****Report of the PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSIONon the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident****
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****Appendix B: CommissionDocumentation System.****

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**Overview**

[**214**] One of theCommission's initial concerns was to make certain that Commissionmembers and staff would have ready access to the tens of thousands ofpages of technical information, hearing transcripts, witnessinterviews, and correspondence relating to the Challenger accident.Several aspects of the investigation made gathering, controlling, andcataloging such information a formidable task. One was the massivevolume of information collected. In addition, the fairly shortresponse time required of the Commission made it imperative that allinformation be immediately and completely accessible. Finally, theCommission needed to make sure that it could account for and retrieveevery piece of information that it collected and generated.

To address those issues, the Commissionenlisted the support of the Justice Department's Office of LitigationSupport, Civil Division.

With existing capabilities, the Office ofLitigation Support mounted a rigorous cataloging effort, developedand implemented a document control system, created the automated databases, and established a Commission documents Support Center fordocument processing and research activities.

The resulting system enabled the Commission tomanage the volume and assortment of information received andgenerated in the course of the investigation, and provided Commissionstaff with rapid access to needed information. The system wasdesigned to enable access to either hard copy or microfilm for futureresearch after the Commission completed its work.

The Commission was able to meet its commitmentto ensuring the integrity of this extensive collection ofinformation; all information pertaining to the investigation can beeasily located and its origin readily traced.

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**The Commission Information ManagementSystem**

The Commission developed procedures to assurethat it received all documents requested from NASA and other sourcesand that all documents and other correspondence were properlyprocessed.

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**Document Control**

The Commission had control procedures andsystems to track all types of documents relevant to theinvestigation. Specific procedures were used to process (1)Commission requests for information from NASA, and NASA's responses;(2) NASA Task Force Reports; (3) other correspondence to and from theCommission; (4) other documents obtained by the Commission; and (5)reports and transcripts generated by the commission.

The document control system ensured that allrequests, documents, transcript and interview tapes, and other sourcematerials were properly accounted for, and became part of theCommission's permanent records and data base.

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**Documents Requested from NASA**

Most documents relevant to the investigationcame directly from NASA in response to Commission requests. TheCommission requested documents from NASA in writing or verbally at[**215**]hearings. The Commission followed up verbal requests with writtenrequests.

To handle the flow of paper, the Commissionassigned a staff member to be document coordinator. The documentcoordinator assigned every written request a unique control number.The number identified the date of the request and its order ofoccurrence on that date.

NASA set up a complementary system. The NASAcoordinator received and logged Commission request letters, assignedunique NASA tracking numbers to each item or group of documentsrequested, and followed up to ensure that NASA staff respondedpromptly and fully.

When documents were received from NASAcorresponding to each numbered request, one copy of each was sent tothe Support Center for microfilming, analysis (coding), and inclusionin the computer data base.

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**Correspondence**

Each individual piece of nonpersonal mailarriving at the Commission was assigned a correspondence controlnumber. Technical staff evaluated correspondence for investigativevalue. On a microcomputer-based system, staff captured criticalinformation about each correspondence item, including correspondencecontrol number, date of receipt, addressee, author, type ofcorrespondence, and response date and type.

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**Other Documents**

The Commission also received many documentsother than those requested from NASA. These included relevantmaterials that Commission members themselves had gathered orgenerated, those from NASA and from the various NASA contractors as aresult of Commission investigative activities, and incomingcorrespondence that staff decided would be of use to theinvestigation. These documents were also entered into theCommission's data base, and relevant correspondence was also enteredinto the microcomputer tracking system.

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**Transcripts and Commission-GeneratedDocuments**

The Commission used a court reporting firm totranscribe hearings, interviews, and meetings. The firm createdmagnetic computer tapes with the full text of the transcripts anddelivered the tapes to be loaded into the computer data base.

The firm also provided hard copies of thetranscripts to all participants of the hearing, interview, or meetingso that they could correct any mistakes made in transcription.

Quick entry of the transcripts into the database allowed timely search of transcript records on a word-by-wordbasis.

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**Processing of Documents and Tapes by theSupport Center**

As described in the previous section ondocument control, the Commission forwarded most documents to theSupport Center for microfilming, coding, inclusion in the computerdata base, and filing in the library. These documents included NASAreports and documents, selected correspondence, and other documentsreceived by the Commission.

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**Assignment of Control Numbers**

When the Support Center received a document,Center staff immediately applied a unique preliminary control (PC)number to each page of the document. This number was a sequentialnumber to indicate where the original copy of the document would belocated in the library files.

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**Microfilming**

After control identifiers were assigned,Center staff microfilmed the document and placed the original hardcopy in the library. The Center made daily deliveries of completedmicrofilm reels to the microfilm processing facility, which producedtwo copies of each reel.

The Support Center maintained one copy in themicrofilm library, and used it to respond to information requestsfrom Commission members and staff.

The second copy was used to produce hardcopies of the documents for coding purposes.

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**Coding and Data Entry of MicrofilmedDocuments**

The purpose of coding was to develop acomprehensive computerized index of all microfilmed documents. Usinghard copies produced from microfilm, each document was reviewed andbibliographic, control, and subject matter information was recordedon a coding form designed specifically for the Commissioninvestigation.

The bibliographic information included itemssuch as document title and date, and names and organizations ofpeople mentioned in the documents. The control information includedthe [**216**] preliminary control number, microfilm number andother information useful in identifying and locatingdocuments.

To capture information on subject matter,coders read each document and noted what subjects were mentioned. Thecoders used a list of "subject terms" developed specifically forCommission purposes. Each subject term had a unique six-characteridentifier. Every document was assigned at least one such subjectcode. Documents that covered many subjects were assigned multiplecodes.

Data entry operators keyed the indexinformation from the completed coding forms onto magnetic tape to beloaded into the computer data base.

From the date a document was received, it wasmicrofilmed, filed in the hard copy and microfilm libraries, coded,and entered on the computer data base within one week. Throughout theprocess, there were numerous quality checks to ensure the readabilityof the microfilm, the accuracy of the document coding, and theoverall integrity of the data base.

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**Creation and Data Entry of IndexInformation from Transcripts and Commission GeneratedDocuments**

For the Commission generated documents and thetranscripts, index information was captured and entered into thecomputer. This information included date of the hearing or report;names of all attendees, Commission members or witnesses; and othercross-reference data.

The index information was added to thefulltext versions on the magnetic computer tapes, and loaded into thecomputer data base.

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**Creation of the Computer DataBase**

Through the processes described above, theCommission created two computer data bases. The first-called thedocument data base, named INQUIRE-contained the index (bibliographic,control, and subject matter information) of all microfilmeddocuments, representing more than 100,000 pages.

The second-called the full-text data base,named JURIS-contained the full text of (1) transcripts of allCommission hearings, interviews, and panel meetings; and (2)Commission reports, hearing digests, and affidavits.

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**Libraries**

**Documents and Microfilm**

As noted above, the Support Center maintainedlibraries of Commission documents.

One contained the microfilmed versions of themore than 122,000 pages of materials indexed on the document database. The microfilm was filed by reel number and cross-referenced tothe preliminary control number assigned to the original hard copy ofeach document. Microfilmed documents could be quickly located throughthe computer search capability and hard copies printed, ifdesired.

The second library contained hard copies oftranscripts and other Commission generated documents (those documentsstored in the fulltext data base), plus the originals of themicrofilmed documents, which could be located by using thepreliminary control number.

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**Other Materials**

The Commission also maintained a library ofvideo tapes of presentations, hearings, photographic and film recordsrelating to the accident itself, and the salvage operations. Thesetapes were filed chronologically by date received and labeledaccording to subject. Use of these materials was controlled through alibrary checkout system.

Audio tapes of interviews were labeled andmaintained at the Support Center. These were filed chronologically byinterview date and controlled through a library check-outsystem.

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**Use of the Data Bases**

The Support Center provided personnel toperform searches of both the document data base (INQUIRE) and thefull-text data base JURIS). Access to INQUIRE and JURIS was gainedfrom terminals at the Support Center and the Commissionoffices.

Detailed information on the use of thesesystems is available in the following OLS documentation: "INQUIREUsers Manual," "JURIS Users Manual," and "Challenger DataBases-Sample Searches for JURIS and INQUIRE. "

 

[**217**] **The Document Data Base Accessible ThroughINQUIRE**

The INQUIRE system allowed rapid retrieval andreview of the index information that constituted the document database.

Users who wanted to locate documents on aparticular subject (such as O-ring erosion) could search the documentdata base using the bibliographic information or subject codescaptured for each document. INQUIRE provided a listing of alldocuments matching the criteria specified in the search. The usercould then decide which of the listed documents would be useful and,using the document number provided, obtain a copy of the documentfrom the library.

The user could ask INQUIRE to list a varietyof information on selected documents, including the preliminarycontrol number (used to locate the material in the library), date,title, and document type. INQUIRE could also print all the subjectterms associated with each selected document (not just the subjectterm(s) that matched the search criteria), and all the namesmentioned in the text. Users could also choose the order in whichINQUIRE listed the documents (e. g., chronologically by documentdate, alphabetically by author name, or numerically by documentnumber).

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**The Full-Text Data Base Accessible ThroughJURIS**

The Department of Justice developed JURISspecifically for retrieval of full-text information, and designed itfor easy use by nontechnical personnel. Users could ask JURIS tolocate all documents containing specific words or phrases. Userscould specify multiple words or phrases, and could include indexinformation as one of the search criteria. Users could request thatJURIS print a list of documents that were selected, or print the fulltext of the documents.

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**Final Disposition of Commission Report andInvestigation-Related Materials**

The entire collection of documents andmicrofilm is permanently housed in the National Archives. Inaddition, several different indices and other supportingdocumentation were compiled to assist historians and others in usingand gaining access to this large and very importantcollection.

These materials were provided to the NationalArchives in accordance with the procedures described in FPMR 101-1 1.4, "General Records Schedules," published by the National Archivesand Records Administration, and specifically Schedule 24 whichfocuses on "Temporary Commissions, Committees, and BoardsRecords."

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**Materials Provided**

The following materials were turned over tothe Archives at the conclusion of the investigation:

- The Commission's Report, including all   appendices; 
- All materials requested and received by   the Commission from NASA and its contractors, including the NASA   Task Force reports; 
- All documents provided to the Commission   and its staff at hearings, meetings, presentations, and   interviews; 
- The entire microfilm collection containing   those materials (both in open-reel and cartridge format), as well   as a file-level index to each reel; 
- All transcripts of hearings, panel   meetings and interviews; 
- Summaries of all hearing transcripts and   significant interview transcripts; 
- Indices to the INQUIRE (document) data   base, listing all of the documents by document number, date, and   subject term; 
- All correspondence and respective   responses, as well as indices to the entire correspondence   collection sorted by author, correspondence type, and date of   receipt; 
- Computer tapes containing the entire   INQUIRE data base prepared for and used by the Commission in the   course of its investigation; 
- Complete set of the request letters sent   by the Commission to NASA, the resulting Action Item forms, and   the responsive memoranda that closed out each of those Action   Items; 
- All press releases produced by the   Commission; 
- [ 218 ] All video and   audio tapes received by the Commission, including indices to those   two collections; and 
- All planning and instructional materials   related to the creation and use of the INQUIRE and JURIS data   bases. 

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**Public Access**

To gain access to the Commission's documents,requests can be made to:

- Office of National Archives    National Archives and Records   Administration
  - Washington, DC 20408

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