National Archives Announces the First User Conference to Present the State and Objectives of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA)
Press Release · Thursday, October 3, 2002

Washington, DC

WHAT: The National Archives and Records Administration is planning to build a state-of-the-art Electronic Records Archives (ERA) to preserve the valuable electronic records of the Federal Government and make them available to future generations of Americans. The National Archives announced today that it is planning to conduct User Conferences to inform stakeholders and the public about the objectives and state of ERA.

WHEN: The User Conference will be held on Friday, November 8, 2002 at 9:00 AM. For further information and to register, please visit the NARA ERA web site: http://www.archives.gov/era/presentations/.

WHERE: The User Conference will be held at the National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

BACKGROUND: The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration is to ensure, for the citizen and the public servant, for the President and for the Congress and the courts, ready access to essential evidence that documents the rights of citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience. Increasingly, records are created and maintained in electronic formats. To continue to fulfill its mission, the National Archives is responding effectively to the challenge posed by the diversity, complexity, and enormous volume of electronic records being created today and the rapidly changing nature of the systems that are used to create them.

ERA is envisioned to be a comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving any kind of electronic record, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software. ERA, when operational, will make it easy for the National Archives customers to find records they want, and easy for the National Archives to deliver those records in formats suited to customers' needs.