Metadata and the Archival Management of Electronic Records: A Review

Several of the most influential and prolific electronic records archivists have advocated a metadata systems approach to the management of electronic records. This essay introduces the metadata concept and reviews both its context and its content in the "second generation" of electronic records archives and scholarship. These writings theorize that a metadata systems approach will affect archival appraisal and preservation, and fundamentally alter arrangement, description, and reference. A survey of four leading electronic records programmes examines their metadata applications and underscores the value of this approach for other archivists. It is concluded that a metadata systems approach will become the basic strategy for archivists seeking to manage electronic records systems. To be successful, this strategy will require archivists to become proactive, develop new technological skills, and commit themselves to multidisciplinary collaborations.