In determining the long-term value of records, archivists should be shielded from undue political or personal pressures. Archivists must have sufficient authority and independence to determine the adequacy of documentation, the effectiveness of recordkeeping systems, and the continuing value of records. Archivists should not be pressured into approving the destruction of records because they may implicate, embarrass, or expose to unfavorable publicity the originators or subjects of the records. These decisions must be based exclusively on professional judgment, guided by a professional code of ethics that forbids professional archivists from revealing or profiting from information they encounter in the course of their work. Preserving electronic records and providing continuing access to them will require significant changes in recordkeeping policies and practices and an enhanced role for archivists in designing recordkeeping systems, appraising records, and setting standards for their retention and preservation.
Electronic records pose significant challenges to the archival profession.
To reduce the risk of legal actions, loss of valuable records, and expensive recovery procedures, recordkeeping requirements must be identified so that systems can automatically segregate records from non-record material. Organizations must then take appropriate measures to ensure that records with continuing value are not corrupted inadvertently, deleted intentionally, lost through system failure, or rendered inaccessible by hardware or software obsolescence. In 1993, the Society of American Archivists Council endorsed curriculum guidelines for automated records and techniques, recommending that all professional archivists become familiar with the basic concepts of electronic recordkeeping and automation in archives by the year 2000. In 1994, the Society of American Archivists established an Electronic Records Strategies Task Force to provide further guidance to the profession on electronic records issues. Notwithstanding the many initiatives that the Society has taken, is taking, and will continue to take, the challenges presented by the ever increasing use of new information technologies and the rapidity with which they change are too formidable to be dealt with in isolation.