Translated from the Annual Report of the State Comptroller #54B
Published - May 2004
Summary
The Israel State Archives (henceforth – the Archives) is the archives of the State of Israel, and is a department within the Prime Minister's Office. The deposit of archival material in the State Archives is for perpetuity (subject to limitations that the State Archivist is authorized to stipulate in the regulations). Electronic records are archival material for all intents and purposes, and their care and disposal must accord with the Archives Law, 1955, and the regulations issued under its power.
Although in the 1990s there was a technological revolution in information sciences, and most documents are now created and managed in computerized systems, the State Archives has not published guidelines regarding the preservation of electronic records, as necessitated by their special characteristics. The State Comptroller's Office revealed that since 1992, when the State Archivist stipulated in the Archive's Manual for the Disposal of Archival Material that disposal of electronic records must be carried out in accordance with the law and regulations, he has not set the necessary detailed guidelines.
Given the lack of guidelines, most government ministries have not transferred to the Archives any computerized archival material (records, documents and databases created and administered in computerized systems, such as the Population Registry and the Companies Registry), but have kept them in their own possession. The storing of this material in the ministries cannot be considered preservation for the future, since many do not have the capability of locating and retrieving a document after a certain period of time. Also in ministries in which records are kept on magnetic media, it will not be possible to peruse them if the hardware and the software enabling access are not maintained. In practice, many ministries destroy material when it is no longer necessary for their current needs.
During the past decade the State Archives, government ministries, and the Civil Service Commission, have established committees to deal with various aspects of the management of electronic records and procedures for their preservation. In practice, nothing has been done regarding the matter, and no solutions have been provided for the problems raised by the committees.
The preservation of audio-visual materials raises a similar problem, in that all filmed material should be converted to digital media and upgraded regularly, in order to ensure proper preservation. Due to budgetary limitations, the State Archivist has not undertaken such actions, and has not even prepared a computerized catalogue of all the audio-visual material in his possession.
In November 2002, a commercial company offered to preserve all the audio-visual material in the Archives and in public archives, at its expense, with no direct outlay from public funds. In exchange for this service, the company requested the production and broadcasting rights of documentary films that would be produced based on the material. To the end of the audit period in August 2003, a contractual agreement had not yet been approved.
In 2001-2002, the government decided on the implementation of national projects in the area of information technology. Among other things, the government decided to assign the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Science to prepare a detailed proposal for establishing a national [computerized] network for purposes of research, education and culture: to implement "Project TAMAR", designed to enable citizens and civil servants to file forms using electronic signature; to implement "Project MERKAVA," a government-wide computerized system for the efficient management of state assets and resources. The audit found that the State Archivist was not included in the process of defining priorities towards the carrying out of these projects.