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State education agencies are increasingly building the capacity to collect and manage sizable quantities of information about schools and districts and to match individual student records over time and across databases. An adequate statewide student data-collection system makes it easier for a state to meet legal reporting requirements such as those under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. An adequate statewide data collection system has nine key elements: (1) unique statewide student identifier; (2) student-level enrollment data; (3) student-level state test data; (4) information on untested students; (5) student-level course-completion data; (6) student-level Scholastic Assessment Test, ACT Assessment, and Advanced Placement test results; (7) student-level graduation and dropout data; (8) state data audit process; and (9) ability to match K-12 and higher education data. (SLD)

This annual report details the activities and accomplishments of the Library of Virginia for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2001. Following messages from the Board Chairman and the Librarian of Virginia, the document reports on: acquisitions; "All Virginia Reads: An Evening with William Styron"; conservation and preservation; volunteers; the Virginia Center for the Book; Digital Library Program; expanding citizen access to the Internet; records management; public funds support; statistical information; Web site; summer reading program; outreach services and programs; the Library of Virginia Foundation; Library of Virginia statement of revenues and expenditures-cash basis; fiscal year 2001 state aid to localities; and the Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program. The report also lists: State Historical Records Advisory Board members; State Networking Users Advisory Board members; State Public Records Advisory Council members; contributors to the Library of Virginia Foundation; in-kind donors; donors to the Virginia Center for the Book; and in-kind contributors to the Virginia Authors Room. (AEF)

This paper discusses the challenges that the digital age poses for recordkeeping and the National Archives of Australia's response to these challenges. The Archive's development of inter-dependent standards, policies, and guidelines for government recordkeeping is summarized. An initiative for developing and promoting resource discovery metadata and recordkeeping metadata that resulted in the Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) metadata standard is described. The set of 19 AGLS resource discovery elements are listed according to their descriptive purpose, including four AGLS elements (function, availability, mandate, and audience) that were added to the basic elements of Dublin Core. An overview is presented of the Australian Governments Interactive Functions Thesaurus (AGIFT), recommended for use when creating AGLS metadata. The purposes of recordkeeping metadata are summarized, and the relationship between the eight mandatory elements of the recordkeeping metadata standard (agent, rights management, title, date, aggregation level, record identifier, management history, and disposal) and the elements of the AGLS standard are shown. Finally, a systematic approach to the effective management of World Wide Web-based records is highlighted. (Contains 15 references.) (MES)

This report examines the experiences and contributions of the archival community--practicing archivists, manuscript curators, archival academics, and policy makers who work to define and promote the social utility of records and to identify, preserve, and provide access to documentary heritage regardless of format. The report addresses how the archival science perspective, which brings an evidence-based approach to the management of recorded knowledge, can make a major contribution to a new paradigm for the design, management, preservation, and use of digital resources. It traces the historical development of archival principles and practices and examines, with reference to key research and development projects, how they are currently being transformed into the digital environment to address issues including: information overload; dynamism in documentary forms; pervasive heterogeneity in information resources and media; documentation of relationships within and between resources; resource validation; granularity of description; and exploitation of context and structure in collections of documents. The report concludes with a discussion of what is needed from the archival, library, and other information communities engaged in the development and preservation of digital resources in order to achieve the full potential of cross-community dialog and development. (Contains 64 references.) (AEF)

This report summarizes efforts by the state of New York to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data reported by school districts. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) has taken the lead in reviewing these data, focusing on the uses of attendance and enrollment data and making recommendations for improvement in state systems and local practices. Recent investigative reports described serious problems with educational data reported by the New York City school system, including incidents of fraud and abuse. These reports support findings in OSC audits and reinforce the need to improve procedures and internal controls for school-district data. School district data submissions provide the information used in the state's school district "report cards" and other statewide reports that evaluate school performance and provide accountability. The lack of adequate controls of these data is important as a matter of accountability, but also in regard to compulsory attendance laws. The report provides a summary of two audits and a followup review of district data, along with recommended changes in procedures. The recommendations encompass a broad range of data-integrity issues and provide a comprehensive framework for improvement. An appendix contains information on the impact of attendance and enrollment on state-aid payments. (RJM)

The document comprises the data element dictionary for the Annual Personnel Report (APR) Data Base (Version 8.0), 1999-2000, for the Florida Community College System (FCCS). The Annual Personnel Reports System was created to meet federal and state requirements for reporting personnel information. The key fields are listed at the top of the table of data elements. Data elements tracked in this system include: annual salary, citizenship, date of birth, degree, ethnic origin, gender, personnel identification number, position title, reporting institution, soft money, tenure status, and terms employed. (JA)

There is as yet no viable long-term strategy to ensure that digital information will be readable in the future. Digital documents are vulnerable to loss via the decay and obsolescence of the media on which they are stored, and they become inaccessible and unreadable when the software needed to interpret them, or the hardware on which that software runs, becomes obsolete and is lost. This report explores the technical depth of the problem of long-term digital document preservation, analyzes the inadequacies of a number of ideas that have been proposed as solutions, and elaborates the emulation strategy. The central idea of the emulation strategy is to emulate obsolete systems on future, unknown systems, so that a digital document's original software can be run in the future despite being obsolete. Contents of this report are as follows: (1) Introduction (stating the digital preservation problem and introducing the emulation strategy); (2) The Digital Longevity Problem; (3) Preservation in the Digital Age; (4) The Scope of the Problem; (5) Technical Dimensions of the Problem; (6) The Inadequacy of Most Proposed Approaches; (7) Criteria for an Ideal Solution; (8) The Emulation Solution; (9) Research Required for the Emulation Approach; and (10) Summary. (Author/AEF)

This report describes a project to develop better records management and preservation strategies for electronic information available on state and federal agency websites. The project had the following goals: to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework within which to understand records management and historical preservation issues related to government websites; to provide a statement of records management and historical preservation principles as they apply to government websites, based on an empirical assessment of state and federal website activities; to provide model guidelines for webmasters and records managers concerning management and preservation of electronic records on government websites; and to promote awareness in, and education of, archivists and records managers concerning measures to be taken in order to manage and preserve historically valuable records on government websites. The report is organized in six chapters. Chapter 1, "Introduction" discusses the objectives and significance of the study and describes the organization of the report; chapter 2, "Selected Literature Review"; chapter 3, "Website Records Management in the States"; chapter 4, "Website Records Management in Federal Agencies"; chapter 5, "Seven Federal Agencies' Electronic Records Policies: A Side-by-Side Comparison"; and chapter 6, "Guidelines for Electronic Records Management on State and Federal Agency Websites." Appendices include site visit probes; site visit participation forms; supplementary data collection from World Wide Web Federal Consortium; and list of project advisory committee members. (Contains 81 references.) (Author/SWC)

This annual report details the activities and accomplishments of the Library of Virginia for the 12-month period ending June 30, 1998. Following letters from the Chairman and the State Librarian, the document reports on: "The Common Wealth" exhibition; acquisitions; conservation and preservation; Virginia Center for the Book; dedication of the Virginia Authors Room; outreach programs; records management; Digital Library Program; Library of Virginia Foundation; McArthur Furniture; visitation; public funds support; statistical information; LSCA grants; state aid to local public libraries; revenues and expenditures; Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program; Advisory Boards; contributors to the Library of Virginia Foundation; in-kind contributors; donors to the Virginia Center for the Book; in-kind donors to the Virginia Authors Room; Library of Virginia staff; and volunteers. At the front of the report, the Library of Virginia vision statement, mission statement, and operating values are outlined, and members of the Library Board and Library of Virginia Foundation Board are listed. (AEF)

In March 1996, the New York State Comptroller's Office completed a review of the financial management practices of the State University of New York College at Old Westbury between April 1993 and February 1995. The Office's final report included 17 recommendations for improving the internal control structure over cash receipts and disbursements, payroll check distribution, accounts receivable, equipment inventories, and computer security. In 1997, the Office conducted a subsequent review to determine progress made by the college as of February 28, 1997, finding that the college had fully implemented 11 recommendations, partially implemented 1, and not implemented 5. The recommendations that were not implemented were: ensure that receipts collected at the college's Clark Recreational Center are forwarded to the college in a timely manner; review documentation for checks that have been outstanding for more than 90 days; collect amounts due from college concessionaires; ensure that rental fees from outside organizations are collected and deposited in appropriate accounts; and establish equipment utilization records. (BCY)

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is one of the largest public school districts in the United States. Since 1989-90, there have been questions about several aspects of DCPS's enrollment-count process. A valid enrollment-count process and an accurate count are critical to DCPS's district- and school-level planning, staffing, funding, and resource allocation. This report examines the enrollment-count process that DCPS used in school year 1996-97 to determine whether the process appeared sufficient to produce an accurate count. The report also examines enrollment-count processes used by some other urban school systems. Data were derived from a review of documents, interviews, and site visits to 15 DCPS elementary and secondary schools. Even though DCPS changed parts of its enrollment-count process during school year 1996-97, the process remains flawed. The changes have overlooked larger systemic issues, such as the lack of internal control, problems in the areas of residency verification, and inadequate tracking of students through the pupil-accounting system. Other school districts reported that they use centralized enrollment and pupil accounting centers and a variety of automated student-information-system edits and procedures. Finally, DCPS is not in compliance with the requirements of the recently enacted District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995. The report concludes with a list of matters for Congressional consideration and a list of recommendations for the DCPS superintendent. One figure is included. Appendices contain methodological notes; prior criticisms and audits; and comments from DCPS, District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, and the U.S. Department of Education. (LMI)

In 1982, a national report examining law and policy for juvenile justice records concluded that the public's faith in the potential for rehabilitating juvenile offenders had eroded. To understand better the nature of juvenile crime, it was suggested that data surrounding this issue be systematically collected. Some of that information effort is reported here. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the status of juvenile justice records and information systems as of the mid-1990s. It also offers an analysis of related information and privacy issues. The text is divided into five parts. Part 1 recaps juvenile crime statistics, including the frequency and severity of these crimes. In part 2, the development of the rehabilitative ideal and the establishment of the juvenile court system is detailed. Because the public's shaken confidence in rehabilitating delinquents resulted in more youth being placed with adult criminals, part 3 of this report looks at the results of this move. Part 4 reviews the law and policy issues relevant to the dissemination of juvenile records, and part 5 looks at the current state of juvenile justice recordkeeping. The booklet concludes with a discussion of juvenile justice trends and the integration of juvenile and adult records. (Juvenile Justice timeline and Bureau of Justice statistics report included.) (RJM)

Administrators have many methods at their disposal to use in the struggle to control truancy. This paper describes the kinds of truancy-reduction efforts most commonly used: stringent laws and regulations (such as parental sanctions, zero credit, suspensions, and police intervention), inschool programs (the school-climate-improvement and the effective-school approaches), computer technology tracking systems, and community intervention. The paper concludes that the multimodal approach involving the family, student, and school has produced the most effective results. The student's attitude toward the school is the most important factor in combating truancy. Finally, the school administrator is responsible for creating a school climate that motivates students to attend. (Contains 26 references.) (LMI)

The truancy problem has become one of the most troubling issues that school administrators face while attempting to reform public education. This paper describes the legal evolution of efforts to reduce school truancy and the economic impact of truancy on society. Solutions range from reducing the number of required years of schooling to eliminating compulsory schooling entirely to raising the allowable exit age. The paper also identifies the social causes of truancy. A conclusion is that the multimodel approach to reduce truancy involving the family, student, and the school has proven to produce the most effective results. The intervention program, according to Brown (1983), should include therapy for conduct disorders or other problems contributing to truancy, extra academic help through tutoring, and incentives for good attendance. (Contains 22 references.) (LMI)

In Russia today, substantial political, economic, and social changes directly affect the preservation efforts of libraries and archives. Prepared by the Deputy Director General of the M. I. Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow, this report presents a distinctly Russian perspective on the ways in which libraries and archives are attempting to adapt to widespread changes while seeking to maintain their services and introduce new technologies, all with decreasing financial resources. Russian libraries require financial support in addition to verbal support in order to put into action the plans that already exist for preserving Russia's national heritage. This report provides an insider's viewpoint of where preservation efforts stand in Russia. The report covers the following topics: (1) Background--Libraries Under the Soviet Regime, and Preservation Problems; (2) A New Political Environment and its Impact on Preservation--Library Laws for Critical Needs, and Coordinating Functions; (3) The National Preservation Program: Myth or Reality?; (4) Cooperation: National and International Aspects--First Efforts, Other Microfilm Projects, and Microfilm Storage Facilities; (5) Preservation Challenges--Raising Awareness, Management, Preservation Centers, Limitations of Digital Technology, Permanent Paper, and Training; and (6) Closing Remarks. (Author/SWC)

The Commission on Preservation and Access was established to foster, develop, and support collaboration among libraries and organizations in order to ensure the preservation of published and documentary records and to provide enhanced access to scholarly information. The Council on Library Resources was established to look toward the future on behalf of libraries, address problems experienced by libraries, and identify innovative solutions, by promoting research, organizing conferences, issuing publications, and managing collaborative projects to bring about significant change. The two organizations merged in 1996 and together work to provide equitable and enduring access to information. The annual report describes the following: (1) the organization, support, and administrative merger of the Commission and the Council; (2) digital library projects; (3) the economics of information; (4) the development of leaders for the future; (5) preservation initiatives which involve new partnerships and cooperation from new specialties; (6) the international program to promote preservation awareness around the globe and establish collaborative projects to improve the accessibility of research materials to scholars everywhere; (7) communications and publications that inform, advocate, and facilitate action in support of the organizations' programs; and (8) collaborations of the College Libraries Committee and the Preservation Managers Council. An appendix provides a listing of publications and reports, grants and contracts, committees and task forces, boards and staff, and separate 1996 financial statements for the two organizations, with comparative totals for 1995. (SWC)

A new method was developed by the Image Permanence Institute for monitoring the effects of dynamic environmental conditions on organic materials in order to make it easier to manage the preservation of library and archives collections. This new approach to preservation management applies to the many types of scholarly resources for which research and academic institutions are responsible. The Time-Weighted Preservation Index (TWPI) provides a new way to measure and quantify how temperature and humidity changes affect the preservation quality of storage environments for paper, photographic, and magnetic tape collections, and any other type of organic material. The concept is illustrated with examples and explanations are given on how relatively small changes in storage conditions can result in significant improvements in the useful life of library and archives collections. Plans for the Preservation Environment Monitor are also described. Appendices provide information on the following: forms of deterioration in organic collection materials, deterioration mechanisms and test methods; specific origins of the preservation index (PI) model and how the PI model compares with other published models; and temperature and RH equilibration in TWPI analysis. (Contains 39 references.) (AEF)

The New York State Board of Education's Division of School Safety is responsible for maintaining a safe and secure environment to ensure that schools are free from disruption. This report presents findings of an audit that investigated whether the division's incident reporting system database accurately captured all school safety incidents that occurred at board schools. The audit compared student suspension information for the last four months of 1994 from the board's Office of Student Information Services (OSIS) to the division's database to see if the division database reflected all school safety incidents that resulted in suspensions at the seven schools with the most suspensions. Findings indicate that the 1994-95 midyear report presented by the board to the public was misleading because it understated the extent of school safety incidents that actually occurred in schools. Principals reported only a small portion of the school safety incidents that resulted from student suspensions; the percentage of reported incidents ranged from 4 to 35 percent. Six recommendations are included. The board disagreed with the report's conclusion that the reporting problems were systemic. The appendix contains a list of contributors. Two figures and four tables are included. (LMI)

The study of papyri has been significantly limited, and because of their fragile and fragmentary condition, papyri pose significant preservation and research challenges. This report explores the use of digitization to overcome these difficulties. The Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS) established a committee charged with studying imaging and other current technological developments and establishing standards for the field. An APIS contract with the Commission on Preservation and Access supported this study of the imaging component of the planned system that would answer the following questions: (1) Is electronic imaging now capable of serving as the main means of capturing the images of papyri and similar objects for research access and for preservation?; (2) What objectives must be met in such imaging?; (3) What technical standards should be established to accomplish those objectives and preserve the interchangeability and permanence of data?; (4) What are the limits of present technology, the controls and safeguards needed to ensure data quality and integrity, and the means of preventing obsolescence of the product? and (5) How well can currently available equipment satisfy the standards and objectives? This report relates the purpose and methods of the APIS study, defines archival and delivered images, discusses ways and means for capturing physical attributes of papyri and the preferred methods of capture, details technical standards and specifications, and ends with a brief discussion of quality control, migration, and refreshment issues. A list of participants in the Conference on Digital Imaging of Papyri (University of Michigan, March 3-5, 1994) is provided. (Contains 13 references.) (MAS)

The information in this report is condensed from the presentations and conversations, both formal and informal, that occurred during the 60th meeting of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). About 1,500 librarians attended, representing Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. Training for preservation administrators and preservation technicians was identified as a high priority need in Latin America. Because of the need for training, Latin American librarians were eager for current preservation literature. Maintenance and storage environments were also priority concerns; however, the breakdown of acidic papers was scarcely mentioned. Biological pests are perceived as a greater hazard in tropical environments. Of secondary priority, the conference participants recognized reformatting and bibliographic control, connectivity through new technologies, and opportunities for creative projects. (SLD)

This paper focuses on archives and automation, and reviews recent literature on various topics concerning archives and automation. Topics include: resistance to technology and the need to educate about automation; the change in archival theory due to the information age; problems with technology use; the history of organizing archival records using automation; and the use of and problems with MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging)-AMC (Archival and Manuscripts Control) records for archives. The American Memory Project is an example of how the technology of today is used to make collections more accessible to the general public. Library of Congress archivists organized a collection of historical materials on a CD-ROM in Macintosh format. This multi-media, automated archival project contained such items as political cartoons (1770-1981), early sound-bytes from American leaders (1918-1920), early motion pictures from New York City (1898-1906), and many other collections. It offers Boolean keyword searching and user friendly access to MARC records. Archivists are beginning to see the value of the Internet in their organizational efforts, and several additional examples of archival use of the Internet are cited. (Contains 24 references.) (MAS)

Total quality management (TQM) was employed to improve the collection, storage, and use of racial/ethnic information at Cornell University. The initiative began with the task of standardizing ethnic codes across a number of university systems. The project to improve race/ethnicity reporting was undertaken by a team representing various university offices. The work of the team and issues encountered are discussed, with attention to a seven-step problem-solving methodology. This approach involved: (1) identifying the problem, (2) breaking into smaller segments to determine where improvement is needed, (3) identifying root causes of the problem and potential corrective actions, (4) planning steps to reduce the problem's severity, (5) reexamining the indicator and assessing efficacy of countermeasures, (6) preventing recurrences of the problem, and (7) reviewing what has been learned and possible applications to other problems. After implementing two of three proposed countermeasures, the incidence of unreported racial/ethnic data among entering freshmen was reduced from approximately 15 percent to less than 5 percent. Initial barriers are also noted, which resulted from team members' not having a shared perspective and understanding of the infrastructure surrounding racial/ethnic student data. A questionnaire for obtaining information on race/ethnicity is appended. (Contains 12 references, 5 tables and 5 figures.) (SW)

The New York City Board of Education's Division of School Facilities (DSF) is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of all public schools and other board facilities. This report contains findings of an audit conducted by the Office of the State Comptroller of the DSF's Repair and Maintenance Program. The audit focused on the DSF's efforts to make needed repairs in a timely manner and its efforts to correct code violations issued to it by the Fire Department and the Department of Buildings. The auditors analyzed information regarding outstanding work orders as of July 1993, visited 12 schools, and reviewed the code violations cited for the 12 schools. A separate sample of schools was used to assess the extent of asbestos-abatement work. The audit found that DSF's tardiness in completing work contributed to the deterioration of physical conditions in New York City's schools. Additionally, many schools still contained asbestos 2-4 years after the problems were first identified. Finally, the DSF did not take timely action to resolve violations issued by the Fire Department and Department of Buildings, with violations remaining outstanding an average of 362 days. The report made 16 recommendations for improving DSF operational efficiency. The board generally agreed with the recommendations and reported that it was presently undergoing a major reorganization of its maintenance operations. Appendices contain a list of the schools visited, the status of work orders as of July 1993, a list of outstanding violations at sampled schools, and a list of major contributors to the report. (LMI)

The Commission on Preservation and Access was established to foster, develop, and support collaboration among libraries and organizations in order to ensure the preservation of the published and documentary records and to provide enhanced access to scholarly information. This annual report describes the following: (1) the organization of the Commission, support, and the 1995 initiatives; (2) the Brittle Books Program managed by the National Endowment for the Humanities; (3) digital preservation technology; (4) scholarly involvement; (5) the international program that brings together countries and institutions from around the world in collaborative preservation and access ventures; (6) preservation science research; (7) scholarly advisory committees concerned with providing advice on specific agenda and institutional initiatives; and (8) communication to promote the preservation and access agenda. An appendix provides a listing of publications and reports, committees and task forces and board of directors and staff. Financial statements for 1995 containing comparative totals for 1994, and an independent auditors' report are also included. (AEF)