> 
> I am looking for published standards for archiving electronic data.

 There are some in the works, but I don't think there's anything at this 
point anyone is willing to "hang their hat on". There are many best 
practices being followed and studies are being done to attempt to develop 
what are considered acceptable standards, but they all have conversion and 
migration as cornerstones to their success.

What must be considered in order to ensure readability and accessibility
> over the life cycle of the record? 

 Bottom line is establishing a program/process for periodic conversion and 
migration to avoid issues such as media, software and hardware obsolescence, 
and media degradation. Strong consideration should also be given to 
selection of format for the files, where this is an option, to attempt to 
select a format that will have some level of persistence. The primary 
concern is to not settle on any little known proprietary formats that might 
put continual access to your information at risk, if the associated vendor 
ceases to exist.
 There are no silver bullets in this arena, it requires diligence on the 
part of the information custodian and ensuring adequate measures are taken, 
especially in the case of data that is critical and must be retained for 
long periods of time (in excess of 7-10 years). It's prudent to generate 
multiple copies and store one in environmentally appropriate conditions to 
lengthen it's life while the other copy is in daily use. In that case, if 
the "use copy" becomes damaged, you can use the stored copy to generate 
another use copy, then return it to storage.
 And keep in mind that the copy process itself isn't without problems... it 
can be a lossy process, so be sure you check the media prior to using it, 
and run a bit parity check following copying to ensure you have 100% of the 
data when done.

Also, are there varying procedures
> for archiving structured vs. unstructured data?

 Again, a lot of this depends on the time frame you are intending on 
"archiving" the data for, and your use of the term "archive". 
 Their tends to be a lot of misuse of this term on the IT side of the 
equation, from the perspective of the Records and Information Management 
Professional. IT thinks of "archiving data" as something taken off line to 
other storage environments that are less expensive to support. These 
decisions are based primarily on the use pattern associated with the 
data,with little or no attention being paid to the retention requirements 
for this information.
 
> Does anyone have documents/best practices they are willing to share or
> resources which you can direct me to?

 There is work underway using the Open Archival Information System (*OAIS*) 
Model, and by the Persistent Archives (PA-RG), and others (NARA's ERA 
efforts, SDSC and a number of other University Projects)
 Also, ARMA is in the process of developing some products for the RIM 
community to address some of these issues. This is an "in-process" Standard: 

 Conversion and Migration Criteria in Records Keeping Systems 
(ANSI/ARMA-16-200X)
 And this is an Project that is forming a Task Force to develop a Guideline 
presently, which is seeking TF members:
 Developing Digital Format Information and Records Management Methodology
 And this is an up-and-coming Project being developed presently that will be 
seeking TF members:
 Records Management and Digital Preservation 
 I would encourage you all to take a look at 
http://www.arma.org/standards/development/standardsprogress.cfm and see if 
there are Projects you can lend a hand in the development of. The ARMA 
Standards Development Committee is always looking for people with varying 
levels of experience in the field to participate in these Task Forces to 
develop documents for use by the Profession... maybe one of them is right 
for YOU!!!

Larry

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