Preserving electronic records: Not the easiest task

The National Archives and Records Administration has had a program for accessioning, describing, preserving and providing reference service to the electronic records (machine-readable records) created by Federal agencies for more than twenty years. Although there have been many changes in the name of the office, its basic mission has remained the same: to preserve and make available those records created by Federal agencies that the National Archives has determined to have value beyond the short-term need of the originating agency. A phrase that was once coined for a preservation conference still applies: the National Archives, when it decides to accept the transfer of records into its custody, is committing itself to preserving these records for perpetuity.