North Carolina state government information : realities and possibilities

              A White Paper on the Status of
North Carolina Digital State Government Information
North Carolina State Government Information:
Realities and Possibilities
November 2003
Prepared by:
Kristin Martin, Digital State Documents Librarian
Jan Reagan, Head, Documents Branch
State Library of North Carolina
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
Prepared as part of The Access to State Government Information Initiative
Funded through a Library Services and Technology Act Statewide Leadership Grant
North Carolina State Government Information:
Realities and Possibilities
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 1
I. Access to State Government Information Initiative............................................................ 3
II. The Status of North Carolina State Government Information .......................................... 5
Publication vs. Record............................................................................................................ 5
New Formats and Presentations............................................................................................ 7
Born Digital vs. Digitized Information.................................................................................. 9
III. Changes in State Government Publishing Practices ......................................................... 11
Publication Formats.............................................................................................................. 11
Reasons for Change .............................................................................................................. 13
IV. New Challenges to Permanent Public Access..................................................................... 14
Current Information: Challenges to Access ....................................................................... 14
Historical Information: Challenges to Access and Preservation...................................... 17
Technical Barriers to Permanent Public Access ................................................................ 18
Non-Technical Barriers to Permanent Public Access........................................................ 21
Challenges within North Carolina State Government ...................................................... 23
V. Addressing the Challenges: Potential Solutions ................................................................ 25
Digital Preservation Approaches......................................................................................... 25
Preservation Initiatives: National Level ............................................................................. 26
Preservation Initiatives: State Level ................................................................................... 27
Access Initiatives: Federal and State................................................................................... 27
Conclusion: A Call for Action................................................................................................... 29
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 32
Appendix A: Content and Purpose of State Information .............................................. 35
Appendix B: Survey Tool ........................................................................................................... 36
Appendix C: Searches for State Government Information .................................................... 48
Appendix D: Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................ 51
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Executive Summary 1
Executive Summary
Access to public information is vital to any democracy. Government information keeps
citizens informed and enables them to participate in their government and hold it accountable.
State government information is no exception and, for this reason, the State of North Carolina
must ensure permanent public access to all state information regardless of format.
Currently, the State Library and the State Archives and Records Section in the North
Carolina Department of Cultural Resources are legally mandated by General Statute to preserve
printed state publications and government records for permanent public access. Traditional
definitions of “publication” and “record” in state government provide a clear distinction between
the two for purposes of public access, collection, management, and preservation of information.
New technologies that enable state agencies to produce and disseminate information directly
through the Internet now allow previously “unpublished” information to be included on
webpages for public access, thus blurring the distinction between “publication” and “record.” For
this reason, current definitions of “publication” and “record” may need to be reconsidered in
order for the state to effectively manage government information in digital formats.
In many cases, printed counterparts no longer exist for digital state information. State
publications and records existing solely in digital formats – born digital information – pose
challenges to the traditional systems within state government designed to collect, manage, and
preserve information for easy public access and long-term use. In order to address these
challenges, the State Library obtained an LSTA Statewide Leadership Grant in 2002 and
embarked on a three-year project to research digital information issues, gain a better
understanding of current publishing practices in state agencies, and develop solutions for
managing state information in digital formats. Led and staffed by the State Library, the Access to
State Government Information Initiative is a collaborative effort with the State Data Center, State
Archives and Records, and a core Work Group of primary stakeholders consisting of information
providers (state agency staff), information facilitators (librarians, archivists, records managers,
technology specialists, state data specialists), and end-users.
In 2002, project staff commenced the research phase of the Initiative. Staff conducted
literature and web searches for information regarding the collection, management, and
preservation of digital information as well as “best practices” in other countries, states, and the
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Executive Summary 2
federal government. As the agency responsible for ensuring public access to state publications,
the State Library focused its investigation on the changes taking place in the production and
dissemination of publications, rather than all state government information. Staff examined a
sample of 10 executive branch agency websites, reviewed nearly 2,000 agency publications in
print and digital formats, and conducted interviews with 76 state agency personnel representing
27 agencies to obtain this information.
The trend in state government is definitely to produce fewer printed publications and more
digital information via the Internet. Improvements in technology and state budget cuts are
driving this transition from print to digital and, as a result, born digital publications now
comprise approximately half of all publications produced by state agencies. For the most part,
agencies acknowledge the advantages of digital information and agree that, even if printing
budgets improve, print will no longer be the preferred format for publications.
Research shows that although there is a significant amount of state information on the Web,
finding it can be challenging. Standard search engines such as Google, have limited indexing
capabilities and may not “crawl” or search for state information in databases and dynamically
generated pages in the “invisible” or “deep” Web. Also, constant design changes and updating of
information on websites often leads to broken links and frustration for users. Making state
information easier to find through standard search engines and customized access tools must be a
goal for North Carolina state government.
The most troubling concern about digital government publications is whether historical
information will be available in the future. Criteria for removing publications from agency
websites range from content to server space considerations to terms of political office. No state
agencies have policies in place that address the issue of long-term preservation and, as a result,
public access to digital publications taken off the Internet is problematic. Possible solutions for
preserving and accessing historical digital publications offline may be some type of centralized
repository, or series of distributed repositories, searchable from a central location.
There are also a number of technical and non-technical barriers to permanent public access
that must be overcome. Digital information has a short life span for three technological reasons:
media degradation, hardware obsolescence, and software obsolescence. Digital storage media
degrades more quickly than paper and can quickly become unreadable. Software and hardware
platforms, necessary to translate digital information into a human-readable format, become
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Executive Summary 3
obsolete as new technology replaces older programs and storage devices. Beyond the technical
issues, other problems hinder efforts to preserve digital information. State librarians and
archivists have the interest and responsibility to preserve information, however, they lack the
resources needed to create and implement a digital preservation strategy. The principles of
librarianship and archival theory that guide these professionals in managing materials in tangible
formats also enable them to tackle the difficult issues of the digital world. The lack of experience
managing digital information makes it difficult, however, to convince policy makers and funding
sources to allocate resources toward the effort.
Unfortunately, there are currently no “best practices” to emulate and no definitive solutions
to implement. The complexities of digital information and the volatile nature of the technology
that generates it complicate the realization of solutions. Research is underway, however, in the
United States and around the world, to determine methods for providing permanent public access
to digital information. Different approaches to preservation, including migration and emulation
of digital information, are being considered. The Library of Congress is leading the National
Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, a project of nearly $100 million to
address the challenges of digital preservation. At the state level, about three-fifths of the states
have begun to address the need for permanent public access to digital government information.
Additionally, states and the federal government are addressing the need for improved access to
current government information through enhanced indexing and searching tools such as GILS,
the Government Information Locator Service.
The amount of digital state government information increases daily and the probability of it
disappearing is high. For this reason, North Carolina state government must act now to develop a
digital information strategy to prevent further loss of valuable publications and records.
Stakeholders must work together to start laying the groundwork for sustaining ongoing efforts to
realize workable solutions for ensuring the existence, availability, and usability of government
information over time, regardless of format. As the Library of Congress states, “action is needed
now, not some time in the future; and everyone—from creators to custodians—must contribute
to the solution and learn to operate fluently in a world of constant and unpredictable change.”
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Introduction 1
Introduction
State government information is valued and widely used by the constituents and citizens of
North Carolina who depend on accurate and reliable current and historical information and data.
A variety of users including students, educators, businesses, historians, farmers, legislators, local
government, journalists, and others seek information produced by state government and expect it
to be available for their use. State government produces information that touches upon nearly
every aspect of life in the state of North Carolina. Research indicates the scope of state
information is broad and the content and purpose varied, much like the array of constituencies
served by this information.
Current state government information is necessary for the proper functioning of North
Carolina society. It is needed to participate in society (e.g., obtain a driver’s license); properly
conduct business; provide services; and comply with state law. Historical information collected
by both the State Library and the State Archives and Records Section in the North Carolina
Department of Cultural Resources has enduring value and significance as a vital source of
evidence of government activities and decisions over time. It remains an important source of
corporate memory for the government and the people of North Carolina (Appendix A).
The State Library and the State Archives and Records are legally mandated to manage and
preserve printed state publications and government records, respectively, to ensure permanent
public access to this information. The Government Records Branch in the Archives and Records
Section sets retention schedules and collects and manages public records, transferring those
records of enduring value to the State Archives for permanent public access. The State Library
fulfills its duty through the North Carolina State Documents Depository System, which provides
for the collection, cataloging, and distribution of government publications to libraries across the
state and the State Library collection. The State Library serves as “the official, complete, and
permanent depository for all State publications.”1
Over the last six years, new technologies have enabled government agencies to publish and
distribute digital information directly via the Internet. More recently, budget cuts have forced
some state agencies to eliminate printed documents altogether. The result is a new breed of
1 North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 125-11.5-11.13: Libraries, Article 1A: “State Depository Library
System, 2002.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Introduction 2
information—born digital information—that poses challenges to the traditional systems within
state government designed to collect, manage, and preserve information for easy public access
and long-term use.
The State Library and the State Archives and Records Section have begun to address the
challenges of digital state government information by developing access tools for finding state
information on the Web and developing guidelines for indexing databases and maintaining and
preserving records of web-based activities. State agency participation and compliance with these
guidelines and recommendations, however, has been minimal and digital state information is in
jeopardy of being lost to the public. State government must concentrate its efforts and resources
towards realizing solutions for accessing and managing state information in all formats,
including born digital.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section I 3
I. Access to State Government Information Initiative
In 2002, the State Library obtained an LSTA Statewide Leadership Grant for year one of the
Access to State Government Information Initiative, to research issues and develop solutions for
managing state information in digital formats. 2 Led and staffed by the State Library, the
Initiative is a collaborative effort with the State Data Center, State Archives and Records, and a
core Work Group of primary stakeholders consisting of information providers (state agencies),
information facilitators (librarians, archivists, records managers, data specialists), and end-users.
Project staff, collaborators, and stakeholders will work together to assess options and reach
consensus on state government’s approach to identifying, collecting, preserving, and providing
continued access to state government information in all formats.
Phase I of the Initiative was devoted to research, the results of which provide the foundation
for this paper and the Initiative itself. A noted decline in the number of printed state publications
received in the North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse over the last six years (Table 1),
and the increase in information available on state agency webpages provided the impetus for the
State Library to propose this research phase. 3
Table 1: Titles Cataloged and Added to the State Documents Collection – 1997 vs. 2003
2 Library Services and Technology Act, 1997 provides federal funds through Statewide Leadership Grants, to
support state level, change-oriented initiatives that have broad, statewide impact.
3 The North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse, established in the State Library by G.S. 125-11, serves as the
conduit between state agencies and state depository libraries for the receipt, processing, and distribution of state
publications.
New Titles (printed documents) Cataloged and
Distributed through the North Carolina State
Documents Depository System
New Monographs and Serials Issues (printed
documents) Added to the North Carolina State
Documents Collection in the State Library (permanent
depository collection)
1997 819 1997 8,345
2002/03 413 2002/03 4,264
% change (est. 6 yrs.) 50 % fewer titles % change (est. 6 yrs.) 51 % fewer titles
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section I 4
Project staff conducted literature and web searches for information regarding the collection,
management, and preservation of digital information as well as “best practices” in other
countries, states, and the federal government. Staff conducted interviews with 76 state agency
personnel representing 27 agencies to obtain information regarding publishing practices and
trends within state agencies. (Appendix B: Survey Tool). Agency personnel were able to provide
only “best guess” estimates to quantitative survey questions, as no authoritative data exists
regarding publishing practices and methods. In order to verify and fortify the data estimates
collected in the interviews, project staff examined a sample of 10 executive branch agency
websites and reviewed nearly 2,000 agency publications in print and digital formats. Using data
from the various research components, staff were able to approximate percentages for publishing
practices, formats, methods and the like. It is important to note, however, these approximate
numbers suffice only to indicate trends and do not represent definitive data.
As mentioned earlier, the State Library is the agency responsible for ensuring public access
to state publications. For this reason, the Phase I project research focused on the changes taking
place in the production and dissemination of state publications, rather than all state government
information. Staff met and worked with State Archives and Records staff to gain perspective on
the current status of state records and insight into agency perspectives on the management of
digital information.
During the course of the research, it became apparent that not only are printed publications
shifting to digital formats, but also new formats and presentation options brought forth by the
Internet are blurring the traditional distinctions between publications and records. New
technologies allow state agencies to disseminate and provide access to information in ways that
were not considered practical or even possible in printed and other tangible formats.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 5
II. The Status of North Carolina State Government Information
Publication vs. Record
Traditional definitions of “publication” and “record” in state government provide a clear
distinction between the two for purposes of public access, collection, management, and
preservation of this information. New digital presentations, however, challenge the State’s
traditional programs for collecting, managing, and preserving state publications and records.
Because of this, current definitions of “publication” and “record” may need to be reconsidered in
order for the state to effectively manage government information in digital formats.
Traditionally, librarians manage government publications produced for public dissemination,
while archivists and records managers handle “unpublished” government records. Digital
publishing now allows agencies to easily include previously “unpublished” information on
webpages for public access, thus blurring the distinction between “publication” and “record.” In
some cases, it is unclear which agency, the State Library or the State Archives and Records, is
now responsible for ensuring the continued existence of this information.
Widely used and accepted dictionary definitions of “publication” and “record” refer to both
as printed or written works or materials. For example, The American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language defines a “publication” as “an issue of printed material offered for sale or
distribution” and a “record” as “an account, as of information or facts, set down especially in
writing as a means of preserving knowledge.”4
Definitions for “publication” in the North Carolina General Statutes limit the scope to printed
materials only. North Carolina General Statute 125-11 defines a "state publication" as “any
document prepared by a State agency or private organization, consultant, or research firm, under
contract with or under the supervision of a State agency.” The same statute defines a “document”
as “any printed document including any report, directory, statistical compendium, bibliography,
map, regulation, newsletter, pamphlet, brochure, periodical, bulletin, compilation, or register,
regardless of whether the printed document is in paper, film, tape, disk, or any other format.”5
All such publications are currently collected and managed by the State Library for public access.
4 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000).
5 North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 125-11.5-11.13.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 6
There are currently no provisions or definitions in G.S. 125-11 for collecting and managing
documents not published in printed formats.
The definition provided for “public record,” in North Carolina General Statute 132-1, is
somewhat broader: “all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound
recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data processing records, artifacts, or other
documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant
to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.”6
State Archives and Records specifically addresses the issue of digital records in The North
Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology
Systems, published in April 2000. The Guidelines define “electronic records” as records
“requiring the aid of electronic technology to make the record readable or otherwise
comprehensible by ordinary human sensory capabilities.”7 While State Archives and Records
have been researching methods to collect and preserve digital records, most of their
recommendations have been issued in the form of guidelines. Retention schedules still require
printed copies for records of enduring value.
Webpages perhaps present the greatest challenge to the traditional definition of “publication”
and the state’s systems for preserving and ensuring access to government information. Webpages
are technically “published” when broadcast over the Internet, but often contain information
traditionally considered to be a record. In addition, webpages often lack clearly defined
boundaries, making it difficult to collect, manage, and preserve this digital information for long-term
public access. For instance, does each page constitute a separate document? Or, is each file
or image a separate document? What is the relationship between the various pages? Should PDF
files within a site be treated as publications, while the rest of the website is treated as a record?
Web-enabled databases also pose challenges to traditional means for collecting and
preserving state information. Currently, State Archives and Records considers stand-alone
databases produced and maintained by state agencies to be public records. Web-enabled
databases, however, allow users to extract specific information from agency databases according
to selected criteria and produce reports for downloading or printing. Users can also seamlessly
6 North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 132: Public Records, 2002.
7 Division of Archives and History, "North Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by
Information Technology Systems," (Raleigh: Department of Cultural Resources, 2000), 1,
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/e-records/manrecrd/manrecrd.htm (accessed November 12, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 7
link to websites outside the pages created by the database. Data within the database is now
merely one of the components of a more complex presentation of government information that
has yet to be defined as a publication or a record for collection, management, and preservation
purposes.
Librarians, archivists, and records managers in state government must work together to
reconsider and redefine what constitutes a publication vs. a record for purposes of retention and
preservation. Fortunately, a decision about how to view or define digital government
publications and records need not be determined prior to investigating possible solutions for
managing digital information. This issue, however, is one that should be addressed by the Access
to State Government Information Initiative.
New Formats and Presentations
Today, state government produces and disseminates information in tangible and intangible
formats. Tangible formats have physical presence and form, such as printed documents, printed
and written records, photographs, videotapes, and CD-ROMs. Intangible formats, on the other
hand, have no physical presence and form and may include information originating and existing
in cyberspace, web-enabled databases, digital documents, and e-mail messages. Libraries and
archives currently maintain systems for collecting, managing, and preserving state government
information in tangible formats; however, information in intangible formats poses challenges to
these systems. For this reason, information formats must now be considered when describing and
defining publications and records for purposes of collection, management, and preservation.
The presentation of information as a discrete entity or an integrated part of a greater whole is
also a critical component in describing and defining state publications and records. Information
can exist as a discrete document or record that has meaning and value on its own, such as a book,
journal issue, a digital document in PDF format, or a database that contains and relies upon a
defined set of data. Discrete presentations may also be self-sustaining, clearly defined parts of
something larger, such as a monograph on a specific topic within a general topic series (e.g., the
Department of Labor individual farm safety pamphlets published as part of the series, On the
Farm: Health and Safety Tips). Traditional library cataloging, which focuses on describing the
object at hand, works well for discrete presentations, since items can be easily identified and
described without extensive reference to external information sources.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 8
Information can also exist as an integrated part of an intricately connected whole, composed
of related parts which derive additional meaning and value from the whole. Integrated
information is “linked” to other resources and derives meaning and value from its relationship
with these other resources. It usually does not stand alone and may require artificial boundaries
to be imposed upon it. Integrated presentations may include webpages with numerous links or
databases accessible through web-based search interfaces. In a tangible format, individual letters
in a series of correspondence that rely upon other letters in the series for meaning qualify as
integrated documents. Archivists, when describing such collections, rely upon the principles of
original order, provenance, and series-level description. An understanding of the order, the
collector, and the information contained within the collection as a whole provides more value
than individual descriptions of each letter or item in the collection.
Integrated presentations of information in intangible formats, particularly webpages, add
another level of complexity for description and preservation because of the difficulty in
determining boundaries and the interweaving of discrete objects within an integrated
presentation. Peter Lyman, professor at the School of Information Management & Systems,
University of California, Berkeley, aptly describes the current situation in his observation that
“the librarian tends to look at the content of a webpage as the object to be described and
preserved. The computer scientist tends to look at the Web as a technology for linking
information—a system of relationships (hence the name ‘Web’).”8 For this reason, librarians,
archivists, and records managers must work together to assess integrated information and
determine how it can be incorporated into the state’s solutions for preservation and continued
access to government information.
8 Peter Lyman, "Archiving the World Wide Web," in Building a National Strategy for Preservation: Issues in
Digital Media Archiving, ed. Amy Friedlander (Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources
and the Library of Congress, 2002), 47, http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub106abst.html (accessed November 13,
2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 9
Table 2: Formats and Presentations Examples
Tangible Intangible
Discrete • Printed reports/books
• Videos
• CD-ROMs
• Printed journals
• PDF reports/books
• Stand-alone databases
• PDF journals
Integrated • Printed letters in a series of
correspondence
• Volumes of an encyclopedia
• Hypertext webpages
• Web-enabled databases
• Email
Born Digital vs. Digitized Information
Born digital information is information published and distributed in intangible formats via
the Internet for which there is no tangible counterpart (e.g., printed paper documents, microform,
or videotape). Born digital state information may include reports, magazines, newsletters,
webpages, and datasets published, disseminated, and accessed only through the Internet.
Digitized information, on the other hand, is information converted from analog (i.e., printed,
tangible formats) to digital formats for dissemination and access via the Internet. For instance,
libraries and archives are now scanning older documents, newspapers, and manuscripts to create
digital versions available through the Internet. Unlike born digital materials, digitized materials
have tangible counterparts that can be managed and preserved. The digital copy is often created
to enhance access.9
The distinction between “born digital” and “digitized” becomes blurred when, for example,
historic footage or older information becomes part of a new digital project.10 Does the “digital
project” constitute a new and distinct “born digital publication” to be collected, managed, and
preserved as it is? Or, do the parts of the project, each collected, managed, and preserved in their
original tangible format, suffice for long-term access? An even finer distinction can be drawn
9 This paper normally uses the term “digital” to describe information in binary code that requires a computer (or
other machine) to translate into a human-readable form. “Electronic” encompasses all information that requires
technological intervention to be read, which includes some analog formats, such as audiotape. We are specifically
concerned with digital information, so the term “digital” is preferred over “electronic,” though the two are close
enough in meaning that they may be used interchangeably.
10 Building a National Strategy for Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving, ed. Amy Friedlander
(Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources and the Library of Congress, 2002), 2,
http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub106abst.html (accessed November 13, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section II 10
between intangible, born-digital information disseminated solely through the Internet and born-digital
information disseminated through the Internet that is also transferred to a tangible, analog
format (e.g., print) for distribution. Should the state be concerned with collecting and preserving
the born digital version as well as the printed version of this information?
The State Library and the State Archives and Records are particularly interested in finding
ways to identify, collect, and manage born digital information for which there is no tangible,
printed counterpart. Determining which information on agency websites is born digital and
which is digitized, however, may be difficult. In talking with agency personnel, project staff tried
to make the distinction between born digital information and digital information that also exists
in printed format. Agency personnel, for the most part, have difficulty distinguishing born digital
information from all other digital information on agency websites. As a result, it may not be
feasible to single out born digital information for access and preservation solutions. Instead,
developing solutions for managing all state government information in digital formats for long
term access may be more reasonable.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section III 11
III. Changes in State Government Publishing Practices
Research findings from Phase I of the Initiative regarding publishing practices and trends
within North Carolina state agencies (see Section I) confirm that state agency publishing is
changing and the trend is to produce fewer documents in print and more in digital formats
available through the Internet. The information gathered in Phase I serves as the basis for this
Section as well as Sections IV and V of this paper.
As previously mentioned, research into state agency publishing practices involved reviewing
the State Library’s state documents collection, examining state agency websites, and
interviewing state agency personnel involved in publishing and information dissemination.
Results from the various components of the research afforded project staff a good perspective on
the state of agency publishing as well as insight into the “workings” of state government. Staff
also identified opportunities and barriers in state government that could impact the development
and implementation of solutions for permanent public access to state information.
Publication Formats
Using data collected through website examinations, publication reviews, and agency
interviews, staff were able to approximate the percentage of state government information being
produced and disseminated in printed formats, digital formats, or both. Overall, born digital
publications make up approximately half of all publications, while publications solely in paper
(or other tangible physical format) make up less than a quarter of those produced by state
agencies in 2003. (Figure 1)
Agencies predict the amount of born digital publications will continue to rise. One third of
state agencies interviewed predict that in 5 years, 90 % or more of their publications will be
produced and disseminated in digital format only. The remaining two-thirds, while predicting an
increase in digital-only information, also predict publishing a sizable percentage of publications
in multiple formats (e.g., paper and digital).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section III 12
Figure 1: Publication Formats: 2003
Paper/Digital
29%
Digital Only
51%
Paper/Other Physical
Format
20%
Agencies are currently providing direct access to databases of information through web
interfaces and creating dynamically generated webpages.11 Nearly two-thirds of state agencies
interviewed indicate they provide access to statistical and directory-type information through
web-enabled databases. Examples of statistical information available via web-enabled databases
include soil analysis, air quality information, plant and wildlife sightings, mortality rates, and
employment and criminal statistics. These databases allow users to manipulate data and create
customized reports in a way that cannot be replicated in paper publications. This small but
significant collection of government information databases may well prove the hardest type of
resource for which permanent public access can be provided.
11 Dynamically generated webpages, as opposed to static webpages, are created on-the-fly, usually from different
components in a database that have been called together by a user command. These pages create difficulties for
search engines indexing pages, since dynamic pages do not exist until they are called upon, and may change quite
frequently as the underlying data is updated.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section III 13
Reasons for Change
The two main forces driving the transition from paper to digital publications are
improvements in digital technology and state budget cuts for agency printing. Some agencies
have been specifically mandated by the General Assembly to produce and disseminate
information through the Internet instead of printing paper documents. 12 All agencies, however,
are feeling the pinch of tight budgets, which often results in a reduction in print publications.
While agencies are unhappy about the size of budget cuts, most feel the advantages of digital
publishing go beyond cost savings. Among the advantages are ease of distribution and access,
efficient updating of information, manipulation of data, and an expanded audience. A
representative from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services describes how
the Web has actually changed the type of publications the agency produces: “A decade ago we
didn’t do many fact sheets, instead relying on longer form publications like reports or brochures.
We have found that fact sheets are easy to do and easy for people to understand. They also can
be updated more readily than a 30-page publication … For instance, during the recent SARS
activity, we had to update fact sheets almost hourly, as new details became available.”
Additionally, as the Web has become ubiquitous, agencies’ target audiences have demanded that
information be presented on the Web.
While most agencies believe they would print more items if they had the money, they feel
digital dissemination provides too many advantages to be scaled back or abandoned. Responses
indicate, however, that certain publications would remain in print, or exist in both print and
digital formats. These publications would be geared toward audiences that lack ready access to
computers or are uncomfortable using new technologies, or publications better suited and more
easily used in paper format, such as maps or calendars. Most agencies agree that using print as
the sole format for publications is not the preferred route for the future. They continue to strive,
however, to serve traditional audiences for their publications as well as new audiences gained
through the Internet.
12 Session Law 2002-424 Section 14.1 specifically targets the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Lieutenant
Governor, the Department of Administration, the Office of the State Auditor, the Office of State Budget and
Management, the Board of Elections, the Department of Insurance, the Office of the Secretary of State, the Office of
State Treasurer, the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Office of the State Controller, the Department of Cultural
Resources, the General Assembly, the Office of State Personnel, the Department of Revenue, and the Rules Review
Commission. Available at: http://www.ncleg.net/SessionLaws/HTML/2001-2002/SL2001-424.html.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 14
IV. New Challenges to Permanent Public Access
“Permanent public access,” according to the American Association of Law Libraries, is “the
process by which applicable government information is preserved for current, continuous, and
future public access.”13 The North Carolina State Documents Depository System, administered
by the State Library, and programs in State Archives and Records fulfill this goal for printed
state publications and records. These programs are not structured or staffed at this time to
accommodate born-digital information. For the present, state agencies and other producers of
state publications are responsible for maintaining permanent public access; however, project
research results reveal that agency staff lack the time and resources to consider long-term access
to publications by users other than their immediate target audience. Maintaining print-only
dissemination of information is no longer a reasonable option because of the advantages offered
by digital information formats and presentations. Additionally many types of digital publications
cannot be accurately replicated in printed formats. For these reasons, other solutions must be
found for ensuring permanent public access to state government information.
Current Information: Challenges to Access
State agencies appreciate the value of up-to-date information on websites and constantly
review and update information on their pages. Trends in state agency website management
revealed in the research include growth in digital information, modifications to website format,
increased multimedia and e-commerce transactional features, and more dynamically generated
pages. Over one-third of the agencies interviewed indicate their websites will be undergoing a
complete redesign within the next year. As a rule, agencies do not proactively alert users about
new digital publications as they are published. The Office of the State Auditor is the only agency
interviewed that has a comprehensive notification system in place. The constantly changing
nature of government websites contributes to the difficulty of providing easy access to
information, both now and in the future.
13 Richard J. Matthews et al., State-by-State Report on Permanent Public Access to Electronic Government
Information (Chicago, IL: American Association of Law Libraries, 2003), 8,
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/State_PPAreport.htm (accessed November 17, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 15
Finding state government information on the Web can be very difficult. Within standard
search engines, such as Google or Teoma, government publications are easily lost in the sea of
information. As of 2000, the Web was estimated to contain over 4 billion public pages and 550
billion pages in the “invisible” Web, with 7 million new pages added daily.14 The invisible Web,
also called the “deep” Web, consists of sites that are not crawled by search engine spiders,
usually because pages are dynamically generated from databases.15 Standard search engines
have limited indexing capability for dynamically generated pages. Their crawlers avoid indexing
URLs with question marks and can be stymied by textboxes requiring input. NC@Your Service,
the state portal for North Carolina, serves as a gateway to the branches and departments of state
government; however, it is difficult to find specific state information through the portal without
some knowledge of state government organization and hierarchy.16
Looking solely at static pages, the state of North Carolina’s web presence is estimated at 49.6
gigabytes of information and 457,000 files.17 Already, this is a formidable amount of information
to search. Project research shows the amount of dynamically generated information available on
North Carolina state agency websites will only continue to grow, making it more difficult to find
information using standard search engines. Currently, in order to access statistical data or other
information in databases, users must know of the existence of a database containing the specific
data of interest and where it resides within state government webpages. North Carolina Public
Records Law, G.S. 132-6.1, requires agencies to index databases to ensure they can be easily
discovered.18 Of the 25 agencies that report to have web-enabled databases, only three (12 %)
report that databases are indexed according to the Guidelines issued by State Archives and
Records.19
14 Lyman, "Archiving the World Wide Web," 38.
15 Invisible Web: What It Is, Why It Exists, How to Find It, and Its Inherent Ambiguity (University of California,
Berkeley, August 28 2003), http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/InvisibleWeb.html (accessed
September 23, 2003).
16 The state portal for North Carolina is NC@Your Service Portal – the Official Website of the State of North
Carolina. See website at: http://www.ncgov.com.
17 Crawl of North Carolina websites, September 2003, using Preserving Electronic Publications software developed
by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The full results of the web crawl are available at:
http://pep.library.uiuc.edu/NC_LatestStats20030909.html.
18 North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 132.
19State Public Records Services, "Public Database Indexing: Guidelines and Recommendations," Release 1.1
(Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, 1996), http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/e-records/pubdata/default.htm
(accessed November 20, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 16
Making state information easier to find through standard search engines and customized
access tools must be a goal for North Carolina state government. A study by IDC, an information
technology consulting firm, suggests that half of all online searches conducted by knowledge
workers are unsuccessful, potentially costing a company employing 1,000 knowledge workers
$2.5 million a year for wasted time. Additional costs of up to $5 million annually may be
accrued if workers spend time reworking existing information or duplicating efforts when
information cannot be found.20 As a test, Initiative project staff conducted a series of five
searches for government publications from different state agencies in October 2003 (Appendix
C). Some of the searches were for dynamically generated information, others for information on
static pages. Using Google and the State Portal’s search engine, searches were only successful
part of the time. Information from databases did not appear in the results of either search engine;
state government pages did not appear in some Google searches; and search terms with multiple
meanings confused both Google and the State Portal’s search engine, resulting in irrelevant hits.
Broken links make finding government information difficult as well. Larry Jackson, a
researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, notes that web-authoring is
concerned with style and “look-and-feel,” leading to frequent changes and updates on webpages,
while “terms like ‘government documents’ convey, at least to the layman, an expectation of
formality, official content, and permanence.”21 A study of British government websites
discovered that 25 % change their URL each year.22 The profusion of website tweaks, overhauls
and URL changes common in state government pages, while providing a fresh look and
incorporating new technologies, contribute to broken links and user disorientation. The problem
is not unique to government information. Even with respected science and medical journals, 13%
of the links referencing Internet sources in articles published between 2000 and 2003 no longer
connect to the intended resource.23 Better access tools are needed to assist users in finding
information that has been moved or rearranged on websites.
20 Susan Feldman and Chris Sherman, "The High Cost of Not Finding Information: An IDC White Paper," (IDC,
2001), 7-9,
http://monkey.biz/Content/Default/Support/Resources/IDC_TheHighCostOfNotFindingInformation_1510.pdf
(accessed September 12, 2003).
21 Larry S. Jackson, "Statistical Profiles of Web and Metadata Usage by Two U.S. State Governments," in GSLIS
Technical Report ISRN UIUCLIS--2002/6+EARCH (Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, 2002), http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/pep/papers/UIUCLIS_2002_6_EARCH/ (accessed May 21, 2003).
22 Rick Weiss, "On the Web, Research Work Proves Ephemeral," Washington Post, November 24 2003, A08,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8730-2003Nov23.html (accessed November 25, 2003).
23 Robert P. Dellavalle et al., "Going, Going Gone: Lost Internet References," Science 302, no. 5646 (2003): 788.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 17
By the same token, older websites are not always updated as frequently as they should be,
causing confusion for users. For example, an agency may remove links to older pages, but leave
the pages up on the web servers. A Google search may retrieve the older pages or “floating
webpages.” Site overhauls may not remove these old, outdated pages, thus creating the
possibility of searchers retrieving two websites covering the same material with no indication
that one is obsolete. When project staff examined agency websites, they discovered smaller
offices and sometimes entire agencies often fail to maintain pages, as evidenced by outdated
information and broken external links. The challenge of identifying the date and currency of
information on websites leads to additional user confusion. While preserving historical websites
is an important goal of the Initiative, current and non-current pages must be correctly identified
so that users can quickly verify the currency of the information.
Historical Information: Challenges to Access and Preservation
Perhaps the most troubling concern about digital government publications is whether
historical digital information will be available in the future. When project staff reviewed 333
currently produced serials from ten agency websites, back issues for 165 titles, or 50 % of the
digital serials, were available online. Most agencies report maintaining or planning to maintain
back issues of digital serials online, though many are not sure how long issues will remain
available. Criteria for determining the length of time information stays online include content or
subject of the publication, space consideration on the page or server, and terms of political office.
Because the production of online serials is a fairly recent occurrence in state government, loss of
valuable historical information is not yet too great, but the state must move swiftly, however, as
digital publications begin to age and more back issues disappear from the Web.
Agencies tend to view monographs as more transient than serials, particularly as new editions
replace outdated information. Over half the agencies report the length of time a monograph is
available through the Web varies according to content and availability of newer editions. Almost
three-fourths claim to remove older editions when a new edition becomes available for fear of
confusion when information is superceded, outdated, or changed.
Access to historical publications taken offline presents yet another challenge. While state
agencies indicate they are receptive to the public requesting to view digitally stored information
(in fact, as several pointed out, they must comply with requests as per the North Carolina Public
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 18
Records Law), there has been little effort to facilitate public access to this information. Almost
no agencies maintain an index of digital publications stored offline. Agencies familiar with the
North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse indicate that they rely on the State Library for
the historical record. This, of course, is only relevant for publications that still exist in print as
well as digital formats. As a result, some type of centralized repository, or series of distributed
repositories, searchable from a central location, may be necessary for historical digital
information to truly be accessible.
Technical Barriers to Permanent Public Access
Agencies use a variety of file formats for digital publications with PDF and HTML as the
most common formats for Internet publishing. Agencies also produce information in the
following formats: RTF, GIF, Microsoft PowerPoint, Real Media Player, shape files,
compressed/zipped files, audio files in WAV format, SQL and PHP (for databases), FileMaker
Pro, MPEG for video, MS Access, and Windows Media Player (Figure 2). Just over one fourth
of the agencies interviewed have a policy that provides guidelines for web design (i.e.,
requirements for style, metatags, and accessibility). In general, decisions about digital formats
are left up to the person posting the information to the page, regardless of role (e.g., publication
author or creator, graphic designer, or webmaster). The variety of file formats, many of them
proprietary, and lack of standards make preservation efforts more difficult.
Approximately 50% of agencies claim they store or would store older serials issues once they
are removed from the Web. For monographs, only 30% of agencies store older editions. In some
cases, agency personnel have little knowledge of how agency information technology staff
handles older digital documents and, by default, assume items are being stored. Methods of
storing older publications taken offline are haphazard, with few concrete policies or standards
guiding the process. Storage of offline publications might be on individual hard drives, network
servers, optical disk, magnetic disk, or magnetic tape.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 19
Figure 2: File Formats of Digital State Publications
66%
35%
7%
4% 4% 3% 2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
PDF HTML/XML MS PowerPoint Other MS Word Real Player ASCII
None of the agencies interviewed have policies to address the issue of long-term
preservation. Some, though, have considered short-term offline storage plans. For example, the
Office of the State Auditor intends to keep its audit reports available on the Web for five years.
They have not yet formulated a plan beyond this point and hope the State Library can assist in
long-term preservation and access to the reports. Other agencies, like the North Carolina
Department of Labor, store older digital publications in their design format, more for reprint
purposes than for long-term preservation.
Of consequence to the long-term record and functioning of state government is the
preservation of digital information. According to Abby Smith, director of the Council on Library
and Information Resources, inadequate preservation is “the greatest risk to present and future
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 20
access to digital information.”24 Digital information suffers from a short lifespan for three
technological reasons: media degradation, hardware obsolescence, and software obsolescence.
In the end, digital information is nothing more than a series of 1s and 0s. There is nothing for
the naked eye to see and no way to interpret the set of numbers into meaningful information
without the intervention of a machine. Media on which digital information is stored degrades
over time much more quickly than paper. Magnetic media and optical disks suffer from “bit rot,”
– they lose some of the 1s and 0s stored on their surfaces. At first, the computer can compensate
for the loss by filling in the missing pieces, but eventually the loss becomes too great and the
information contained within is gone. Paul Conway, director of Information Technology
Services at Duke University Library, describes this as “The Dilemma of Modern Media”—as
information density for storage formats grows, the life expectancy of the media on which the
information is stored decreases.25 Consider the permanence of clay tablets, but imagine the
volume of trying to store a DVD’s worth of information on them, let alone the problems of
losing the moving picture and having to transcribe the sound.
Usually, even before the media can degrade, hardware obsolescence renders reading digital
information impossible. Most computers can no longer read 8-inch and 5 ¼ inch floppy disks
because they no longer have a drive that accommodates them. 3 ½ inch diskettes are rapidly
going the same route toward obsolescence. DVDs may soon replace CDs. In addition to issues
with storage medium, there are problems with software used to create information. Software is
upgraded or changed completely, rendering information created in older programs unreadable.
Because software is usually proprietary, the code to determine how the software reads
information becomes lost as companies go out of business or upgrade their products. Presently,
Microsoft is a dominant player in the software environment, but there are no guarantees
Microsoft will exist in perpetuity. There is also no assurance that newer software versions will be
able to translate information from older programs. Operating systems have also evolved, making
documents created on a Commodore 64, once the most popular computer in the United States,
unreadable by Windows XP.
24 Abby Smith, "Digital Preservation: An Individual Responsibility for Communal Scholarship," EDUCAUSE
Review, May/June 2003, 10, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0338.pdf (accessed September 17, 2003).
25 Paul Conway, "Preservation in the Digital World," (Council on Library and Information Resources, 1996),
http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub62.html (accessed September 24, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 21
In sum, information in paper format, or other format that can be viewed by the human eye
(even aided with a magnifying glass), can suffer from benign neglect and still be recovered after
decades of disuse. Digital information, on the other hand, requires constant attention or it
becomes unrecoverable.
An excellent example of the perils of digital publication is the BBC Domesday Project
videodiscs. The project was inspired by a census of England taken by William the Conqueror in
1086, known as the Domesday Books, which today reside in the National Archives. The BBC
decided to undertake a similar census in 1986, resulting in two multimedia disks containing
maps, photographs, video, and text collected from across the United Kingdom. By 2001, there
was only one computer in the National Archives that could still read the disks and the hardware
had become fragile. Through heroic preservation efforts the information was saved, but it took
16 months of dedicated effort.26 Such expensive and time-consuming preservation efforts are not
feasible for preserving the entire body of digital government information produced by North
Carolina state government. Instead, plans must be made now to appraise the value of state
information and determine the state’s approach to implementing digital preservation solutions.
Non-Technical Barriers to Permanent Public Access
Beyond the technical issues, other problems hinder efforts to preserve digital information. As
Peter Lyman points out, “The Web is not stored in attics; it just disappears”.27 The average
lifespan of a webpage is just 44 days, with only 44 % of webpages found in 1998 still available a
year later. Libraries and other memory institutions, which traditionally have owned the physical
objects that contain information, instead now provide access to information resources in remote
locations. Because the Web is so distributed, no one really feels responsible for its care. Most
individuals creating information lack the economic incentives, technical expertise, or the time to
preserve their creations. The Web and government information are a public good. Even though
26 Jeffrey Darlington, Andy Finney, and Adrian Pearce, "Domesday Redux: The Rescue of the BBC Domesday
Project Videodiscs," Ariadne, no. 36 (2003), http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue36/tna (accessed August 5, 2003).
27 Lyman, "Archiving the World Wide Web," 39.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 22
everyone benefits from its preservation, no single institution or individual feels responsible for
the task, instead hoping that someone else may be willing to take on the challenge.28
While archives and libraries have the interest to preserve information, they may be lacking
the resources to create a digital preservation strategy. The magnitude of the problem can stymie
attempts because it is difficult to determine the proper starting point, know what technical
expertise will be needed, find trusted tools to aid in the process, and determine costs. Even when
there is a clear mandate to preserve information, the lack of previous knowledge and experience
with digital information makes it difficult to convince policy makers and funding sources of the
need to allocate resources toward the effort.
The cost of the potential loss of data is also hard to quantify and can take a back seat when
pitted against more pressing issues. For example, the United State National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) developed the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) program in
an attempt to improve the storage and preservation of electronic records. The General
Accounting Office issued a report with concerns that the project’s capabilities are not fully
established and that “NARA is unable to objectively track the cost and schedule of the ERA
project.”29 As a result, the Senate Appropriations Committee deferred the ERA’s funding for this
year over worries that the money would not be wisely spent.30 Similar concerns about
overspending and uncertain savings for technology infrastructure for the FBI and the Office of
Personnel Management, however, have not resulted in the withdrawal of funds.31
28 Brian F. Lavoie, "The Incentives to Preserve Digital Matierals: Roles Scenarios, and Economic Decision-
Making," (Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, INC, 2003), 28-31,
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/digipres/incentives-dp.pdf (accessed July 1, 2003).
29 Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census, Committee on
Government Reform, Electronic Records: Management and Preservation Pose Challenges, July 8 2003, 4,
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03936t.pdf (accessed 2003, November 13).
30 Ted Leventhal, "Senate Panel Seeks to Move Funds for E-Archives to Amtrak," National Journal's Technology
Daily, September 10 2003.
31 Stephen Barr, "Savings Uncertain from Electronic Tracking of Employees," Washington Post, September 24
2003, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A55367-
2003Sep23&notFound=true (accessed November 21, 2003), Larry Barrett, "FBI: Under the Gun," Baseline,
September 10 2003, http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,3959,1261145,00.asp (accessed November 21, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 23
Challenges within North Carolina State Government
Many of the challenges to permanent public access mentioned here exist in North Carolina as
well. Again, while state agencies are concerned with making sure their constituents receive the
current information they need, their focus is not on maintaining historical information or trying
to broaden their audience for current information. Budget cuts and staff reductions, along with
increased demand for more information online, have stretched agency resources as far as they
can go, without adding the additional responsibility of providing permanent public access to their
information. While agencies handling statistical data, like the Employment Security
Commission, tend to be more conscious of the value of historical data, agency public information
officers (PIOs) generally view preservation of historical information to be a low priority or out of
the scope of their job responsibilities.
One agency PIO commented, “I think that one thing the State Library is going to have to
come to grips with is the fluid nature of digital publishing. What our web site says one day may
be different the next, and we don’t always archive out-of-date material. The kind of historical
record that has existed in the form of printed documents won’t be as readily available in the
world of digital publishing.” Another admitted feeling overwhelmed with trying to keep on top
of current information, and commented, “It would be wonderful if the State Library could take
care of older publications.” While the first PIO is correct in saying the State Library will not be
able to retain everything, the second one’s plea indicates the State Library may be in the best
position to attempt to preserve government information. Relying on state agencies to be
responsible for the historical record with no additional support will most surely result in losses of
valuable digital state information.
The State Library, however, cannot simply take over the preservation and access of digital
state information without the cooperation of the agencies producing the information. While
North Carolina publishing practices have never been tightly centralized, the growth of born
digital publishing has created even more decentralized publishing practices. Less than a third of
agencies report having a centralized publication and distribution system, many mentioning that
the ease of posting to the Web has contributed to the lack of centralization. Individual divisions
and sections within agencies have a lot of autonomy to produce publications as they see fit,
giving them flexibility to respond to their target audiences. This, however, also leads to the lack
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section IV 24
of standards for formats, adding to the difficulty of preserving historical information. The
proliferation of formats increases the possibility that information will be lost as software
becomes obsolete.
The challenges of preservation and access may be better addressed using specialized staff
and pooled resources. The results of this approach may well lead to the designation of a central
repository for digital government information. Because state agencies have had autonomy in
publishing decisions, there may be resistance to the idea of standards and centralized
management of their information. Agencies may, instead, prefer to have digital information
stored in a distributed fashion. In either case, state agencies and the State Library must work
together to ensure the preservation and continued access to historical state information.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section V 25
V. Addressing the Challenges: Potential Solutions
Digital Preservation Approaches
One approach to preservation is migration, where digital information is periodically
reformatted to be accessed using current hardware and software. Over time, this approach can
lead to loss of data and formatting as different programs interpret code differently. Migration is
currently the principal means by which current preservation products manage digital data.
Another approach is emulation, where newer software platforms are made to emulate older
platforms, based on information stored alongside the digital information to be preserved.
However, research into emulation is still very exploratory.32 Su Shing-Chen describes the
paradox of digital preservation: “On the one hand we want to maintain digital information intact
as it was created; on the other we want to access this information dynamically and with the most
advanced tools.”33 Determining how important it is to preserve the original look and feel of a
digital resource along with the information within will weigh heavily on preservation choices.
Code is now available for open-source software, which can make access and migration of
digital information easier. HTML and other hypertext, for example, are open-source.
Unfortunately, PDF, the most popular form for digital North Carolina state documents, is a
proprietary format licensed by Adobe Systems, Inc. One possible solution, to which Adobe is
agreeable, is to create an archival standard of PDF, known at PDF/A. PDF/A would be a
platform independent version of PDF, allowing documents to still be read, even if Adobe should
go out of business. The International Organization for Standardization may approve such a
format in the near future.34 Standardization of digital formats will facilitate the preservation and
access to digital materials by simplifying the number of formats to migrate or emulate and
allowing the creation of standard search tools.
32 Daniel Greenstein and Abby Smith, "Digital Preservation in the United States: Survey of Current Research,
Practice, and Common Understandings," in Preserving Our Digital Heritage: Plan for the National Digital
Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2002), 115,
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/index.php?nav=3&subnav=1 (accessed November 15, 2003). For more
information on emulation, see the CAMiLEON website: http://www.si.umich.edu/CAMILEON/.
33 Su-Shing Chen, "The Paradox of Digital Preservation," Computer, March 2001, 4.
34 Gail Repsher Emery, "E-Documents Need E-Preservation," Washington Technology 17, no. 23 (2003),
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/17_23/federal/20235-1.html (accessed September 17, 2003). See also
Michael Looney, "The Need for Digital Archiving Standards," Syllabus: Technology for Higher Education, March
2003, http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=7362 (accessed March 7, 2003), and Nigel McFarlane, "PDF Keeps It
All Nice," The Sydney Morning Herald, July 29 2003 (accessed August 4, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section V 26
Preservation Initiatives: National Level
Projects and research dedicated to addressing the challenges of long-term access to digital
information are underway. The largest digital preservation project in the United States is the
National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, led by the Library of
Congress. Congress appropriated $5 million to study the problem initially, and has appropriated
an additional $99.8 million for the program that will span at least five years. With partners in the
public and private sector, the Library of Congress will try to create an architecture for digital
preservation; determine best practices for preservation, both for business models and technology;
and institute standards. Web pages, digital periodicals, digital video, digital audio, and other
multimedia formats will be considered.35
Other national initiatives that comprise joint efforts between libraries and archives are also in
progress. In the United States, the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA) forged an agreement in 2003 to jointly ensure free and
permanent access to digital federal documents.36 In Canada, the National Library and National
Archives have joined to form the Library and Archives Canada in order to maintain Canada's
documentary heritage in all formats.37 Other large-scale national programs for digital
preservation are underway in Australia, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.38
Universities and consortia in the United States are also conducting research and creating
digital archives to preserve intellectual output. For instance, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s DSPACE is a university repository system designed to capture, store, index, and
35 Preserving Our Digital Heritage: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation
Program, (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2002), 1-6,
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/index.php?nav=3&subnav=1 (accessed September 18, 2003).
36 Miriam Drake, "Agreement Ensures Permanent Public Online Access to Government Information," Information
Today NewsBreaks, August 25 2003, http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb030825-1.shtml (accessed
September 11, 2003).
37 "Canada: Looking Forward to the Digital Future," Information Retrieval and Library Automation, June 2003, 1-3.
38 Neil Beagrie, "National Digital Preservation Initiatives: An Overview of Developments in Australia, France, the
Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and of Related International Activity," (Council of Library and Information
Resources and Library of Congress, 2003), http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub116abst.html (accessed September
17, 2003).
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section V 27
distribute the works of MIT professors.39 Other projects around the country are attempting to
make searchable repositories of now-defunct websites.40
Preservation Initiatives: State Level
States are also involved in efforts to ensure permanent public access to digital government
information, though most programs are still in their infancy. According to a study by the
American Association of Law Libraries published in June 2003, only Colorado has enacted
legislation that explicitly addresses permanent public access to government information,41
though other states, such as Illinois and Georgia have passed legislation to modify its library
depository law to include digital publications.42 According to the study, three-fifths of the states
have begun to address the need for permanent public access to digital government information in
some fashion. Additionally, OCLC (the Online Computer Library Center), a non-profit company,
has created a digital archiving service.43 Several states, including Connecticut and Michigan, are
using the OCLC service to preserve digital government documents.
Access Initiatives: Federal and State
In addition to preservation initiatives and research, federal and state governments are also
addressing the need for easy access to current government information. At the federal level, the
National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), which provides access to data and
information relating to biological resources, is an example of such an effort. The program links
information sources from across the nation and around the world, allowing researchers to easily
determine what information exists for their field of study. It fulfills e-government goals by
facilitating citizen and business interactions with government and saves taxpayer dollars by
39 Vivien Marx, "In DSpace, Ideas Are Forever," The New York Times, August 3 2003, 8(L).
40 See Appendix C in Patricia Cruse and Chuck Eckman, "Environmental Scan: Preliminary Survey Results (Ver.
3.2)," in Web-based Government Information Project: a Mellon Funded Initiative of the California Digital Library
(California Digital Library, 2003).
41 Matthews et al., State-by-State Report on Permanent Public Access to Electronic Government Information, 19-20.
42 As an example, Georgia’s database for state documents, GALILEO, and their depository rules can be found at:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/govdocs/collections/georgia.html.
43 See website at: http://www.oclc.org/digitalArchive.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Section V 28
reducing the possibility of duplicative research and time spent searching for information. It also
expands the potential audience for the information.44
Another federal initiative is DisasterHelp.gov, which brings together information from
different federal agencies about federal response and assistance to natural and man-made
disasters.45 Both the NBII and DisasterHelp.gov organize information and make it searchable
through metadata. Metadata, which literally means “data about data,” provides descriptive
information about a resource, such as the author, title, and summary of the content. Metadata
also aids in digital preservation, by documenting the software and system information needed to
view the digital information.
State libraries across the country, from Washington to Rhode Island, including North
Carolina, have worked to create state Government Information Locator Service (GILS), an
access tool to aid in the retrieval of current state government information.46 Based on
Washington State Library’s model, states have created their own version of GILS metadata to
facilitate information retrieval. The GILS metadata are placed as metatags in state government
webpages. Special search engines, such as Find-It! Illinois, use the metadata to retrieve
information. North Carolina has created its own GILS guidelines, in part to fulfill G.S. 132-6.1
of the Public Records Law that requires state agencies to index their databases. The State Library
also initiated a project in 1998 that involved the application of NC GILS metadata to state
government pages and the development of a customized search engine to facilitate locating
North Carolina state government information on the Web. The system prototype of the project,
FIND NC, was developed from 1998-2001; however, staff changes and budget priorities have
prevented further development beyond the prototype stage. States are also using library catalogs
and other metadata schemes to facilitate access to digital government information.
44 Ron Sepic and Kate Kase, "The National Biological Information Infrastructure as an E-Government Tool,"
Government Information Quarterly 19 (2002): 410. See website at: http://www.nbii.gov/.
45 See website at: https://disasterhelp.gov/portal/jhtml/index.jhtml.
46 See websites at: http://find-it.wa.gov/, http://www.finditillinois.org/, http://www.find-it.state.ri.us/, and
http://www.findnc.org.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Conclusion 29
Conclusion: A Call for Action
Research conducted through the Access to State Government Information Initiative over the
past year has confirmed the trend toward digital distribution of government information.
Information creators within state agencies, beleaguered from years of fiscal tightness and
audience demands for more information more quickly, do not have time or resources to handle
permanent access to digital government information. In a survey done by the Library of
Congress, one participant observed that people producing information “are too busy creating to
become their own archivists.”47 Similarly, in state government, project research shows that while
agency staff are concerned about getting information to their audience, managing and
disseminating publications for most is one of a myriad of duties. State agency input and
participation in state preservation and access projects is vital, however, because steps to preserve
digital information must be taken at the point of creation. Agency cooperation is critical to the
implementation and success of digital access and preservation solutions in North Carolina state
government.
State librarians and archivists, traditional keepers of state information, must also be involved
and are in the best position to lead efforts to ensure permanent public access to state information
in all formats. The State Library and the State Archives and Records, hold a unique position in
state government in that their primary purpose is to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to all
state agency information. This position affords the Library and the Archives and Records a broad
perspective on the needs of user communities and an objectivity that allows them to facilitate
discussions between state agencies that have differing interests and priorities for information
access and preservation.
Librarians and archivists also have experience in developing and maintaining systems for
accessing state information (e.g., catalogs, finding aids) as well as selecting materials for
collections which involves making decisions about the long-term value and status of information.
According to the Library of Congress, “‘Saving the Web,’ then, is no more feasible or desirable
than saving the contents of everything that has ever been put to paper, to film, and to recorded
47 Preserving Our Digital Heritage: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation
Program, 30.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Conclusion 30
sound disc across the globe.”48 As professional keepers of the historical record for the state, the
State Library and the State Archives and Records are able to view state information in a fair and
impartial manner and do not place undue weight on any one agency’s output or try to influence
the historical record. Both agencies also facilitate access to state government information
through catalogs, finding aids, and web-based access tools. As the digital world adds complexity
to the tasks of selection, preservation, and access to state information, the principles of
librarianship and archival theory that guide state librarians and archivists in managing materials
in tangible formats also enable them to tackle the difficult issues of this new information age.
Time for Action
The time to act is now. Even though state agencies have not yet addressed the issue of
permanent access to their digital information, the consequences to date are not tragic. Most
agency websites began as fledgling ventures and until a few years ago did not contain much in
the way of born digital information and publications. Project research indicates agencies claim
not to have removed a lot of older information from websites yet because there is still space on
web servers for the information. The question now is what happens when that server space is
full? What if this information is deleted to make space for current information? Or, what if it is
transferred to a CD for storage? The availability of digital records and publications beyond today
is not assured and the probability of this information disappearing is high. Because the amount of
digital state government information continues to grow on a daily basis, the state must begin
addressing the challenges of access and preservation now before this valuable information is lost
forever.
Research conducted during Phase I of the Access to State Government Information Initiative
provides a solid foundation for determining the state’s approach and developing a plan of action
for providing permanent public access to digital state government information. Knowledge of the
current and probable future state of publishing in state government gained from the research will
provide the framework for solutions development. A Solutions Work Group composed of
librarians, data specialists, state agency personnel, archivists, digital information experts, and
government information specialists will work to explore options for meeting the challenges of
digital preservation and access during Phases II and III of the Initiative.
48 Ibid., 27.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Conclusion 31
The process for solutions development will not be simple. There is no one “right” method for
storing information, no magic bullet that will make all information, or only the important
information, instantly accessible now and in the future. There are no “best practices” to emulate
and no definitive solutions to implement. The mere “nature of the beast”— the complexities of
digital information formats and presentations and the volatile nature of the technology that
enables them—makes the process difficult.
This “call for action” is for North Carolina state government to acknowledge the need to deal
with the issues of digital state information and start laying the groundwork for sustaining
ongoing efforts to realize workable solutions for ensuring the existence, availability, and
usability of government information over time, regardless of format. As the Library of Congress
states, “action is needed now, not some time in the future; and everyone—from creators to
custodians—must contribute to the solution and learn to operate fluently in a world of constant
and unpredictable change.”49 We couldn’t agree more!
49 Ibid., 16.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Bibliography 32
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North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix A 35
Appendix A: Content and Purpose of State Information
Content/Purpose of State
Information
Examples Audience/Users
Government Operations Audit reports; North Carolina
Administrative Code; Session Laws;
State Budget; retirement manuals for
state employees; public records that
reflect the transaction of official state
government business
State employees
Legal community
Business community
Legislators
Journalists/Media
Educators/Scholars
Students
Historians
Statistical Information Unemployment statistics; agricultural
production statistics; crime statistics;
demographic statistics
Business community
Agricultural community
Law enforcement
Educators/Scholars
Students
Legislators
Journalists/Media
Historians
State employees
Public/Educational
Information for Citizens
of North Carolina
Fact sheets about health and
environmental hazards; information on
tourist attractions and vacation
destinations; descriptions of schools
and universities; state transportation
maps
Citizens
Journalists/Media
Educators/Scholars
Students
Historians
Legislators
Regulatory Information Rules governing air quality and waste
disposal for factories and businesses;
State Port Authority operations
information for businesses shipping
goods into the state; curriculum
requirements for teachers in N.C.
public schools; fishing limits for
commercial fishermen.
Regulated communities
(industries)
Business community
Legal community
Legislators
Industry/trade associations
Non-profit organizations
Journalists/Media
Educators/Scholars
Students
Historians
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 36
Appendix B: Survey Tool
State Library of North Carolina
Access to State Government Information Initiative
SURVEY OF
STATE AGENCY PUBLISHING PRACTICES
PART A: Contact and Department Information
PART B: Current and Future Publishing Practices
PART C: Born Digital Information and Publications
PART D: Databases
Instructions
Project staff from the State Library will conduct the Survey of State Agency Publishing
Practices through personal interviews with you and other state agency personnel involved in
producing, publishing, and/or distributing state government publications and information.
The attached Survey will be used as a guide for the interviews.
Please look over the questionnaire before the interview to familiarize yourself with the types
of information we are seeking. You do not need to complete the Survey prior to the
interview. Feel free, however, to make notes on the survey that may be helpful during the
interview.
Contact
Kristin Martin
Digital State Documents Librarian
Access to State Government Information Initiative
919-733-3683
kmartin@library.dcr.state.nc.us
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 37
State Library of North Carolina
Access to State Government Information Initiative
June 2003
Fellow State Government Information Employees:
Thank you for agreeing to participate in the Survey of State Agency Publishing Practices. This
survey is part of the research component of the Access to State Government Information
Initiative sponsored by the State Library.
The State Library is the agency legally mandated to facilitate public access to state agency
publications under North Carolina General Statute 125-11. The State Library has fulfilled this
responsibility since 1987 by receiving copies of all printed publications from state agencies and
distributing them to 25 participating libraries across the state for easy public access (i.e., North
Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse and North Carolina State Depository Library System).
Today’s technologies and state budget cuts, however, are changing the way state government
information is published and distributed. The result is more digital, Web-based information and
less printed paper documents.
In response to the rapidly changing environment in state government publishing, the State
Library is leading the Access to State Government Information Initiative to better understand the
changes and assess the viability of the State Library’s programs for ensuring public access to
published state government information. The participation and cooperation of state agency
personnel, librarians across the state, and digital information professionals is critical to the
Initiative’s success.
The information gathered from the Survey of State Agency Publishing Practices will provide
insight into how agencies are producing, managing, and maintaining databases of information
and publications in print and digital formats. Most importantly, the research results will help
guide and direct the state’s efforts to develop solutions for managing digital publications and
statistical data to ensure continued public access to state government information in all media
and formats.
We look forward to working with you and appreciate your interest and participation.
Jan Reagan
Project Manager, ASGI Initiative
Head, Documents Branch
State Library of North Carolina
jreagan@library.dcr.state.nc.us
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 38
PART A: CONTACT AND DEPARTMENT INFORMATION
Please complete the following information
Name
Work Title
Phone Number
Phone Extension
Fax Number
E-mail
Preferred Method for Contact
Department
Physical Location
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip
Brief Description of Duties
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 39
Please add the names of any offices for which you handle publications. Please use the office’s
full hierarchy.
Department
Division
Section (and smaller, if necessary)
Department
Division
Section (and smaller, if necessary)
Department
Division
Section (and smaller, if necessary)
Department
Division
Section (and smaller, if necessary)
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 40
PART B: CURRENT AND FUTURE PUBLISHING POLICIES AND PRACTICES
1. Briefly describe the content of the information that is published by your agency. Think about
the types of information published (e.g. directories, newsletters, research reports) and any key
publications produced by the agency. Consider all types of formats and media (e.g. paper, video,
audio, digital).
2. Who is the target audience for your publications? (Check as many as apply)
____ other agency staff
____ other state government employees
____ local governments
____ business community
____ nonprofit organizations
____ legislative members or their staff
____ non-governmental specialized research community
____ general public
____ other:____________________________________________________
3. Current publishing practices and policies
3a. Briefly describe how the agency determines what information or types of
information are published and distributed (e.g. regarding publication content, standards
or methods of distribution):
3b. If there is a publishing policy currently in place, please attach the policy and give the
date of the policy and the name of the issuing office:
Issuing office: ________________________________________________________
Contact person: _______________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________________
4. How are printed publications distributed? (check all that apply)
____ Mailing list
____ upon request
____ State Publications Clearinghouse
____ Other:_______________________________________________
5. North Carolina State Documents Depository Program
5a. Are you familiar with the North Carolina State Documents Depository Program and
the State Publications Clearinghouse, run by the State Library of North Carolina (G.S.
125-11)?
____ yes
____ no
5b. Does your agency currently send printed publications to the State Library for the
North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse?
____ yes
____ no (why not?):
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 41
6. Do you consider your agency to have a centralized publication and distribution system (e.g.
all publications go through one office) or a decentralized publication and distribution system
(e.g. each division, section is in charge of their own publications from start to finish with little to
no overall agency oversight)?
____ centralized
____ decentralized
____ other (explain):
7. What percent of the publications (make your best estimate) are published in:
_____% paper only
_____% other physical format (e.g. video, audio, CD-ROM)
_____% web-based digital only
_____% more than one format (e.g. paper and digital)
8. How does your agency determine which format(s) to use when creating its publications?
9. What do you think these percentages will be for your agency’s publications in the future?
9a. 2006 (three years) 9b. 2008 (five years)
_____% print only _____% print only
_____% other physical format _____% other physical format
_____% web-based digital only _____% digital only
_____% more than one format _____% more than one format
10. If you foresee a shift from printed to digital publishing, or other change in publication
format, what are the reasons behind that shift?
11. Future publishing practices
11a. Describe how the agency will determine its future publishing practices. (e.g., is
there a transition plan for moving print to digital or a strong commitment to continue
printed publications?)
11b. If there is a written plan for future publishing practices, please attach the policy and
give the date of the plan and the full name of the issuing office:
Issuing office: ________________________________________________________
Contact person: _______________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________________
12. How do you see your role changing in regards to agency publications?
13. Do you see any other major changes to your agencies’ publishing policies and practices that
may not have been covered by answers to the previous questions?
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 42
PART C: “BORN DIGITAL” INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS
Definition: “Born Digital” -- publications or information that are both created and continue to
reside in an electronic environment. Printing or downloading is done at the initiative and
convenience of the user. Information dissemination relies upon computer networks and
cyberspace for publication, rather than a physical medium, like a book, microform, or CD-ROM.
1. What types of information does your agency place on its website? What is the website’s
purpose/function? Who is its target audience?
2. Is there an overall webmaster for the department?
____ yes (name):_____________________
____ no
3. Are there any other people in your agency (beyond the webmaster) that we should talk to
regarding the agency’s webpages? (please give names and titles)
4. Born digital publishing practices
4a. Describe publishing practices specific to born digital information in your agency
(e.g. content selection, publication formats, storage requirements, indexing requirements,
public access to offline documents):
4b. If there is a formal policy, please attach the policy and give the date of the policy and
the full name of the issuing office:
Issuing office: ________________________________________________________
Contact person: _______________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________________
5. Digital publishing formats
5a. When publishing documents digitally, which formats are used? (check all that
apply)
____ ASCII
____ HTML
____ XML/SGML
____ JPEG
____ Microsoft Excel
____ Microsoft Word
____ PDF
____ TIFF
____ Other:___________________________________
5b. How does your agency choose which format to use?
5c. Are there any standards for determining format? What are the standards?
5d. Describe any special software requirements needed for accessing the documents
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 43
6. How is the public notified of new publications available online?
7. Is the public notified if a publication formerly published in print changes to digital format
only?
____ yes
____ no
Questions 8 and 9 relate to periodicals and one-time (monographic) publications,
respectively.
Definition: Periodical -- an ongoing publication that has more than one issue and is produced on
a regular basis, such a newsletter, magazine, or annual report.
Definition: Monograph -- a one-time publication, such as a book or report. Such a publication
might be updated with a new edition, but the new edition would create another one-time
publication.
8. Digital periodicals and annuals
8a. Are back issues of digital periodicals and annuals kept online or do you replace older
issues with the current issue?
____ keep older issues when adding new issues
____ replace older issues when adding new issues
8b. If back issues of periodicals and annuals are kept online, how long will they be
available?
____ less than one month
____ 1-2 months
____ 3-6 months
____ 6-12 months
____ 1-2 years
____ 3-5 years
____ 5-10 years
____ 10+ years
____ have no control over how long issues are kept online
____ varies (please explain how you decide how long to keep back issues online):
8c. Are older issues stored or deleted when they are taken offline?
____ stored
____ deleted
____ don’t know
____ varies (please explain how you decide whether to store or delete older issues):
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 44
9. Digital monographic (one-time) publications
9a. How long are monographic publications available online (through the web)?
____ less than one month
____ 1-2 months
____ 3-6 months
____ 6-12 months
____ 1-2 years
____ 3-5 years
____ 5-10 years
____ 10+ years
____ have no control over how long monographs are kept online
____ varies: (please explain how you decide the length of time monographs are available
online):
9b. If a new version (e.g. new edition) of a monograph is produced and published
digitally, what happens to the older version of the monograph?
____ the older version remains online for _____________ (give timeframe)
____ the older version is taken offline when a new version is available
____ don’t know
____ varies: (please explain how you decide to keep online or remove older versions):
9c. Are older monographs stored or deleted when taken offline?
____ stored
____ deleted
____ don’t know
____ varies (please explain how you decide whether to store or delete older
monographs):
10. Offline storage of publications
10a. If older publications are stored offline, please describe how they are stored (e.g. format and
storage media):
10b. Do you have a list of digital publications stored offline?
____ yes (please attach list)
____ no
10c. Does the public have any access to older publications stored offline?
____ yes
____ no
10d. If the public does have access to offline publications, please explain how the access
works:
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 45
11. Agency publications produced by private contractors
11a. Are there any digital publications produced by private contractors for your agency?
____ yes
____ no
11b. If there are such publications, where are they available on the web?
____ at the state agency website
____ at the private contractor’s website
____ depends on the publication
11c. How does your agency decide whether the publications are at the state agency
website or the private contractor website?
12. Some agency publications may be produced entirely from the agency’s own research/data
collecting, while other publications may repackage information/statistical data gathered by
another state agency, private research group, or the federal government. What percent of the
publications (make your best estimate) are:
_____% researched and published all within the agency
_____% published by the agency but using repackaged original research by another state
agency
_____% published by the agency but using repackaged original research by a private
research group
_____% published by the agency but using repackaged original research by the federal
government
13. Please describe any major changes you foresee happening to the website in the future:
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 46
PART D: DATABASES
1. Are there any databases available to the public through the agency’s website from which
users can extract information (e.g. directories, statistical information)?
____ yes
____ no
If yes, please answer questions 2-6, otherwise you have finished the survey.
2. Are there any additional people in your agency we should talk to specifically regarding
database management? (please list names and titles)
3. Briefly describe the types of information provided through web-enabled databases:
4. Public Database Indexing Guidelines
4a. Are you familiar with the Public Database Indexing Guidelines of G.S. 132 (public
records law)?
____ yes
____ no
4b.Are the databases indexed according to the guidelines?
____ yes, using the NC GILS guidelines, which is the best practice for the
statewide technical architecture (please attach documentation or provide a
link to it)
____ yes, using scheme other than NC GILS (please describe scheme and attach
documentation or provide a link to it)
____ no (why not?)
5. Updates
5a. How often do you update the information contained in the database?
____ continuously
____ daily
____ weekly
____ biweekly
____ monthly
____ quarterly
____ semi-annually
____ annually
____ other: ______________________________
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix B 47
5b. What happens to older information in the database
____ it remains in the databases permanently
____ it remains in the databases for a set period of time (list
timeframe):_____________
____ it is overwritten
____ it may remain in the databases or be overwritten (explain criteria):
5c. Are users alerted when information is overwritten or added to the database?
____ yes
____ no
6. Reports
6a. Are publications created by using data from databases (e.g. database reports,
digital or print format)?
____ yes
____ no
6b. If reports are currently published, do you believe the agency will continue to do
this in the future or leave report creation up to users manipulating the data?
____ continue to publish own reports
____ only provide raw data and leave report-making up to the users
____ provide both data access and publish own reports
Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this survey.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix C 48
Appendix C: Searches for State Government Information
The following five scenarios were invented by library staff, with searches performed in October
2003. Searches done at a later date may bring up different results. The first 10 hits from Google
and the State Portal were examined to see if they brought up the relevant state publication.
1. A concerned parent has recently moved and would like to know more about her son’s new
elementary school, Carrboro Elementary, in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District. Her
neighbor told her that there are “school report cards” on the web. So she tries the
following search: “report card carrboro elementary chapel hill.”
The actual document, part of the database, NC School Report Cards, is at:
http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/ (contains information collected by DPI for all public
schools in North Carolina. The “Report Card” for Carrboro Elementary School, is available
at: http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/schDetails.jsp?pYear=2001-
2002&pLEACode=681&pSchCode=304
Google search: There are links to other area schools, the incorrect elementary school in
Chapel Hill, information on the ABC’s of Public Education (which publishes a separate
report card), and links to Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public Schools. The parent could find more
information about the school through Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District site, but there is
no direct link to the report cards. There is a link to the communications portion of the NC
School Report Cards site, but no links to the main part of the site. Following hit number 7,
http://www.welcometothetriangle.com, there are links to NC School Report Cards site.
State Portal search: no sites of use, hits link to newspapers, universities, and C-H Transit.
Why the search is difficult: DPI also has Report Card for the ABCs of Public Education,
designed to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act, so her search brings up those results
along with the more detailed NC School Report Cards. The Report Card is a database and
Google does not index it. So the parent had to find it through links from another site.
2. A business owner is interested in the trends in the unemployment rate in Raleigh over the
past two years. He’s considering expanding his business, and wants to get a feel for where
the labor market is going. He does a search, “unemployment rate Raleigh”
The Employment Security Commission publishes these labor force statistics available at:
http://www.ncesc.com/lmi/laborStats/laborStatMain.asp. The business owner could look at
the data for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill MSA, or for Wake County, in a number of
different ways.
Google search: the first hit links to a site which has the unemployment rate for the MSA
from 1990 – present, though it is missing the searching capabilities of the ESC database.
Other hits link to newspaper articles about the current unemployment rate, or to a Raleigh
outside of North Carolina.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix C 49
State Portal Search: links to newspaper articles, as well as some unemployment rates for
other parts of the state, but not for Raleigh
Why this search is difficult: In this case the business owner would have found the
information on the first hit, but missed out on the flexibility of the ESC site. Because the
ESC site is a database, the dynamically produced pages don’t get indexed.
3. A commuter would like to know the status of the work being done on Interstate 40 in
Durham. She searches for “I-40 construction Durham.”
The DOT has the Travel Information Management System (TIMS), a database with
information on construction projects, organized geographically. County or route number can
be used to look up projects: http://apps.dot.state.nc.us/tims/. The database provides
information on lane closures, detours, and slowdowns, with ranking for severity and
information on when the information was posted.
Google search: there are some links to news sources about the construction, but all are old.
Other links are mainly irrelevant, dealing with home construction, pedestrian bridges, and the
history of interstates. No hits to DOT.
State Portal Search: some newspaper articles about closures during the construction,
otherwise irrelevant material. No hits to DOT.
Why this search is difficult: Again the TIMS is a database, so it is not indexed.
4. A farmer has been having difficulties with nematodes in the roots of his crops. He’s not
sure what the exact pest is, but he looks on the Internet to see what he can find out, since
he thinks the state has some resources available to him. The search terms are “nematode
root parasite North Carolina”
The Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services has a section in the Agronomics Division
devoted to nematodes. There are publications and also information about how to send a
sample in for a nematode assay, to diagnose the problem. The site is available at:
http://www.ncagr.com/agronomi/nemhome.htm
Google search: perhaps some useful information, but no links to DA&CS
State Portal Search: The Nematode Assay section is the first hit.
Why this search is difficult: For once the State Portal comes through with useful
information, but in the Google search, the DA&CS gets buried in a mountain of information.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix C 50
5. An individual is interested in opening up a fancy restaurant. She wants to serve alcohol
with dinner, so she decides to look on the Internet to find out what she needs to do. She
searches using four different terms: (1) “alcohol license North Carolina”; (2) liquor
license North Carolina”; (3) “alcohol permit North Carolina”; (4) “liquor permit North
Carolina”
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission in North Carolina is responsible for issuing
permits. Information about the qualifications for receiving a permit, pricing, and duration is
available at: http://www.ncabc.com/Permits/Retail.asp.
Google search: searches using terms (1) and (2) bring information about driving while
intoxicated, not selling alcohol. However using terms (3) and (4) will bring up the ABC
Commission in the first few links.
State Portal Search: only search terms under (2) provide a link in the directory to the ABC
Commission. When searching all government sites, no search terms provide hits that link to
the ABC Commission. Some hits are about DWI, some about enforcement, and completely
off topic.
Why this search is difficult: Because of the synonyms, finding the ABC Commission
becomes difficult. If the individual didn’t try all combinations, links would have only been
about driving and enforcement.
North Carolina State Government Information: Realities and Possibilities – November 2003
Appendix D 51
Appendix D: Glossary of Terms
Born digital information: information that is created and disseminated in a digital format
without an analog or physical counterpart.
Digital information: information which is stored or transmitted as a sequence of discrete
symbols from a finite set, most commonly in binary form, which requires the aid of
technology in order to be interpreted by human senses.
Digitized information: Information existing in an analog or physical format that is transformed
into a digital format.
Discrete object: object or part of an object that has distinct boundaries, whose meaning and
value is mostly self-contained.
Dynamic webpage: webpage that is synthesized at the moment, usually generated from
components in a database. It does not exist until called upon by users.
Intangible format: format for information not having physical substance and incapable of being
touched.
Integrated object: object with poorly defined or artificially defined boundaries, whose meaning
and value is dependent upon its relationship with other objects.
Invisible/Deep web: webpages/information available through the web that search engines
cannot/choose not to index often because they are dynamically generated from databases,
require user input to access, or use scripts that are deliberately ignored by search engines.
Permanent Public Access: information is preserved for current, continuous, and future public
access.
Portal: website considered as an entry point to other websites, often through directories and/or a
search feature.
Publication: an object designed to communicate information or notify the public, made publicly
available.
Record: recorded information, regardless of format, made or received pursuant to law or
ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business.
Static webpage: webpage defined by fixed HTML code that always appears in the same way.
Tangible format: format for information made up of some physical substance capable of being
touched, held, and carried.