With digital records, these traditional archival activities are still necessary,
but no longer sufficient to guarantee that the inalienable characteristics of all
records will be kept intact over time. Several models and research projects have
emphasized that 1) the traditional concept of preservation must include the
processes necessary to transmit the record through time, including conversion
and migration; 2) the unbroken chain of preservation must begin at creation
and continue from the record-making system to the recordkeeping system and
the record preservation system; and 3) the focus on accountability of records
creators for their action through their records requires archivists to present
themselves as the trusted custodians.18 As defined by the InterPARES project, a
multinational interdisciplinary research endeavour on the long term preservation
of authentic digital records, a trusted custodian is a person who a) acts as a
neutral third party, i.e., demonstrates that he/she has no stake in the content
of the records and no reason to alter records under his/her custody, and that
he/she will not allow anybody to alter the records either accidentally or on
purpose; b) is equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfil his/
her responsibilities, which should be acquired through formal education, and c)
establishes a trusted preservation system that is capable of ensuring that accurate
and authentic copies of the creator's records are acquired and preserved.19
Nine core abilities of the modern records professional
However, in addition to this function of trusted custodian, there are specific
activities that a professional responsible for the preservation of digital records
must undertake in order to protect the characteristics that qualify them as
records, that is, 1) position him/herself at the beginning of the record life-
cycle; 2) assess the authenticity of the records, and monitor it throughout
their existence, especially when the system in which they reside is upgraded,
or transfers occur from a system to another, and when the records move from
the responsibility of an office to that of another; 3) identify the records to be
preserved at the moment of their creation and monitor their transformation
through time; 4) determine the feasibility of preservation on the basis of the
archives technological capacity and, in cases of a negative assessment, decide
with the creator on the best course of action; 5) determine a preservation
strategy independently of technological trends and maintaining the focus on
interoperability across systems and through time; 6) control the accuracy of the
records after each conversion or migration; 7) develop procedures that address
issues of intellectual rights and privacy; 8) recognize to archival description a
primary authentication function;20 and 9) be constantly involved in research
and development projects similar to those carried out by the industry, addressing
questions such as, what entity constitutes the record in each dynamic or
LUCIANA DURANTI EDUCATING THE EXTREME RECORDS PROFESSIONAL: A PROPOSAL
articulated in the OAIS standard has been the foundation of several research projects, including
InterPARES, accessible atwww.interpares.org.
19 See A framework of principles for the development of policies, strategies and standards for the long-term
preservation of digital records (hereinafter InterPARES 2 Policy Framework) accessible at http://www.
interpares.org/ip2/display_file.cfm?doc=ip2(pub)policy_framework_document.pdf, p.9. See also Jennifer
Borland, "Trusting Archivists," Archivi Computer XIX, 1 (2009): 94-106.
20 The authentication function of archival description is a collective attestation of the authenticity of the
records in a fonds and of all their interrelationships as made explicit by a) their administrative, custodial
and technological history, b) the illustration of their scope and content, and c) the hierarchical represen
tation of the records aggregates. The unique function of archival description is to provide an historical view
of the records and of their becoming while presenting them as a whole in which the individuality of each
member is subject to the bond of a common provenance and destination.
203