The Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Program National Archives and Records Administration 1 ERA Program and Geospatial Records Research Update Map and Geographic Information Collections in Transitions Conference The Cartographic Users Advisory Council & The Library of Congress Geography and Map Division 12 May 2005 Robert Chadduck Director of Research ERA Program

National Archives and Records Administration2 Background: Federal Geospatial Records  A Federal Record  Any piece of information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by an agency in course of business  That is, or should be, kept  As evidence of that activity  Because it contains valuable data  44 U.S.C  NARA  Provides direction, guidance, and assistance to all agencies in managing their records, and  Preserves records with “enduring” value in the National Archives  Through lifecycle management of records

National Archives and Records Administration3 Background: Applicable Federal Directives and Guidance  36 CFR Subchapter B - Records Management  Part Disposition of Federal Records  Scheduling Records  Transfer of Records to Records Storage Facilities  Transfer of Records to the National Archives of the United States  Cartographic and architectural records  Electronic records  Guidance (examples)  Disposition of Federal Records Disposition of Federal Records Disposition of Federal Records  Documenting Your Public Service Documenting Your Public Service Documenting Your Public Service  Managing Audiovisual Records Managing Audiovisual Records Managing Audiovisual Records  Managing X-Ray Films as Federal Records Managing X-Ray Films as Federal Records Managing X-Ray Films as Federal Records  Moving? Consolidating? Reorganizing? Moving? Consolidating? Reorganizing? Moving? Consolidating? Reorganizing?  Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery

National Archives and Records Administration4 Background: Types of Cartographic Records Preserved in the National Archives  Exploration and Scientific Surveys Exploration and Scientific Surveys Exploration and Scientific Surveys  Public Land Surveys and Settlement Public Land Surveys and Settlement Public Land Surveys and Settlement  Indian Affairs Indian Affairs Indian Affairs  Hydrography and Navigation Hydrography and Navigation Hydrography and Navigation  Topography and Natural Resources Topography and Natural Resources Topography and Natural Resources  Census Mapping Census Mapping Census Mapping  Urban Development Urban Development Urban Development  Maps of Foreign Countries Maps of Foreign Countries Maps of Foreign Countries  Military Campaigns Military Campaigns Military Campaigns  Aerial Photographs Aerial Photographs Aerial Photographs

National Archives and Records Administration5 Background Digital Spatial Data Records in the National Archives Background Digital Spatial Data Records in the National Archives  Records of The National Agricultural Statistics Service  Crop Estimates: County-level Estimates Of Crop Yields,  Records of The Bureau of The Census  Annual Housing Surveys/American Housing Surveys (AHS), Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas  Census of Population And Housing, 1950, Public Use Sample, 1/100 Sample  Records of The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff  Combat Air Activities File (Cacta), Oct dec  Records of The National Institute of Education  National Assessment of Educational Progress, Study Year 1,  Records of The Historic American Buildings Survey  Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Records Database  Records of The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration  Capital Punishment In The United States,  Records of The Environmental Protection Agency  Toxic Chemical Release Inventory System

National Archives and Records Administration6 Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records  Electronic Records Management (ERM) E-Gov Initiative.  One of the 24 E-Gov initiatives under the President's Management Agenda  Geospatial data records from GIS are a priority electronic records format  NARA accepts digital geospatial data fully implementing a non-proprietary, published, open standard.

National Archives and Records Administration7 Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records Examples include, but are not limited to:  Spatial Data Transfer Standard html)  Geography Markup Language, versions 2 and 3 (Open GIS Consortium). (

National Archives and Records Administration8 Genesis of the ERA Program Some Observations more than three decades While NARA has more than three decades of practical experience in electronic records preservation, there is no single unifying model or applicable technical benchmark for formal technical digital object preservation into perpetuity Facets of technical issues generally associated with the federal government’s electronic records challenge actually constitute domain specific outcroppings of general problems under active research in computer science and engineering in the operational federal computing context.

National Archives and Records Administration9 ERA Program Vision   “The Electronic Records Archives will authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record, free from dependency on any specific hardware or software, enabling NARA to carry out its mission into the future.”

National Archives and Records Administration10 NARA’s Electronic Records Archives Strategy  Define the requirements in terms of the lifecycle management of records  Find solutions in commercially viable, mainstream technologies being developed to support e-commerce, e-government and the next generation national information infrastructure  Align with overall direction of IT in the U.S. Government

National Archives and Records Administration11 ERA Program Update: Major System Acquisition Activity NARA ERA Program  FY2003 $11.8M appropriation (P.L )  FY2004 $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation (P.L )  FY2005 $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation in Consolidated Appropriations Act, {P.L }  FY2006 President’s Budget includes $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation

National Archives and Records Administration12 Select Single Developer Initial Operating Capability Awarded Contracts Full Operating Capability FY /20038/2004 4th Qtr.2005 NARA Released the RFP Increment 1 2 years Increment 2 (1 year) 2011 Increment 3 (1 year) Increment 4 (1 year) Increment 5 (1 year) ERA Timeline

National Archives and Records Administration13 ERA Program Update The Competitive Acquisition  Lockheed Martin Corporation:  Transportation and Security Solutions Division  Firm-fixed price design contract value: $9.5 million  Harris Corporation:  Government Communications Systems Division  Firm-fixed price design contract value: $10.6 million

National Archives and Records Administration14 ERA Program Update The Competitive Acquisition  At the end of the one-year design competition, one of these two contractors will be selected to build the ERA System  Over the life of the contract, total value is potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars

National Archives and Records Administration15 ERA Research Mission  Attack the critical preservation problem  Contribute to mitigation of risks associated with ERA Program, especially with respect to emerging technologies, technology enabled processes and potential costs  Contribute to ERA Program Acquisitions, Capital and Strategic Planning Decisions  Serve as catalyst in continuing innovation and technology transfer in areas responsive to federal electronic records preservation, management and access  Serve as foundation for continuing collaboration

National Archives and Records Administration16  Build on Existing Foundations  Eliminate any reliance on presumed clairvoyance  Establish technical testbeds & analytic demonstrations where NARA contributes electronic records or records surrogate test corpora, domain knowledge and funding to ongoing technology research responsive to core interests Collaboration Model Collaboration Model

National Archives and Records Administration17 National Science Foundation San Diego Supercomputer Center NIST Our Partners Global Grid Forum National Computational Science Alliance National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure Army Research Laboratory

National Archives and Records Administration18 Collaboration with the Library of Congress  In late 2000, NARA joined with the Library of Congress to develop a joint presentation on critical issues that both institutions face in the area of digital preservation  This presentation to the Congress’s Joint Committee on the Library resulted in creation of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation (NDIIP) Program  NARA continues this collaboration with the Library on the NDIIP  NARA currently participates in the NDIIP Steering Committee and contributes to the exploration of issues and opportunities that the Library of Congress and other libraries face in this area.

National Archives and Records Administration19  Data intensive application of interconnected computational engines, appropriately scalable data repositories & advanced network technology enabled applications  Data intensive application of interconnected computational engines, appropriately scalable data repositories & advanced network technology enabled applications  Understanding all applied processes in terms of I/O, storage & file systems, very large mass storage systems enabling scalable & extensible “write biased” federated repositories  Information assurance/Cybersecurity mechanisms  Scalable collaborative decision support environments  Data structure optimization (especially for “Input”) Core Technology Research Interests

National Archives and Records Administration20 ERA Research Current Activities  “Transcontinental” Persistent Archives Prototype  >> Over 3.0 million files across nationally distributed sites (SDSC, UMd, NARA, Stanford/SLAC)  Users can access files without knowing where or how they are stored  Grid Technology Enabled  Applications of advanced data management and I/O techniques – NCSA, U of IL – Urbana-Champaign  Knowledge-based technologies enabling preservation of electronic records collections

National Archives and Records Administration21 ERA Research Test Collections  Executive Office of the President  OMB E-gov Digital Photographs, Document Images & Geospatial Records (OMB & multiple agencies)  CAD/CAE Solid Model Design Records  Columbia Accident Investigation Board Records  Motion Video & Virtual Reality Records  Presidential Libraries Records  Federal Agencies Web Records  Patent Records  Technology Research Records (DoE)

National Archives and Records Administration22 ERA Geospatial Research National Center for Supercomputing Applications  Storage and Retrieval Efficiency Evaluations of Boundry Data Representations for LLS, TIGER and DLG Data Structures, Technical Report, 8 December 2004, The national Center for Supercomputing Applications David Clutter and Peter Bajcsy  Scientific formats for geospatial data preservation -- A study of suitability and performance Mike Folk and Vailin Choi  Attributes of File Formats for Long-Term Preservation of Scientific and Engineering Data in Digital Libraries Mike Folk and Bruce Barkstrom

National Archives and Records Administration23 ERA Geospatial Research San Diego Supercomputer Center Mapping Herbicide Missions in Vietnam Ilya Zavlasky Studying Redlining in San Diego Richard Marciano