[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 146 (Monday, July 29, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39373-39375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-19123]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

36 CFR Part 1228

RIN 3095-AA55


Transfer of Electronic Records to the National Archives

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would revise NARA regulations relating to 
the transfer of permanent electronic records to the National Archives. 
The proposed rule clarifies the timing of transfers and expands the 
forms of acceptable transfer media.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 27, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Regulation Comment Desk (PIRM-POL), 
Room 3200, Policy and Planning Division, National Archives and Records 
Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Allard at (301) 713-6730, 
extension 226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule directs agencies to 
transfer electronic records to the National Archives at the time 
specified in NARA-approved records schedules or sooner if the agency 
cannot properly care for the records. The transfer media, formerly 
limited to open reel magnetic tape or tape cartridges, now includes 
Compact-Disk, Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) provided that the files 
contained on the CD-ROM comply with the format and documentation 
specified in Sec. 1228.188. Open-reel 7-track tape reels recorded at 
800 bpi are no longer acceptable. In addition, the proposed section 
provides more specific transfer information for data files and 
databases and now includes information for transferring electronic 
textual documents and digital spatial data files. Finally, agencies are 
encouraged to transfer documentation in an electronic form.
    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action for the 
purposes of Executive Order 12866, and has not been reviewed by OMB. As 
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, it is hereby certified that 
this proposed rule will not have a significant impact on small 
entities. This proposed rule is not a major rule as defined in 5 U.S.C. 
Chapter 8, Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1228

    Archives and records, Computer technology, Incorporation by 
reference.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, NARA proposes to amend 
part 1228 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 1228--DISPOSITION OF FEDERAL RECORDS

    1. The authority citation for part 1228 continues to read:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, and 33.

    2. Section 1228.188 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1228.188  Electronic records.

    (a) Timing of transfers. Each agency is responsible for the 
integrity of the records it transfers to the National Archives. To 
ensure that permanently valuable electronic records are preserved, each 
Federal agency shall transfer electronic records to the National 
Archives promptly in accordance with the agency's records disposition 
schedule. Furthermore, if the agency cannot provide proper care and 
handling of the media (see part 1234 of this chapter), or if the media 
are becoming obsolete and the agency cannot migrate the records to 
newer media, the agency shall contact NARA to arrange for timely 
transfer of permanently valuable electronic records, even when sooner 
than provided in the records schedule.

[[Page 39374]]

    (b) Temporary retention of copy. Each agency shall retain a second 
copy of any permanently valuable electronic records that it transfers 
to the National Archives until it receives official notification from 
NARA that the transfer was successful and that NARA has assumed 
responsibility for continuing preservation of the records.
    (c) Transfer media. The agency shall use only media that is sound 
and free from defects for such transfers; the agency shall choose 
reasonable steps to meet this requirement. The media forms that are 
approved for transfer are open reel magnetic tape, magnetic tape 
cartridge, and Compact-Disk, Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), as described in 
paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section.
    (1) Magnetic tape. Agencies may transfer electronic records to the 
National Archives on magnetic tape using either open-reel magnetic tape 
or tape cartridges. Open-reel magnetic tape shall be on \1/2\ inch 9-
track tape reels recorded at 1600 or 6250 bpi that meet ANSI X3.39-
1992, American National Standard: Recorded Magnetic Tape for 
Information Interchange (1600 CPI, PE) or ANSI X3.54-1992, American 
National Standard: Recorded Magnetic Tape for Information Interchange 
(6250 CPI, Group Coded Recording), respectively. Tape cartridges shall 
be 18-track 3480-class cartridges recorded at 37,871 bpi that meet ANSI 
X3.180-1990, American National Standard: Magnetic Tape and Cartridge 
for Information Interchange--18-Track, Parallel, \1/2\ inch (12.65 mm), 
37871 cpi (1491 cpmm), Group-Coded--Requirements for Recording. The 
data shall be blocked at no more than 32,760 bytes per block. The 
standards cited in this paragraph are available from the American 
National Standards Institute, (ANSI), Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New 
York, NY 10036. They are also available for inspection at the Office of 
the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, 
Washington, D.C. This incorporation by reference was approved by the 
Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 
1 CFR part 51. These materials are incorporated by reference as they 
exist on the date of approval and a notice of any change in these 
materials will be published in the Federal Register.
    (2) Compact-Disk, Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). Agencies may use CD-
ROMs to transfer electronic records scheduled to be preserved in the 
National Archives. The files on such a CD-ROM must comply with the 
format and documentation requirements specified in paragraphs (d) and 
(e) of this section.
    (i) CD-ROMs used for this purpose must conform to the International 
Standards Organization (ISO) 9660 standard and to the American Standard 
Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) standard as defined in the 
Federal Information Processing Standard 1-2 (11/14/84). The standard is 
available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST), Bldg. 820, West Diamond Dr., Rm. 562, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. 
It is also available for inspection at the Office of the Federal 
Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 
This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the 
Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 
These materials are incorporated by reference as they exist on the date 
of approval and a notice of any change in these materials will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    (ii) Permanently valuable electronic records must be stored in 
discrete files. The CD-ROMs transferred may contain other files, such 
as software or temporary records, but all permanently valuable records 
must be in files that contain only permanent records.
    (iii) In some cases, permanently valuable electronic records that 
an agency disseminates on CD-ROM exist on other media, such as magnetic 
tape. In such cases, the agency and NARA will mutually agree on the 
most appropriate medium for transfer of the records to the National 
Archives.
    (d) Formats. The agency may not transfer to the National Archives 
electronic records that are in a format dependent on specific hardware 
and/or software. The records shall be written in ASCII or EBCDIC with 
all control characters and other non-data characters removed (except as 
specified in paragraphs (d) (1), (2) and (3) of this section). The 
records must not be compressed unless NARA has approved the transfer in 
the compressed form in advance. In such cases, NARA may require the 
agency to provide the software to decompress the records.
    (1) Data files and databases. Data files and databases shall be 
transferred to the National Archives as flat files or as rectangular 
tables; that is as two dimensional arrays, lists, or tables. All 
``records'' (within the context of the computer program, as opposed to 
a Federal record) or ``tuples,'' i.e., ordered collections of data 
items, within a file or table should have the same logical format. Each 
data element within a record should contain only one data value. A 
record should not contain nested repeating groups of data items. The 
file should not contain extraneous control characters, except record 
length indicators for variable length records, or marks delimiting a 
data element, field, record, or file. If records or data elements in 
different files need to be linked or combined, then each record must 
contain one or more data elements that constitute primary and/or 
foreign keys enabling valid linkages between the related records in 
separate files.
    (2) Textual documents. Electronic textual documents shall be 
transferred as plain ASCII files; however, such files may contain 
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) tags.
    (3) Digital spatial data files. Digital spatial data files shall be 
transferred to NARA in accordance with the Spatial Data Transfer 
Standard (SDTS) as defined in the Federal Information Processing 
Standard 173 which became mandatory in February 1994 and which is 
incorporated by reference. Digital geospatial data files created on 
systems procured prior to February 1994 which do not have a SDTS 
capability are exempt from this requirement. Agencies should consult 
with NARA for guidance on transferring noncompliant digital geospatial 
data files created between the effective date of FIPS 173 and the 
effective date of this revision. The standard cited in this paragraph 
is available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST), Bldg. 820, West Diamond Dr., Rm. 562, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. 
This standard is also available for inspection at the Office of the 
Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, 
DC. This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the 
Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 
These materials are incorporated by reference as they exist on the date 
of approval and a notice of any change in these materials will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    (4) Other categories of electronic records. Agencies should 
identify any foreseeable problems in the possible transfer of 
potentially permanent electronic records in accordance with paragraphs 
(d) (1), (2) and (3) of this section at the time the records are 
scheduled. Special transfer requirements agreed upon by NARA and the 
agency shall be included in the disposition instructions.
    (5) NARA consultation. The agency shall consult with NARA for 
guidance on the transfer of types of electronic records other than 
those prescribed in paragraphs (d) (1), (2) and (3) of this section.
    (e) Documentation. Documentation adequate to identify, service and 
interpret electronic records that have

[[Page 39375]]

been designated for preservation by NARA shall be transferred with the 
records. This documentation shall include completed NARA Form 14097, 
Technical Description for Transfer of Electronic Records, and a 
completed NARA Form 14028, Information System Description Form, or 
their equivalents. Where possible, agencies should submit required 
documentation in an electronic form that conforms to the provisions of 
this section.
    (1) Data files. Documentation for data files and data bases must 
include record layouts, data element definitions, and code translation 
tables (codebooks) for coded data. Data element definitions, codes used 
to represent data values and interpretations of these codes must match 
the actual format and codes as transferred.
    (2) Digital spatial data files. Digital spatial data files shall 
include the documentation specified in paragraph (e)(1) of this 
section. In addition, documentation for digital spatial data files may 
include metadata that conforms to the Federal Geographic Data 
Committee's Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata, as 
specified in Executive Order 12906 of April 11, 1994 (3 CFR, 1995 
Comp., p. 882).
    (3) Documents containing SGML tags. Documentation for electronic 
files containing textual documents with SGML tags shall include a table 
for interpreting the SGML tags, when appropriate.

    Dated: July 23, 1996.
John W. Carlin,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 96-19123 Filed 7-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P