Development of an expert assistant for archival appraisal of electronic communications: An exploratory study.

Abstract

This exploratory study examined: (1) the extent to which archival appraisal theory and practices that developed primarily in response to the demands of paper-based media, might be codifiable and also might need to be enhanced to meet the challenges of the digital environment; (2) how expert systems technology, interfacing with digital communications architectures, and based on archival appraisal theory and practices, might be used to implement a responsible solution for the electronic records management problems posed by electronic mail (such as high volume, inconsistency in item-level appraisal judgments, institutional security, and personal privacy); and (3) the potential for using appraisal approaches for more general information filtering in a variety of environments faced with digital information overload. Using a three-phased approach, the researcher first conducted a citation analysis of archival literature in order to identify experts in archival appraisal. Secondly, through a knowledge acquisition process involving the participation of identified experts, the researcher delineated existing archival appraisal theory and practices. Thirdly, using a codification based on this delineation, the researcher developed and tested a prototype expert system that could assist archivists in academic institutional settings with the macro-appraisal of electronic mail. The results of this research point out important structural and policy limitations to such an approach that are based around the current state of electronic mail technology and its local implementations, as well as the limitations of archival appraisal as currently expressed. The results also indicate, however, how powerful both archival appraisal and expert systems technology can be when used in combination to manage not only the information but the evidence contained on electronic mail systems. Such an approach opens up important opportunities for the expansion of archival roles in the digital age to encompass not only managing institutional risk; managing information; and identifying, preserving, and transmitting cultural heritage; but also documenting changes in social interaction due to digital technology, mining digital information assets, and harvesting knowledge.