This is the sixth in a series of posts supporting the publication of 36 CFR section 1236 subpart E – Digitizing Permanent Records. All of the posts have been collected under the 36 CFR Section 1236 category.
This week we continue to review the new rule 36 CFR 1236 Subpart E. In this post, we discuss § 1236.48–File Format Requirements.
File format requirements refer to the file types and compression codecs agencies must use to encode, retain, and transfer digitized records. These requirements are specified in §1236.48. A compression codec uses an algorithm to perform the process of compressing the data in a file to reduce storage needs and decompress the data when the file is played or presented. Agencies must select from the file formats and compression codecs listed in this section to ensure that digitized records meet the required standards for preservation and long-term access.
Textual
For digitized permanent paper records, agencies must use one of the file formats listed in Table 1 of §1236.48. The acceptable file formats are:
- TIFF 6.0,
- JPEG 2000 part 1 (ISO/IEC 15444–1:2019),
- Portable Network Graphics 1.2 (PNG),
- PDF/A, or
- JPEG 2000.
Photographic
For digitized photographic print records, agencies must use one of the file formats listed in Table 2 of §1236.48. The acceptable file formats are:
- TIFF 6.0,
- JPEG2000 part 1 (ISO/IEC 15444–1:2019), or
- Portable Network Graphics 1.2 (PNG).
File format requirements are essential to ensuring the preservation and long-term access of digitized records. Agencies must use the file formats and compression codecs listed in Tables 1 and 2 of §1236.48 to comply with the required standards for preservation and long-term access. By following these requirements, agencies can ensure that digitized records remain accessible and usable for future generations.