New federal guidelines are transforming the way government agencies and organizations digitize their permanent records. To stay compliant, your organization may need to purchase new technology, utilize special software, or work with a trusted vendor. Here's how to find a trustworthy technology partner to help you meet FADGI guidelines.
Why does FADGI matter to your organization?
As we discussed in our previous post, working groups within FADGI, or Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative, have created standards for digitizing archival records on the federal government level.
These standards matter because the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently proposed that all permanent records in their collection must meet a minimum three-star FADGI image quality benchmark. That proposal would include records you may have already digitized.
This is part of a larger government effort to move away from paper records, exclusively towards digital copies. In fact, NARA recently announced that they would accept only digitized permanent records beginning in December 2022.
Here's how to make your organization FADGI-compliant
If your organization handles permanent federal government records, you will need to ensure your digitization process meets FADGI guidelines.
Meeting the FADGI three-star standard requires organizations to purchase a FADGI-capable scanner, scan a test record, and then run that scanned record through proprietary analysis software to determine whether it meets the three-star quality ranking.
