Access to Electronic Records Working Group

As of March 2018, this group has disbanded due to similar work already being accomplished by other groups.

The Steering Committee of the Reference, Access & Outreach Section (RAO) of the Society of American Archivists approved the launch of an Access to Electronic Records Working Group to investigate and share current best practices for providing access to electronic records.

Much scrutiny has been placed on accessioning, processing and preserving electronic materials, while very little attention is given to how we provide access to these materials. The initial tasks that have been identified and approved by the RAO Steering Committee include:

• Conduct initial research to determine on which key focus areas related to reference, access, outreach, and preservation work the working group shall focus its efforts.
• Compile a bibliography of key resources, including publications, presentations and workshops, which explore how archival institutions provide access to born-digital and electronic records. Other organizations active with electronic records will also be included in this resource list.
• Conduct a survey of the archival profession regarding current practices and attitudes towards providing access to born-digital and electronic records.

Membership in the Working Group was open to members and non-members of RAO.

The Access to Electronic Records Working Group is co-chaired by Rachael Dreyer and Stacey Lavender. Greg Kocken is the leader of the initial research group, Alexis Adkins and Jarrett Drake are the leaders of the bibliography group, and Stacey Lavender is the leader of the survey group. RAO past chair Mary Manning participated in the initial organization and launch of the working group.

The Initial Research Subgroup's Current Strategies and Technologies group composed of Joanne Archer, Helen Schubert Fields, Pam Hopkins, Jennifer Mitchell, and Rachel Muse compiled a report and an at-a-glance spreadsheet view of the report in November 2014. 

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