NARA digital archives update.After five years of research and evaluation, The National Archives National Archives, official depository for records of the U.S. federal government, established in 1934 by an act of Congress. Although displeasure concerning the method of keeping national records was voiced in Congress as early as 1810, the United States continued and Records Administration (NARA Nara (nä`rä), city (1990 pop. 349,349), capital of Nara prefecture, S Honshu, Japan. An ancient cultural and religious center, it was founded in 706 by imperial decree and was modeled after Chang'an (see Xi'an), the capital of T'ang China. ) has selected Harris Corp. and Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. to compete for the chance to design its digital archives. The project is estimated to cost $500 million. The system, which will be known as the Electronic Records Archive (ERA), will make electronic information available and compatible for use on any hardware or software format. The change "will make electronic information available virtually anytime, anywhere," said Archivist of the United States The Archivist of the United States is the chief official overseeing the operation of the National Archives and Records Administration. The first Archivist, R.D.W. Connor, began serving in 1934, when the National Archive was established by Congress. John Carlin car·line or car·lin n. Scots A woman, especially an old one. [Middle English kerling, from Old Norse, from karl, man.] . "We are not just talking about the information contained in government records. We will start with government records, but there is no end to where [the system] can take us." The two contracts are valued at $20.1 million. Lockheed Martin and Harris Corp. will design competing proposals for the ERA. NARA will select one of the proposed designs and use it to build the new records system, the first part of which is scheduled for implementation by 2007. According to Digital Discovery & e-Evidence newsletter, key challenges that must be addressed by the new system include ensuring authentic reproduction of electronic records, preventing the records from becoming obsolete in the face of new technology, and handling the thousands of different formats used for such information today. |
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