Wall Street Journal, New York Times
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
• Any disaster that affects paper or film may
also affect electronic media
• Paper and film may survive disasters that
completely destroy electronic media
• High capacity electronic media + highly
localized disaster = large scale data loss
• Benton County, Washington computer crash
- Recovery hard copy, microfilm, digital
Digital Disasters
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Revolution
Paper To Electronic
Connecticut Yankee preservation war in the
revolution
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
One Nutmeg To Another
• Preservation is a war
• Will power
• Resources
• Leadership
• Yankee ingenuity
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
“Poor recordkeeping attracts corruption like flies to a
carcass.” 2002, Auditor General of Australia.
New England In Cheney, Washington
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
My Fellow Archivists!
Preservation alert…
My important records in
Norwich, Lebanon, Franklin, Windham
Birth, education, marriage…All history is local!
Documenting Democracy Preservation for the Ages
Contact Information
Jerry Handfield
Handfield Consulting Group
Archives, records management, history,
Personal oral biographies
360-402-1175
San Diego, California