The findings of the International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in
Electronic Systems Project (commonly known as the InterPARES Project), are
now available on the project's website at www.interpares.org.
The InterPARES Project began on January 1, 1999 and its first phase was
officially completed on December 31, 2001. It was a multidisciplinary,
collaborative research project, the goal of which was to develop the
theoretical and methodological knowledge required for the permanent
preservation of authentic electronic records.
The research team, directed by Luciana Duranti, chair of the Masters of
Archival Studies programme at the University of British Columbia, comprised
seven national and multinational teams organised in four task forces, with
participants from fourteen nations. Sixty co-investigators and numerous
affiliated researchers were involved in the project. The headquarters of
InterPARES was located in the School of Library, Archival and Information
Studies at the University of British Columbia. Major funding sources for
the project included the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, the University of British Columbia, the U.S. National Historical
Publications and Records Commission and the Italian National Research
Council and Central Office for Archival Properties.
The second phase of InterPARES, or InterPARES 2, began in January 2002 and
will be completed in December 2006. InterPARES 2 aims at developing a
theoretical understanding of the records generated by interactive, dynamic,
and experiential systems, of their process of creation, and of their present
and potential use in the artistic, scientific and government sectors. On the
basis of this understanding, the project will formulate methodologies for
ensuring that the records created using these systems can be trusted as to
their content (that is, are reliable and accurate) and as records (that is,
are authentic) while used by the creator; for selecting those that have to
be kept for legal, administrative, social or cultural reasons after they are
no longer needed by the creator; for preserving them in authentic form over
the long term; and for analyzing and evaluating advanced technologies for
the implementation of these methodologies in a way that respects cultural
diversity and pluralism. Additional information about InterPARES 2 is now
available on the InterPARES website.
Tahra Fung
Project Coordinator
InterPARES Project
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
University of British Columbia
730-1956 Main Mall
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1
Ph: (604)822-2694
Fx: (604)822-1200
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