ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVING AND STORAGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B01152R000901240031-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2008
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: June 14, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVING
AND STORAGE
Office of Information Services
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ELECTRONIC RECORDS
ARCHIVING AND STORAGE
The archiving and storage of electronic records is an integral part
of records disposition management. Records disposition is the process of
determining how long information should be held for operational or legal
purposes, how to preserve information that must be retained, and how to
dispose of information that no longer is needed.
This report covers records disposition management requirements for
information in Agency computer and word processing systems, as well as
requirements for the long term storage of this information. Fulfilling
these requirements will require close coordination and support among the
Office of Information Services (OIS), the Office of Data Processing
(ODP), and user offices throughout the Agency.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS DISPOSITION
Electronic (machine readable) records produced in the normal course
of government business are subject to the same Federal statutes as paper
records. The term "machine readable records" refers to records created
and processed in computers and word processors. This definition includes
all stages of computer processing and all kinds of computer storage
media. The holding medium usually used for active electronic records is
magnetic disk, while inactive electronic records are stored on magnetic
tape.
The retention, use, and disposition of Agency records is governed by
several Federal laws and Executive orders, including:
a.
The
Federal Records Act;
b.
The
Records Disposal Act;
c.
The
Paperwork Reduction Act;
d.
The
Privacy Act;
e.
The
Freedom of Information Act;
f.
Executive Order 12356;
g.
Executive Order 12333.
General Records Schedule 20, Machine~Readable Records, is published by
the National Archives and Records Service (NABS) under the Records
Disposal Act. It outlines requirements for managing the disposition of
machine readable records and the documentation required to service them.
The task of managing the Agency's electronic information in
accordance with these requirements is complicated by the great volume of
data we currently maintain and the rapid rate at which this information
base continues to grow. Active tapes in the Buffing Center and the
Special Center plus inactive tapes stored at the Archives and Records
Center now number in excess of 70 thousand. The demand for disk storage
has been increasing at approximately 30 percent a year for the past
several years. During a recent briefing presented by the Office of Data
Processing, it was estimated that we currently have the equivalent of 2.5
billion pages of data in electronic form.
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At this point we are unable to estimate the amount of electronic
information being created on Agency word processing equipment or the
volume that will ultimately be created by the widespread use of this
technology. The Agency has invested several million dollars in word
processing equipment that will be in use for years to come. Moreover,
the declining cost of technology will soon make it feasible for each
employee to have a personal work station to access, manipulate,
disseminate, and store information.
Life cycle management of our electronic record holdings will require
much time and effort to schedule the records for disposition. This
involves:
a. Inventorying the electronic data;
b. Preparing records control schedules;
c. Obtaining NARS approval for the schedules;
d. Segregating data with different retention periods;
e. Actually destroying unneeded electronic records.
The task will be complicated by the sheer volume of material already in
existence, the large amount of electronic data being created daily, and
the decentralized nature of the Agency records management program.
OIS is beginning this task by scheduling its own electronic records
for disposition. In conjunction with component Records Management
Officers and ADP Control Officers, we plan next to schedule the records
of other DDA Offices. Working with the Directorate Records Management
Officers, we will then schedule the records in other directorates and the
DCI Area.
A key element for success in this process must be a requirement that
all new ADP projects include a Data Management Plan as an integral part
of the initial project proposal. The Data Management Plan would be
subject to the same review process as all other sections of the project
proposal. This would include review and approval by OIS to ensure that
the records created by the project comply with established records
management practices throughout their life cycle. We plan to work with
ODP on the structure for a Data Management Plan as well as the procedures
for developing and reviewing its content.
Another area that will require further study by OIS is the
development of a method to designate the "record copy". In the paper
world, the "record copy" can be designated relatively easily, and from
that point on it is the official copy. This procedure will have to be
modified for electronic records. As long as a record is in electronic
form, anyone who has "write" access to the system has the capability of
altering the copy. This alteration cannot be detected, and unless there
is a paper copy showing what the original version looked like, the
altered copy usually will be accepted without question.
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Therefore, safeguards must be built into the software used to create
electronic records to prevent the alteration of a document once it has
been created and designated as the "record copy". The software also
should allow a "record copy" to be tagged with disposition data, thereby
enabling the computer to select electronic documents scheduled for
destruction. This capability is needed for documents created on the main
system as well as for documents created on word processing systems.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVAL STORAGE
The requirement for a long term electronic record archiving and
storage system has existed in the Agency for several years. At the
present time, this archiving requirement is being satisfied by the use of
magnetic tapes, which are periodically deposited in the Agency Archives
and Records Center. This procedure, however, meets only the short term
need to preserve information.
There are several reasons why magnetic tape is not suitable for
long term information storage. The major reason is that magnetic media
are very fragile. Achieving the NARS estimate of twelve years as the
shelf life of magnetic tape requires temperature and humidity controlled
storage conditions as well as periodic cleaning and rewinding of the
tape. Advances in technology also tend to make computer hardware
obsolete at a very rapid rate, and unless magnetic tapes are constantly
managed to ensure compatibility with newer hardware, the information may
not be retrievable using future computer systems. Moreover, the computer
programs needed to interpret the data may no longer be available.
The Agency could continue to meet archiving requirements through the
use of magnetic tape, as we have done in the past. This would require
very close monitoring of our tape holdings and the application of ever
increasing personnel resources to keep pace with the rapidly expanding
collection of electronic information. Even so, this approach would solve
only part of the problem. Although we would be able to retain the data
and retrieve it as necessary, we would not be in compliance with Federal
statutes requiring the scheduling of electronic information and the
periodic destruction of information which has met routine disposal
criteria. Unnecessary retention of information also would increase
Agency security concerns and require additional storage space be set
aside.
In order to fulfill requirements for routine destruction as well as
long term storage and preservation of our electronic records, an archival
storage system should have the following characteristics:
a. Operate in a normal computer room environment;
b. Interface with existing Agency computer systems;
c. Be suitable for day~to~day operations in the Buffing
Center as well as for longQterm storage of
electronic records in the Archives and Records
Center ;
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d. Provide a method to segregate permanent or long-term
retention data from short-term data;
e. Provide for long-term archiving and storage of
electronic information without degradation of the
data or the media;
f. Be readily transferable to replacement media should
data degradation be detected;
g. Be suited to upgrading as more advanced forms of
electronic data storage systems are introduced;
h. Allow for the obliteration of selected electronic
data that has met destruction criteria without
adversely affecting the remaining data;
i. Support system user needs, including the capability
to retrieve paper copy if required, without
requiring that users learn new procedures;
j. Provide for a very high data compaction capability;
k. Be an off-the-shelf product rather than a prototype
or developmental system.
Of the systems currently available, one of the most promising
appears to be the optical data disc. There are currently several
companies involved in developing optical data disc systems for high
density data storage requirements. These requirements exist in industry
as well as government, and we expect to see off-the-shelf hardware
available in the relatively near future. Several vendors have been
invited to give presentations to selected Agency audiences, and
invitations will be extended to others with promising systems.
The Office of Research and Development (ORD), DDS&T, monitors
optical data disc development closely, and OIS representatives maintain a
working relationship with ORD in this area. The Office of Development
and Engineering (OD&E), DDS&T, is working with the Office of Central
Reference, DDI, on requirements for an optical data disc system. An OD&E
representative also is looking into the feasibility of installing a
similar system in the Archives and Records Center. In addition, a DDS&T
office is in the process of developing, with contractor support, an
advanced optical data disc system for electronic record storage, and we
also plan to monitor this installation. When a proven, commercially
viable system becomes available, OIS plans to work with ODP on electronic
storage system requirements, procurement, and installation.
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