Formation process and preservation of a natural electronic archive

Abstract

This paper presents a case of formation process study and preservation of the digital archive of a private organization. The archive was created in the late 1980.s and maintained until 2005.The study was prompted by the archive.s creators concerns about the resources involved, and the need to preserve their electronic records and systems vis-à-vis the presence of the signed and sealed paper documents. The approach used to study the digital archive was to consider it akin to an archaeological site. A formation process study of the archive.s components was conducted using interview methods; primary and secondary sources; and metadata extraction, file viewers, and file transformation software. The study revealed information about the technical and social contexts involved in the archives. formation, and how its creators used it and valued it over time. The results informed the design of a preservation strategy aimed at maintaining the archives. integrity and authenticity and continuing documentation of its evolution. The attributes characterizing the archive led to the development of the concept of natural electronic archive.