It is essential that records managers devote resources immediately to ensure that Web-based electronic records are preserved as part of the nation's documentary heritage. It is essential that guidelines addressing key issues related to the preservation of government information on websites be developed and widely disseminated. While the phenomenon of Web homepages is still growing, the records management and archival community must draw attention to the importance of quality standards for Web-based information resources. This project is intended to assist in government officials' deployment and use of Web-based information resources. Distilling experiences, both good and bad, of government website development for general knowledge within the records management community increases the likelihood that the quality of historical preservation of electronic records will be improved.
Technical knowledge can enable other agencies to leapfrog certain avoidable hurdles.
Benchmark homepages and guidelines are identified for others to consult. The best practices and critical success factors discovered through this project will have general utility to homepage designers in nearly any setting. But most importantly, state and federal managers of websites will have a set of carefully developed guidelines to assist them in developing procedures for managing and preserving website information. This report is organized into six Chapters. Discusses the objectives and significance of the study and describes the organization of the report.