SIPAC protocol archival digital records: a look at digital preservation metadata

Abstract

Introduction: An advanced digital transformation process was already underway, when it was impacted by the expansion of remote work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: This paper aimed to understand how the preservation metadata related to archival digital records of Brazilian universities are being managed. Methodology: To do so, it was based both on the case study of the Federal University of Paraíba Law School and the application of research with the Brazilian Federal Universities that use the SIPAC Protocol software. A questionnaire was sent to sixteen institutions. Their responses were tabulated using Microsoft Excel software and analyzed using the Rapid Miner software. Results: A description of the stored metadata was obtained, differentiating those generated automatically from those entered manually by the user. Conclusion: We noted that these metadata, when associating their specific transactions and requirements, validate the register in production, allowing the data contained to become a manifested and accessible document over time. However, not always the described process creates an archival digital record, only to make evident and to prove the activities of a person or an institution. We also noted that the dynamic of digital resources requires the gathering of information with a reasonable level of security, allowing the computational environment in which the information was created to be reproduced over time, so the records remain accessible regardless of format and technical conditions in which they were initially created.