introductiontometadatafordecision-makers.doc

INTRODUCTION TO METADATA FOR DECISION-MAKERS Briefing Background, Acknowledgements, and Contact Information This briefing and all related materials are the direct result of a two-year grant to the State Archives Department of the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Work on the “Educating Archivists and Their Constituencies” project began in January 2001 and was completed in May 2003. The project sought to address a critical responsibility that archives have discovered in their work with electronic records: the persistent need to educate a variety of constituencies about the principles, products, and resources necessary to implement archival considerations in the application of information technology to government functions. Several other goals were also supported: raising the level of knowledge and understanding of essential electronic records skills and tools among archivists, helping archivists reach the electronic records creators who are their key constituencies, providing the means to form with those constituencies communities of learning that will support and sustain collaboration, and raising the profile of archivists in their own organizations and promoting their involvement in the design and analysis of recordkeeping systems. MHS administered the project and worked in collaboration with several partners: the Delaware Public Archives, the Indiana University Archives, the Ohio Historical Society, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and the State of Kentucky. This list represents a variety of institutions, records environments, constituencies, needs, and levels of electronic records expertise. At MHS, Robert Horton served as the Project Director, Shawn Rounds as the Project Manager, and Jennifer Johnson as the Project Archivist. MHS gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Advanced Strategies, Inc. (ASI) of Atla