We are pleased to announce that we have issued new guidance for Federal agencies on minimum metadata requirements for transferring permanent electronic records to NARA. NARA Bulletin 2015-04: Metadata Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records, describes the minimum set of metadata elements that must accompany permanent electronic records transferred to NARA. This Bulletin was written with feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders, including OMB, the Federal Records Council, Federal agencies, and the public. We appreciate everyone’s input on this policy document.
Appendix A gives agencies a minimum list of metadata elements with examples. Appendix B provides agencies with recommended file and folder naming conventions that are platform-independent.
This Bulletin identifies the minimum metadata elements that must accompany permanent records. NARA will provide additional metadata guidance during FY ‘16, including blog posts for FAQs and a bulletin.
You may post any questions or comments here, or contact the Appraisal Archivist assigned to your agency for further information. A list of Appraisal Archivists is available on NARA’s website at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/appraisal/.