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Electronic documents: standardize to preserve
Working group begins to formulate policy for technical procedures in Unicamp archives

RAQUEL DO CARMO SANTOS

Meeting of the working group created by Unicamp: meetings became regular

The management, access and preservation of electronic documents, on the agendas of several countries, are also beginning to be discussed at Unicamp. A working group designated by the Rectory has held periodic meetings since October, with the aim of proposing a standardization of technical procedures for the management, preservation and access of electronic archival documents. The concern is timely, guarantees the professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences and president of the working group, Pedro Paulo Funari. He highlights that the growth in the volume of electronic documents generated within the University is visible.

Specialist Rosely Curi Rondinelli: in defense of joint work

Funari defends the need for immediate actions to guide discussions at Unicamp. Even with the facilities and agility that computerization makes possible, analyzes the historian, there is a great concern regarding the verification of the reliability, veracity of the document and, mainly, the issue of preservation. “It is necessary to urgently establish institutional standards and norms, based on diplomacy and archivism, as we have a scientific memory to preserve. A website set up especially for information about the ongoing project was put online (www.unicamp.br/siarq/doc_eletronico/ ). Furthermore, the group made up of experts from various relevant areas of the University, collects bibliographies on the subject and prepares a diagnosis of the current situation of the corporate electronic files already accumulated. According to Funari, documentation that is in electronic format and also those that are created along the way will be analyzed. He explains that Unicamp maintains a so-called hybrid system, that is, it has electronic and paper documents at the same time.

Professor Pedro Paulo Funari: actions need to be immediate

Funari recognizes that every job will be a great challenge. For him, one of the main problems is standardizing the procedures already in progress. “Each Unit developed its own program and each one follows rules established by the organization”, he argues. Another problem already detected by the historian is the unification of platforms. He realizes that there are many different systems in operation and this can make the group's work difficult.

Scientific memory – In addition to the concern with electronic documents in general, Funari says that the group's objective is also to establish a storage policy for the University's scientific production. For him, the visibility of this production is less than the actual one. One proposal would be to create a database similar to that of digital theses. The historian believes that it is possible to make articles, works presented at conferences and even research drafts available online. “A connection between the author and the entire work can be developed.”

The production made by students would also fall within the document storage policy proposals. According to Funari, this is also a challenge, as the student's time at the University is temporary. “Perhaps if there was a mechanism that guaranteed the inclusion of course completion works or monographs presented during the school period, it would be a way of preserving this content”

 

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“Unicamp came out ahead”

“Unicamp took the lead by proposing a policy for the management, access and preservation of electronic documents”, says master in information science Rosely Curi Rondinelli, currently responsible for the Archives Service at the Museu do Índio/Funai. She came to the University, at the end of October, to teach a course and detail the activities of the Technical Chamber of Electronic Documents of the National Archives Council (Conarq), which, at the national level, is working on proposing standards, technical procedures and instruments legal documents that enable the implementation of a policy in public and private institutions. According to Pedro Paulo Funari, this type of integration is important so that the group's work does not conflict with studies that are already underway. Therefore, the working group appointed the coordinator of the Unicamp Archive System (Siarq), Neire do Rossio Martins, to join the Technical Chamber as a representative of the University.

Rosely explained that the Chamber must forward the proposals to Conarq by July 2004. To develop the activities, several professionals were called to the meetings, such as archivists, librarians, lawyers, systems analysts, engineers and administrators who, since January 2002, have been studying the problem.
If, on the one hand, the electronic document speeded up, facilitated and changed the communication mechanism, on the other hand it brought a new concern regarding the veracity and reliability of the information, comments the information scientist. In her opinion, the benefit is the control, which becomes more rigorous than the manual.

Rosely was familiar with the University's archive policy and also argues that the work must be done accordingly. “Many agencies are now waking up to the problem, but they do not maintain an archive policy.” The person responsible for the Indian Museum Archive believes in a very fruitful partnership with Unicamp with regard to software development within the standards being discussed.

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