Archives and AI: An Overview of Current Debates and Future Perspectives

The digital transformation is turning archives, both old and new, into data. As a consequence, automation in the form of artificial intelligence techniques is increasingly applied both to scale traditional recordkeeping activities, and to experiment with novel ways to capture, organise, and access records. We survey recent developments at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and archival thinking and practice. Our overview of this growing body of literature is organised through the lenses of the Records Continuum model. We find four broad themes in the literature on archives and artificial intelligence: theoretical and professional considerations, the automation of recordkeeping processes, organising and accessing archives, and novel forms of digital archives. We conclude by underlining emerging trends and directions for future work, which include the application of recordkeeping principles to the very data and processes that power modern artificial intelligence and a more structural—yet critically aware—integration of artificial intelligence into archival systems and practice.

Contagious Description: Factors Influencing the Adoption of the Australian Series System in New Zealand Archives

<p>The Australian series system has been identified as useful in describing the multiple relationships increasingly identified in archival collections due to complex administrative history, the need to describe electronic records or a wish to describe multiple views of a single group of archives. However, throughout New Zealand it has been fully adopted by relatively few Archives. A mixed-methods survey was carried out to investigate motivators and barriers to the adoption of the Australian series system, using quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis of responses to a questionnaire. Using Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory and the records continuum model to suggest factors and map the results, it was found that the main motivator to use the AuSS was an archivist convinced of its value, through training or previous use, and with an awareness of archival conventions and standards. Other motivators included a large collection with a complex administrative history, the availability of compatible software, institutional support, and expert advice recommending its use. Barriers included lack of awareness or training, lack of autonomy for the archivist, and lack of resources. Changes to description occurred when particular moments of opportunity coincided with perceived needs. These factors worked together at all levels of the records continuum to affect decisions made by archivists on the type of description to use in their finding aids. Wider use of the AuSS to enable better information sharing and more fully-developed contextual description could be achieved through the provision of better publicised information; expert advice on implementation and on migration of existing data; and practical, readymade, simple and adaptable templates for finding aids.</p>

Contagious Description: Factors Influencing the Adoption of the Australian Series System in New Zealand Archives

<p>The Australian series system has been identified as useful in describing the multiple relationships increasingly identified in archival collections due to complex administrative history, the need to describe electronic records or a wish to describe multiple views of a single group of archives. However, throughout New Zealand it has been fully adopted by relatively few Archives. A mixed-methods survey was carried out to investigate motivators and barriers to the adoption of the Australian series system, using quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis of responses to a questionnaire. Using Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory and the records continuum model to suggest factors and map the results, it was found that the main motivator to use the AuSS was an archivist convinced of its value, through training or previous use, and with an awareness of archival conventions and standards. Other motivators included a large collection with a complex administrative history, the availability of compatible software, institutional support, and expert advice recommending its use. Barriers included lack of awareness or training, lack of autonomy for the archivist, and lack of resources. Changes to description occurred when particular moments of opportunity coincided with perceived needs. These factors worked together at all levels of the records continuum to affect decisions made by archivists on the type of description to use in their finding aids. Wider use of the AuSS to enable better information sharing and more fully-developed contextual description could be achieved through the provision of better publicised information; expert advice on implementation and on migration of existing data; and practical, readymade, simple and adaptable templates for finding aids.</p>

Ambientes digitais confiáveis para preservação holística de documentos arquivísticos

Introdução: Este estudo aborda a problemática dos documentos arquivísticos em ambiente digital, os quais são dotados de complexidades e especificidades que impactam diretamente na preservação e no acesso. Logo, necessitam de sistemas confiáveis que garantam sua capacidade probatória, para que possam ser utilizados como evidências. Objetivos: Sendo assim, discorre-se sobre a relação entre as cadeias de custódia e preservação, tendo em vista a construção de um ambiente confiável capaz de preservar os documentos arquivísticos e manter sua autenticidade no longo prazo com garantia de acesso. Metodologia: Para tanto, realizou-se um levantamento bibliográfico composto essencialmente por livros, publicações técnicas, teses e artigos científicos recuperados através da ferramenta de pesquisa Google Scholar. Busca-se explicar a interdependência entre as cadeias de custódia e de preservação, tendo como pano de fundo o modelo Records Continuum. Obtém-se um artigo de revisão assistemática/narrativa. Resultados: Observou-se que as cadeias de custódia e de preservação possuem elevado nível de interdependência quando abordadas em ambiente digital. Assim, há necessidade de manter uma linha ininterrupta entre o Sistema Informatizado de Gestão Arquivística de Documentos e o Repositório Arquivístico Digital Confiável. Igualmente, as ações de preservação devem ser pensadas na gestão e até mesmo antes da produção documental, tal pressuposto converge com os fundamentos do Records Continuum. Conclusões: Portanto, a interdependência das cadeias de custódia e preservação aliada à necessidade de preservar os documentos de forma pró-ativa aponta para uma reformulação dos acervos. Isto requer tratamento documental holístico, capaz de prevenir e minimizar os efeitos da obsolescência tecnológica.

Application of the records life-cycle and records continuum models in organizations in the 21st century

This study provides a descriptive examination and traces the historical development of records management approaches, as well as their significance to the records management practice and their limitations. The study focuses on the records continuum model, developed in Australia's archival sciences field in recent years and discusses its implications for the practice of records and archival management. Prior to the emergence of the records continuum model, the life-cycle theory dominated most records management fields globally. The records continuum model responds – in ways that the life-cycle theory is unable to deal with the challenges of electronic records and proposes a new set of management thinking of the preservation of the electronic environment, in which contemporary institutions and their associated electronic records coexist. There appears to be insufficient literature on the practice of these two records management theories in the organizational context. To contribute to bridging this gap, this study analysed the major components of each records management theory and presents models of organizations built on these approaches. Therefore, the study examines the uses of the records continuum model and life-cycle theories within the broader field of archival research. The study is a literature review within a qualitative, interpretative paradigm. Relying on historical and narrative analysis, the findings established evidence of the practice of the records management theories in the organizations. The study concluded that records management practice in organizations can be enhanced, if specific factors within each records management approach are given adequate consideration in their application.

The societal embeddedness of records: teaching the meaning of the fourth dimension of the Records Continuum Model in different cultural contexts

The Continuum concept of pluralisation is often misunderstood. This paper aims to explain how records are embedded in the society that created them from the time of their creation and how they can be further embedded throughout their lifespan by adding metadata to them, placing them in context, making them accessible to those who will need them in the future and potentially sharing them with the broader society according to societal rules. The author proposes to use the concept of societal embeddedness, which indicates that pluralisation is not just about sharing in the future, but also about incorporating societal expectations in records and recordkeeping systems, to help explain the concept of pluralisation. She shows how using simple examples from everyday life and discussing the societal context of the creation and use of records can help explain Records Continuum concepts, and in particular the concept of pluralisation, to students from non-English speaking backgrounds.

CINCIN ARSIP: PENANGGULANGAN BENCANA DAN PENGELOLAAN ARSIP

Disaster mitigation consists of three sequential processes, similar to functional approach towards disaster. The two puts concern that series system able to capture disaster function each of related governmental bodies. Despite the various structures and names of government bodies, it is their single function that creates records. Function defines activity and transaction. Align to it, life cycle approach is considered fail to capture the series system. Thus, records continuum contemporarily suitable. Preserving collective memory and providing access over time are main requirements. Structurism might lower the tense between structure and function.

A arquivística brasileira e o modelo australiano do records continuum

A partir da década de 1990 uma nova corrente teórica arquivística, Records Continuum (RC), surge na Austrália. O despontar do RC se dá a partir da necessidade de compreender os padrões arquivísticos frente a nova realidade dos documentos digitais. Amplamente discutido no cenário internacional, o Records Continuum, vem influenciando uma série de instrumentos normativos internacionais. Entretanto, no Brasil esta corrente é pouco difundida e estudada. Neste trabalho são apresentados resultados parciais de pesquisas de caráter teórico epistemológico, decorrente de projeto de Iniciação Científica, intitulado: “Arquivística brasileira e o modelo australiano do Records Continuum: uma análise teórica”, desenvolvido pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba, o qual tem como objetivo ampliar conhecimentos sobre o Records Continuum e fomentar subsídios para discussões dessa nova temática no seio do campo arquivístico no Brasil, especialmente com a premente necessidade em lidar com os documentos arquivísticos digitais.

Highlighting the Need for Collaboration Between Archaeologists and Information Professionals

The discipline of archaeology intersects with information science as it deals directly with the information of human history and prehistory through material culture. This paper examines the link between the disciplines of information science and archaeology within the context of the archaeological curation crisis, which has been exacerbated by the lack of attention to the curation of archaeological collections. While the issue and solutions have been identified in the scholarly literature, few sources discuss collaboration between archaeologists and information professionals as a potential solution. This paper on conceptualizes archaeological artifacts as archival records and analyzes the issue through boundary object theory and the records continuum model. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the complementary nature of the two disciplines and subsequently highlight the importance of collaboration between archaeologists and information professionals, as both discipline have the potential to identify areas of need and establish best practices to resolve this curation crisis.