Robert Chadduck Director of Research ERA Program

1. ERA Program and Geospatial Records Research UpdateMap and Geographic Information Collections in Transitions ConferenceThe Cartographic Users Advisory Council&The Library of Congress Geography and Map Division12 May 2005 Robert Chadduck Director of Research ERA Program National Archives and Records Administration

2. Background: Federal Geospatial Records • A Federal Record • Any piece of information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by an agency in course of business • That is, or should be, kept • As evidence of that activity • Because it contains valuable data • 44 U.S.C. 3301 • NARA • Provides direction, guidance, and assistance to all agencies in managing their records, and • Preserves records with “enduring” value in the National Archives • Through lifecycle management of records National Archives and Records Administration

3. Background:Applicable Federal Directives and Guidance • 36 CFR Subchapter B - Records Management • Part 1228 -- Disposition of Federal Records • Scheduling Records • Transfer of Records to Records Storage Facilities • Transfer of Records to the National Archives of the United States • 1228.268 Cartographic and architectural records • 1228.270 Electronic records • Guidance (examples) • Disposition of Federal Records • Documenting Your Public Service • Managing Audiovisual Records • Managing X-Ray Films as Federal Records • Moving? Consolidating? Reorganizing? • Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery National Archives and Records Administration

4. Background:Types of Cartographic Records Preserved in the National Archives • Exploration and Scientific Surveys • Public Land Surveys and Settlement • Indian Affairs • Hydrography and Navigation • Topography and Natural Resources • Census Mapping • Urban Development • Maps of Foreign Countries • Military Campaigns • Aerial Photographs National Archives and Records Administration

5. Background Digital Spatial Data Records in the National Archives • Records of The National Agricultural Statistics Service • Crop Estimates: County-level Estimates Of Crop Yields, 1972-1989 • Records of The Bureau of The Census • Annual Housing Surveys/American Housing Surveys (AHS), Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas • Census of Population And Housing, 1950, Public Use Sample, 1/100 Sample • Records of The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff • Combat Air Activities File (Cacta), Oct. 1965-dec. 1970 • Records of The National Institute of Education • National Assessment of Educational Progress, Study Year 1, 1969-1970 • Records of The Historic American Buildings Survey • Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Records Database • Records of The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration • Capital Punishment In The United States, 1973-1987 • Records of The Environmental Protection Agency • Toxic Chemical Release Inventory System National Archives and Records Administration

6. Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records • Electronic Records Management (ERM) E-Gov Initiative. • One of the 24 E-Gov initiatives under the President's Management Agenda • Geospatial data records from GIS are a priority electronic records format • NARA accepts digital geospatial data fully implementing a non-proprietary, published, open standard. National Archives and Records Administration

7. Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records Examples include, but are not limited to: • Spatial Data Transfer Standard http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/status/textstatus.html) • Geography Markup Language, versions 2 and 3 (Open GIS Consortium). (http://www.opengis.org/docs/02-023r4.pdf) National Archives and Records Administration

8. Genesis of the ERA ProgramSome Observations While NARA has more than three decades of practical experience in electronic records preservation, there is no single unifying model or applicable technical benchmark for formal technical digital object preservation into perpetuity Facets of technical issues generally associated with the federal government’s electronic records challenge actually constitute domain specific outcroppings of general problems under active research in computer science and engineering in the operational federal computing context. National Archives and Records Administration

9. ERA Program Vision • “The Electronic Records Archives will authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record, free from dependency on any specific hardware or software, enabling NARA to carry out its mission into the future.” National Archives and Records Administration

10. NARA’s Electronic Records Archives Strategy • Define the requirements in terms of the lifecycle management of records • Find solutions in commercially viable, mainstream technologies being developed to support e-commerce, e-government and the next generation national information infrastructure • Align with overall direction of IT in the U.S. Government National Archives and Records Administration

11. ERA Program Update:Major System Acquisition Activity NARA ERA Program • FY2003 $11.8M appropriation (P.L. 108-7) • FY2004 $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation (P.L. 108-199) • FY2005 $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation in Consolidated Appropriations Act, {P.L.108-447} • FY2006 President’s Budget includes $35.9M “Line Item” appropriation National Archives and Records Administration

12. 2011 FY 2007 12/2003 8/2004 4th Qtr.2005 Increment 3 (1 year) Increment 1 2 years Increment 5 (1 year) Increment 2 (1 year) Increment 4 (1 year) Select Single Developer Awarded Contracts NARA Released the RFP Initial Operating Capability Full Operating Capability ERA Timeline National Archives and Records Administration

13. ERA Program UpdateThe Competitive Acquisition • Lockheed Martin Corporation: • Transportation and Security Solutions Division • Firm-fixed price design contract value: $9.5 million • Harris Corporation: • Government Communications Systems Division • Firm-fixed price design contract value: $10.6 million National Archives and Records Administration

14. ERA Program UpdateThe Competitive Acquisition • At the end of the one-year design competition, one of these two contractors will be selected to build the ERA System • Over the life of the contract, total value is potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars National Archives and Records Administration

15. ERA Research Mission • Attack the critical preservation problem • Contribute to mitigation of risks associated with ERA Program, especially with respect to emerging technologies, technology enabled processes and potential costs • Contribute to ERA Program Acquisitions, Capital and Strategic Planning Decisions • Serve as catalyst in continuing innovation and technology transfer in areas responsive to federal electronic records preservation, management and access • Serve as foundation for continuing collaboration National Archives and Records Administration

16. Collaboration Model • Build on Existing Foundations • Eliminate any reliance on presumed clairvoyance • Establish technical testbeds & analytic demonstrations where NARA contributes electronic records or records surrogate test corpora, domain knowledge and funding to ongoing technology research responsive to core interests National Archives and Records Administration

17. NationalScienceFoundation San Diego Supercomputer Center Global Grid Forum National Computational Science Alliance Army ResearchLaboratory National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure Our Partners NIST National Archives and Records Administration

18. Collaboration with the Library of Congress • In late 2000, NARA joined with the Library of Congress to develop a joint presentation on critical issues that both institutions face in the area of digital preservation • This presentation to the Congress’s Joint Committee on the Library resulted in creation of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation (NDIIP) Program • NARA continues this collaboration with the Library on the NDIIP • NARA currently participates in the NDIIP Steering Committee and contributes to the exploration of issues and opportunities that the Library of Congress and other libraries face in this area. National Archives and Records Administration

19. Core Technology Research Interests • Data intensive application of interconnected computational engines, appropriately scalable data repositories & advanced network technology enabled applications • Understanding all applied processes in terms of I/O, storage & file systems, very large mass storage systems enabling scalable & extensible “write biased” federated repositories • Information assurance/Cybersecurity mechanisms • Scalable collaborative decision support environments • Data structure optimization (especially for “Input”) National Archives and Records Administration

20. ERA ResearchCurrent Activities • “Transcontinental”Persistent Archives Prototype • >> Over 3.0 million files across nationally distributed sites (SDSC, UMd, NARA, Stanford/SLAC) • Users can access files without knowing where or how they are stored • Grid Technology Enabled • Applications of advanced data management and I/O techniques– NCSA, U of IL – Urbana-Champaign • Knowledge-based technologies enabling preservation of electronic records collections National Archives and Records Administration

21. ERA ResearchTest Collections • Executive Office of the President Email • OMB E-gov Digital Photographs, Document Images & Geospatial Records (OMB & multiple agencies) • CAD/CAE Solid Model Design Records • Columbia Accident Investigation Board Records • Motion Video & Virtual Reality Records • Presidential Libraries Records • Federal Agencies Web Records • Patent Records • Technology Research Records (DoE) National Archives and Records Administration

22. ERA Geospatial Research National Center for Supercomputing Applications • Storage and Retrieval Efficiency Evaluations of Boundry Data Representations for LLS, TIGER and DLG Data Structures, Technical Report, 8 December 2004, The national Center for Supercomputing Applications David Clutter and Peter Bajcsy • Scientific formats for geospatial data preservation -- A study of suitability and performance Mike Folk and Vailin Choi • Attributes of File Formats for Long-Term Preservation of Scientific and Engineering Data in Digital Libraries Mike Folk and Bruce Barkstrom National Archives and Records Administration

23. ERA Geospatial ResearchSan Diego Supercomputer Center Mapping Herbicide Missions in Vietnam Ilya Zavlasky http://ngda.org/wkshop%20presentations/4_Zaslavsky.ppt Studying Redlining in San Diego Richard Marciano http://sdtj.regionalworkbench.org/UCSD/RedliningCentral.htm National Archives and Records Administration