https://catalog.archives.gov/id/45022 When NARA released its revised Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records in 2014, we identified the file formats acceptable for use by Federal agencies when transferring permanent email messages to NARA. These formats include EML, MBOX, MSG, and PST. Notable for its omission is PDF. This might seem surprising since regardless … Continue reading Email in PDF – Pushing the (email) envelope.
This post is written by Sharmila Bhatia and Michael Horsley. We have added Navigational Charts to Appendix A: Table of File Formats of NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Records. Records in this format can now be transferred as permanent records to the National Archives. NAID 1022792431799 A Map of the … Continue reading Navigational Charts added to NARA’s Format Guidance Bulletin
We have added Calendar Formats to Appendix A: Table of File Formats of NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Records. Records in this format can now be transferred as permanent records to the National Archives. Typically, this format is used for electronic calendars. Electronic calendars allow users or groups to create … Continue reading Calendar Formats Added to Format Guidance
We are making a few minor changes to NARA Bulletin 2014-04, Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Records. These changes will streamline the process for future updates to the format tables. We are making these changes via a new NARA Bulletin, 2018-XX. We welcome your participation in the development of this guidance. We are … Continue reading Request for Comments on Two Draft NARA Bulletins to Update Format Guidance
To follow our last post on Metadata Requirements for Permanent Records on Shared Drives, today we are discussing how to manage metadata for permanent records stored separately from the records. Required metadata, as specified in NARA Bulletin 2015-04, must have the same retention and disposition as the records they describe whether maintained in a separate … Continue reading Managing Metadata for Permanent Records: What if the metadata required for transferring permanent records are stored separately from the records themselves?
Advances in computing have made moving files between different platforms much easier than just a few years ago. The adoption of the UNICODE standard for character encoding and cross compatibility between operating systems has made problems opening a file received as an attachment to an email, downloaded from a web site, or accessed on a … Continue reading Best Practices for File Naming
Email records include fields of information such as the sender, recipient, date, and subject that may be considered to be a form of metadata. However, since these fields can be populated in multiple ways, they may not provide sufficient information to make email records retrievable and useable for as long as they are needed. Agencies … Continue reading Why does NARA ask for additional metadata for email records?
We frequently receive questions from agencies about what to do when they have records in formats not listed in our revised Transfer Guidance NARA Bulletin 2014-04. The revised guidance greatly expanded the number of formats acceptable for use when transferring permanent records to the National Archives, but there may still be situations where records are … Continue reading Selecting Appropriate Formats for Transfer
During the last two years, we published both NARA Bulletin 2015-04: Metadata Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records and NARA Bulletin 2014-04: Revised Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records. These Bulletins are related and complement each other. Following this guidance ensures permanent electronic records transferred to NARA will remain sustainable for as … Continue reading What is the relationship between NARA’s Metadata and Format Guidance?
NARA is pleased to announce that we have issued NARA Bulletin 2015-01, Determining the Appropriate Age for Scheduling the Legal Transfer of Permanent Records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This Bulletin clarifies the appropriate age at which permanent records, regardless of their media or format, should be transferred into NARA’s legal custody. … Continue reading Release of NARA Bulletin 2015-01
