Providing Grounds for Trust II: The Findings of the Authenticity Task Force of InterPARES

Between 1999 and 2002, the International Research in Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) Project investigated the issues associated with the long-term preservation of authentic electronic records. Within the InterPARES Project, the Authenticity Task Force was given the task of developing conceptual requirements for assessing and maintaining the authenticity of electronic records. This article presents some of the results of the research undertaken by the Task Force following up on a previous article published in Archivaria 50. It examines the results of analyzing the case studies of live electronic systems from the perspective of contemporary archival diplomatics and presents the final version of the requirements for assessing and maintaining the authenticity of electronic records. This article reports on the findings of the Authenticity Task Force of the International Research in Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) Project. The goal of the InterPARES Project was to formulate 1 The InterPARES Project was a three-year research initiative, which began in January 1999 and concluded in December 2002. The InterPARES research team comprised an international and multidisciplinary group of scholars, specialists, and practitioners drawn from archival studies, the humanities and social sciences, and the computer, mathematical, and chemical sciences. The project director was Luciana Duranti, an archival studies professor in the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia. The collaborators were a consortium of eight national and multi-national research teams representing Australia, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United KingThe Findings of the Authenticity Task Force of InterPARES 25 principles and methods for ensuring the long-term preservation of authentic electronic records. The Authenticity Task Force of InterPARES was given the specific charge of identifying conceptual requirements for assessing and maintaining the authenticity of electronic records. To fulfill this charge, the Task Force adopted two complementary analytical approaches. The first approach was a theoretical and deductive one, based on contemporary archival diplomatics. The second approach was an inductive and empirical one that employed selected case studies of live electronic systems. A preliminary report of the work accomplished by the Task Force at the project’s mid-point was published in a previous article in Archivaria. That article explained the premises underpinning the Task Force’s research, examined the contemporary archival diplomatic model of an ideal electronic record developed by the Task Force, and summarized the preliminary draft of the requirements for assessing and maintaining the authenticity of electronic records. The present article provides a brief overview of the research’s premises, examines the results of analyzing the case studies of live electronic systems from the perspective of contemporary archival diplomatics, and presents the final version of the requirements developed by the Task Force for assessing and maintaining the authenticity of electronic records. dom, and the United States. Included on the national teams were representatives from the national archives of Canada, China, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. InterPARES also counted among its participants a range of industries, including the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, computer software, and high technology industries, all of which were represented through the participation of the Collaborative Electronic Notebooks System Association (CENSA). Funding for the international direction of the project and for the Canadian research team was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For a detailed description of the project as a whole and its findings see InterPARES Project, The Long-term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records: Findings of the InterPares Project (August 2002), available at . 2 The members of the Authenticity Task Force were: Heather MacNeil, University of British Columbia (Chair), Chen Wei, Beijing Municipal Archives, Luciana Duranti, University of British Columbia, Anne Gilliland-Swetland, University of California, Los Angeles, Maria Guercio, University of Urbino, Yvette Hackett, National Archives of Canada, Babak Hamidzadeh, University of British Columbia, Livia Iacovino, Monash University, Brent Lee, University of British Columbia, Sue McKemmish, Monash University, John Roeder, University of British Columbia, Seamus Ross, University of Glasgow, Wai-kwok Wan, Hong Kong Public Record Office, and Zhao Zhon Xiu, State Archives of China. 3 Heather MacNeil, “Providing Grounds for Trust: Developing Conceptual Requirements for the Long-Term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records.” Archivaria 50 (Fall 2000), pp. 52–78. 4 For a full account of the work of the Authenticity Task Force, including the original research questions, the collection and analysis of case study data, as well as the Task Force’s findings and recommendations, see Authenticity Task Force, “Establishing and Maintaining Trust in Electronic Records: The Final Report of the Authenticity Task Force,” in The Long Term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records, pp. 1–33 and appendices 1 and 2. Available at .