Electronic Records Archives (ERA)

The Electronic Records Archives program (ERA) is the strategic initiative of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to extend its mission to include the electronic records of the U.S. Government; that is, to preserve and provide long-term access to uniquely valuable electronic Federal, Presidential, and Congressional records.

The challenges electronic records present to NARA are two-fold. First, there are major difficulties inherent in the effective preservation of electronic records; not only in all of the diversity, complexity, and enormous volume of electronic records being created today, but also in the rapidly changing systems used to create, store and access them. Second, records management, which ensures that records are maintained as accessible and reliable documentation of the original activities, must be extended to accommodate electronic records across all of the government. NARA and ERA must continue to guide and support these activities in this new dimension electronic records presents. Doing so will ensure that Federal records are efficiently managed throughout their original-use lifecycle, and that the historically valuable records of the Federal government will be permanently preserved and made accessible by the National Archives.
NARA’s main objective in developing the ERA System is to create a robust, high-quality system that meets the U.S. Government’s records management and archival needs – and equally important – to create a system that will be easy for people to use. The combination of ensuring that ERA will help NARA meet its business needs as well as to meet the needs of its stakeholders is not an easy task.
After considerable initial investigation, the ERA program has adopted and followed a specific Approach, though Research continues…

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