Welcome to the InterPARES Web site!

The InterPARES Project was launched in 1999 to address a widespread concern. In the last quarter of the century, organizations and individuals have come to rely in a fundamental manner on the creation, exchange and processing of digital information. However, they have only recently begun to recognize the grave threat posed to records by the rapid obsolescence of hardware and software, the fragility of digital storage media, and the ease with which digital entities can be manipulated. As the primary source of knowledge about the activities of individuals and organizations, records ensure administrative, legal and historical accountability, and provide the raw material of society’s collective memory. Digital technology has, however, profoundly challenged the traditional methods by which records are identified, recognized as accurate, reliable and authentic, appraised, and preserved. The InterPARES Project relies on an intellectual framework based on archival science and diplomatics, but is committed to an inter-disciplinary process involving a wide spectrum of academic and professional fields, from geography and musicology to computer engineering and law. Its researchers include individuals, organizations and institutions from five continents, working in the public and private sectors. Its research assistants come from a variety of graduate programs, from linguistics, film study, and history, to public administration, photography and computer science.

InterPARES 1, which was carried out between 1999 and 2001, focused on the authentic preservation of administrative and legal records created and maintained in databases and document management systems. Its primary products were conceptual requirements for authenticity, methods of selection and preservation, and an intellectual framework for the development of policies and strategies. The findings of the first phase of the project can be found on this site in electronic form. They are also published as a book entitled The Long-term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records: The Findings of The InterPARES Project. Luciana Duranti ed. (San Miniato: Archilab, 2005) and distributed by the Society of American Archivists.

InterPARES 2, which began in 2002 and was concluded in 2007, aimed to develop theory and methods capable of ensuring the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of electronic records from their inception and throughout their preservation. The research focused on records created in dynamic, experiential and interactive systems in the course of artistic, scientific and e-government activities. The findings and products of the second phase can be found on this site in electronic form. They are also being published as a book by ANAI (the Italian national archival association).

InterPARES 3, has begun in September 2007 and will continue till 2012. Its goal is to translate the theory and methods of digital preservation drawn from research to date into concrete action plans for existing bodies of records that are to be kept over the long term by archives—and archival/records units within organizations—endowed with limited resources.

This site contains information about and documents produced by all phases of InterPARES. Every page has at the bottom a "comments" link. I invite you to read the material as we post it and provide the InterPARES research community with feedback and ideas so that we may together increase our understanding of the problems and find viable solutions. If you wish to know about opportunities to meet InterPARES researchers and talk with them in detail about the work they are doing or the progress of the research in general, go to the Future Presentations page and find events, venues and dates. Each and everyone of us will be happy to meet with you, answer your questions, and receive suggestions, comments and any useful information that you will be willing to share. Enjoy the reading!

Dr. Luciana Duranti
InterPARES Project Director