Danna Schacter
Thinkwell Design & Production
GLA Member
Long-term records management means that records managers must be concerned about the impacts of changing technologies, including support for new media and data formats, as well as a changing user community that needs access to the information. E-records are especially susceptible to changes in hardware and software technology that make it tedious, costly, or even impossible to access vital information. E-records stored in the PDF/A format can help ensure accessibility and viability of information in years to come.
PDF/A is an electronic document standard, a set of specifications that must be followed when creating a PDF document. ISO 19005-1:2005 is the standard that specifies how to use PDF 1.4 features to create a viable long-term e-record. This standard requires that certain properties be included and others excluded in each PDF file to ensure long-term usability of that record.
A PDF/A must contain basic components so that it can be read and understood by anyone who accesses the record. These components include fonts, colors, and metadata that are embedded in the record itself. In addition to the required components, there are features of a PDF record that cannot be included for it to meet the ISO standard:
- encryption (the encryption key might become unavailable, making the information inaccessible);
- lossless data compression;
- embedded files;
- external content references (such as a link to another file which might not be accessible in the future);
- highlighted text;
- multimedia files, Java script, or other interactive features; and
- audio and video content.
So why must we have a PDF/A standard? Why isn’t a regular PDF file good enough? You might have already experienced the reason when you have tried to open a PDF file and received an error message and you were unable to view it. Or you have a PDF file that can be viewed in Adobe, but not Foxit, and vice versa. This is because all PDF software options on the market each have a broad range of tools, so a variety of PDF file types can be created. Not all PDF-writers fill the requirements of the ISO standard for long-term archive management. But if you have a PDF/A file, almost all PDF readers will be compatible with it.
The PDF/A standard is important for long-term e-record management because it helps ensure the future usability of the record. The required embedded metadata means that information seekers will be able to search for and find what they are looking for. It also means that those looking at the records will be able to understand the context in which the record was created, even though they were not present when it was created. The PDF/A format maintains the visual representation of the original documents, so that those viewing the records will be able to see an image that is as close to the real thing as possible. Because the PDF format is so widespread and PDF readers are available for free, there is a greater chance that the records will be accessible and intelligible in the future. Finally, by having all digital records in a single format will help to alleviate migration issues and management costs because only one file format will need to be preserved.
The goal of the PDF/A standard is to create a file format that helps to ensure long-term e-record management. A record that meets the PDF/A standard will be completely self-contained – all the resources it needs to be viewed will be embedded within the file, such as fonts, images, and colors. The metadata will also be embedded so that the record will contain its own description. A PDF that conforms to the ISO standard can be viewed on any hardware and software platform, and does not need any proprietary security schemes or encryptions. This way the information will always be available to whoever needs to view it.
The PDF/A standard, while very beneficial to long-term digital records management, is not a perfect solution. As with any record format, both physical and digital, it does not guarantee long-term preservation, it is just one tool to help towards that goal. Although it is a widely used and fairly stable format, it still subject to change, and new standards and software updates should be monitored. PDF is not the best way to archive in every situation, but when archives do use PDFs, making sure they meet the PDF/A standard is the way to go. PDF/A should be one component of an overall archival strategy.
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