Getting on with Government 2.0 - Department of Finance and ...
Getting on with Government 2.0 - Department of Finance and ...
Getting on with Government 2.0 - Department of Finance and ...
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Wider use <strong>of</strong> open <strong>and</strong> documented st<strong>and</strong>ards could also facilitate the transfer <strong>of</strong> digital records<br />
to NAA for permanent preservati<strong>on</strong>, as NAA uses open <strong>and</strong> publicly documented st<strong>and</strong>ards for<br />
its digital repository (see Box 18). 275<br />
Recommendati<strong>on</strong> 12: Definiti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth record<br />
12.1 The taskforce recommends that government agencies wishing to use third party sites<br />
for the purposes <strong>of</strong> collaborati<strong>on</strong>, service delivery or informati<strong>on</strong> disseminati<strong>on</strong>, ensure<br />
that copies <strong>of</strong> records so generated are retained in the possessi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> the Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth<br />
such that they satisfy the definiti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth Record in the Archives Act 1983.<br />
The Australian <strong>Government</strong> reviewed the property-based definiti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth<br />
Record in the Archives Act 1983, <strong>with</strong> a view to replacing it <strong>with</strong> a definiti<strong>on</strong> that defines<br />
Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth records as any informati<strong>on</strong> created or received by the Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth in<br />
the course <strong>of</strong> performing Comm<strong>on</strong>wealth business.<br />
<br />
12.2 To enable <strong>and</strong> assist the discovery, sharing <strong>and</strong> reuse <strong>of</strong> PSI, agencies should deploy<br />
endorsed metadata st<strong>and</strong>ards such as the Australian <strong>Government</strong> Locator Service<br />
Metadata St<strong>and</strong>ard (AS 5044) together <strong>with</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> government tax<strong>on</strong>omies such as<br />
the Australian <strong>Government</strong>’s Interactive Functi<strong>on</strong>s Thesaurus (AGIFT) as outlined in the<br />
Australian <strong>Government</strong>’s Informati<strong>on</strong> Interoperability Framework. Whenever not being<br />
able to meet such st<strong>and</strong>ards would appreciably delay the release <strong>of</strong> PSI, agencies should<br />
release n<strong>on</strong>-compliant data until such time as they are able to comply <strong>with</strong> the st<strong>and</strong>ards.<br />
Box 18: Digital records <strong>of</strong> archival value are to be preserved<br />
The Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives has determined that digital records <strong>of</strong> archival value, created in any format, are<br />
to be preserved <strong>and</strong>, accordingly, it has established a digital archive. The Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives’ digital<br />
preservati<strong>on</strong> process is founded <strong>on</strong> the fundamental principle that good recordkeeping <strong>and</strong> archival<br />
systems provide access to complete, reliable <strong>and</strong> authentic records into the future. The records must be<br />
safe from unauthorised access, alterati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> deleti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The cornerst<strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> the digital archive is the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives developed s<strong>of</strong>tware, Xena, developed in<br />
the open source envir<strong>on</strong>ment. Xena (XML Electr<strong>on</strong>ic Normalising <strong>of</strong> Archives) c<strong>on</strong>verts digital records<br />
into a format that can be preserved <strong>and</strong> accessed regardless <strong>of</strong> future technological change.<br />
The Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives c<strong>on</strong>verts digital records into open preservati<strong>on</strong> file formats that can enable access<br />
to their c<strong>on</strong>tents in the future. The open formats are based <strong>on</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ards, have full specificati<strong>on</strong>s that are<br />
publicly documented, <strong>and</strong> are interoperable <strong>with</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware applicati<strong>on</strong>s. As well as c<strong>on</strong>verting<br />
data into open formats, the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives’ s<strong>of</strong>tware also enables the data to be exported back to<br />
original formats <strong>and</strong> to access the informati<strong>on</strong> in the way it was originally presented.<br />
The Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives has avoided using proprietary (i.e. closed format) s<strong>of</strong>tware to enable independent<br />
access <strong>and</strong> to avoid issues such as breach <strong>of</strong> patent <strong>and</strong> payment <strong>of</strong> royalties. The use <strong>of</strong> open file<br />
formats will allow others to build tools capable <strong>of</strong> presenting or repurposing records preserved by the<br />
Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives.<br />
Submissi<strong>on</strong> by the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives <strong>of</strong> Australia 276<br />
275 http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/publicati<strong>on</strong>s/agls-element.aspx,<br />
http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/create-capture-describe/describe/agift/index.aspx <strong>and</strong><br />
http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/service-improvement-<strong>and</strong>-delivery/australian-governmentinformati<strong>on</strong>-interoperability-framework.html.<br />
276 Nati<strong>on</strong>al Archives <strong>of</strong> Australia, Submissi<strong>on</strong> to Towards <strong>Government</strong> <strong>2.0</strong>: An Issues Paper,<br />
http://gov2.net.au/submissi<strong>on</strong>s/.<br />
Engage: <str<strong>on</strong>g>Getting</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Government</strong> <strong>2.0</strong> | report <strong>of</strong> the government <strong>2.0</strong> taskforce<br />
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