The Preservation of Digital Records

Pre-requisites: ARST 510, ARST 515, ARST 516, ARST 520

Goal: To give students an opportunity to build on basic knowledge acquired in the first year courses by exploring in depth issues concerning the management and preservation of digital records by the creating organization/individual and its legitimate successor, such as an archival program or institution.

Objectives:

1. To provide students with an in depth appreciation of the challenges presented to both records creators and records preservers by the adoption of digital technology for records creation and maintenance.
2. To make students knowledgeable about ways of dealing with such challenges through proper planning and strategizing.
3. To deepen students' understanding of the methods developed and implemented for ensuring the preservation of digital. records
4. To familiarize students with recent and current research and literature on the preservation of digital records.
5. To enable students to approach new and unforeseen digital records issues from a solid knowledge of concepts and principles

Content:

1. Concepts and principles involved in the creation, management and preservation of digital records.
2. Existing policies, standards, practices, and systems for the management and preservation of electronic records.
3. Theory and methods for the management and preservation of electronic records developed by contemporary research projects and discussed in the pertinent literature.
4. Management frameworks for digital records in records creating organizations and archives.