152
Aliya Mustafina1 
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS
Abstract
Purpose: Modern information technology has revolutionized the types of documents 
and their content over the past two decades. The vast part of the information is occurred 
and stored in electronic form as part of the various information systems. Electronic doc-
uments, including databases, have become an important means of securing, storing 
and exchanging information, the volume of which is increasing significantly every year. 
In this regard, the issue of not only ensuring their preservation, but also determining the 
principles, methods and criteria for the selection of electronic documents to be includ-
ed in the National Archives Fund, acquires particular importance. This study focuses on 
a comprehensive, systematic consideration of the theoretical and practical aspects of 
organizing and conducting an examination of the value of digital documents in order to 
identify existing problems and search for possible solutions.
Methods / Approach: The research is based on analysis of the national legislation of Ka-
zakhstan and empirical data, the study of literature and study the domestic and foreign 
authors. The research used informational and systemic methods, the method of struc-
tural analysis, etc.
Results: The author considers the definition of the value of documents as an indispen-
sable condition and basis for the organization of any archive, including an archive of 
electronic documents. Based on the experience of introducing the information system 
“Single archive of electronic documents” in the archives of Kazakhstan, the possibility of 
applying the methodology and practice of examining the value of paper archival docu-
ments to electronic documents is being considered. Assesses basic selection problems 
of electronic documents for permanent preservation and suggests possible solutions.
Conclusions / Findings: On the basis of the research conducted, the author concludes 
that the methodology for assessing the value of electronic documents should be based 
on the practical experience of working with archives with electronic documents. Tra-
ditional approaches to the examination of value undoubtedly need to be adjusted and 
developed based on the features of the properties and technical characteristics of elec-
tronic documents, which ensure the possibility of their further use.
Keywords: digital records, appraisal of digital records, digital archive, authenticity of 
rerecords, long-term preservation
1 Deputy Director of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Almaty, 
050010, Dostyk ave., 87 b, E-mail: kuad@bk.ru
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
153
IL PROBLEMA DELLA VALUTAZIONE DEI 
DOCUMENTI DIGITALI
SINTESI
Scopo: la moderna tecnologia dell’informazione ha rivoluzionato i tipi di documenti e 
il loro contenuto negli ultimi due decenni. La maggior parte delle informazioni è av-
venuta e conservata in forma elettronica nell’ambito dei vari sistemi informativi. I do-
cumenti elettronici, comprese le banche dati, sono diventati un mezzo importante per 
proteggere, archiviare e scambiare informazioni, il cui volume aumenta notevolmente 
ogni anno. A questo proposito, acquista particolare importanza la questione non solo di 
assicurarne la conservazione, ma anche di determinare i principi, le modalità ei criteri 
per la selezione dei documenti elettronici da inserire nel Fondo archivistico nazionale. 
Questo studio si concentra su una considerazione completa e sistematica degli aspetti 
teorici e pratici dell’organizzazione e della conduzione di un esame del valore dei do-
cumenti digitali al fine di identificare i problemi esistenti e cercare possibili soluzioni. 
Metodi / Approccio: La ricerca si basa sull’analisi della legislazione nazionale del Ka-
zakistan e i dati empirici, lo studio della letteratura e lo studio degli autori nazionali e 
stranieri. La ricerca ha utilizzato metodi informativi e sistemici, il metodo dell’analisi 
strutturale, ecc. 
Risultati: L’autore considera la definizione del valore dei documenti come condizione e 
base indispensabile per l’organizzazione di qualsiasi archivio, compreso un archivio di 
documenti elettronici. Sulla base dell’esperienza di introduzione del sistema informati-
vo “Archivio unico di documenti elettronici” negli archivi del Kazakistan, si sta valutando 
la possibilità di applicare la metodologia e la pratica di esame del valore dei documenti 
d’archivio cartacei ai documenti elettronici. Valuta i problemi di selezione di base dei 
documenti elettronici per la conservazione permanente e suggerisce possibili soluzioni. 
Conclusioni/Risultati: Sulla base della ricerca condotta, l’autore conclude che la me-
todologia per valutare il valore dei documenti elettronici dovrebbe basarsi sull’espe-
rienza pratica di lavoro con archivi con documenti elettronici. Gli approcci tradizionali 
all’esame del valore devono indubbiamente essere adeguati e sviluppati sulla base 
delle caratteristiche delle proprietà e delle caratteristiche tecniche dei documenti elet-
tronici, che ne assicurano la possibilità di un ulteriore utilizzo.
Parole chiave: archivi digitali, perizie di archivi digitali, archivio digitale, autenticità 
delle registrazioni, conservazione a lungo termine
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
154
PROBLEMATIKA VREDNOTENJA DIGITALNIH ZAPISOV 
Povzetek
Namen: Sodobna informacijska tehnologija je v zadnjih dveh desetletjih spremenila 
vrste dokumentov in njihovo vsebino. Velik del informacij je nastal in je shranjen v ele-
ktronski obliki kot del različnih informacijskih sistemov. Elektronski dokumenti, vključ-
no z bazami podatkov, so postali pomembno sredstvo za varovanje, shranjevanje in 
izmenjavo informacij, katerih obseg se vsako leto močno povečuje. V zvezi s tem je še 
posebej pomembno vprašanje ne le zagotavljanja njihove hrambe, temveč tudi dolo-
čitev načel, načinov in meril za izbor elektronskih dokumentov za vključitev v Državni 
arhivski sklad. Ta študija se osredotoča na celovito, sistematično preučitev teoretičnih in 
praktičnih vidikov organiziranja in izvajanja presoje vrednosti digitalnih dokumentov z 
namenom prepoznavanja obstoječih problemov in iskanja možnih rešitev.
Metode / pristopi: Raziskava temelji na analizi nacionalne zakonodaje Kazahstana in 
empiričnih podatkov, preučevanju literature in študij domačih in tujih avtorjev. Pri raz-
iskavi so bile uporabljene informacijske in sistemske metode, metoda strukturne ana-
lize, ipd.
Rezultati: Opredelitev vrednosti dokumentov avtor obravnava kot nepogrešljiv pogoj 
in podlago za organizacijo vsakega arhiva, vključno z arhivom elektronskih dokumen-
tov. Na podlagi izkušenj z uvedbo informacijskega sistema „Enotni arhiv elektronskih 
dokumentov“ v arhivih Kazahstana se proučuje možnost uporabe metodologije in 
prakse preverjanja vrednosti papirnih arhivskih dokumentov vse do elektronskih do-
kumentov. Prispevek tudi oceni osnovne probleme izbire elektronskih dokumentov za 
trajno hrambo in predlaga možne rešitve.
Zaključki / ugotovitve: Na podlagi opravljene raziskave avtor ugotavlja, da bi morala 
metodologija vrednotenja elektronskih dokumentov temeljiti na praktičnih izkušnjah 
dela z arhivi z elektronskimi dokumenti. Tradicionalne pristope k presoji vrednosti je 
nedvomno treba prilagajati in razvijati na podlagi značilnosti lastnosti in tehničnih zna-
čilnosti elektronskih dokumentov, ki zagotavljajo možnost njihove nadaljnje uporabe.
Ključne besede: digitalni zapisi, vrednotenje digitalnih zapisov, digitalni arhiv, verodo-
stojnost ponovnih zapisov, dolgoročna hramba
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
1 INTRODUCTION
Mass digitalization of all spheres of the economy and society is becoming a prerequi-
site for the emergence of a new digital format of public relations, the historical course 
of time. Information technologies are being intensively introduced into absolutely all 
spheres of public life: politics, economics, public administration, culture, education, etc. 
In Kazakhstan, consistent work on the introduction of information technologies into the 
public administration system, including the work of office services and archives, was 
started back in the 90s of the last century. Over the years, several state digitalization 
programs have been implemented: The State program for the formation and develop-
ment of the national information infrastructure of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Decree 
of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 16, 2001 No. 573), The State 
Program for the Formation of “Electronic Government” in the Republic of Kazakhstan 
for 2005-2007” (Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 
10, 2004 No. 1471), The State Program “Informational Kazakhstan – 2020” (Decree of 
the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 8, 2013 No. 464). As a result, 
the Unified Electronic Document Management System for State Bodies (EDMSSB), an 
“electronic government” portal, the Intranet Portal for State Bodies (IPSB), other state 
databases and information systems have been successfully implemented and are func-
tioning in the country.
To date, the share of electronic documents in the interdepartmental workflow has 
reached 86%, more than 3 thousand sets of publicly available data of state bodies of 
various levels are available online, which can be easily found, downloaded and used. 
The transfer to the electronic type of state accounting activity is carried out in order to 
provide state services to individuals and legal entities, new and existing information 
resources are being constantly developed. The legal status of the use of an Electronic 
Digital Signature (EDS) has been fixed. State information systems have accumulated a 
significant amount of data, the provision of long-term and permanent storage of which 
requires a practical solution.
Digital technology exerting a direct impact on the archives that preserve its role as the 
main guardians of both analog and digital information. Over the past decade, Kazakh-
stan’s archives have achieved certain results in automation of its work and implemen-
tation of computer technology. In these circumstances, an urgent task is to revise pre-
conceived ideas of the document itself and its carriers and methods of work with them, 
including the methodology for the selection of the documents and determine the ex-
tent of their value.
2 LITERATURE OVERVIEW
Methodological and practical issues of the examination of the value of electronic docu-
ments are the subject of research by a number of archivists.
The most significant research should be considered the research of the Internation-
al Project InterPARES, related to the organization of permanent storage of electronic 
documents in information systems. In the report the research group InterPARES marked 
“electronic records must be appraised from the same theoretical and methodological 
standpoint as traditional records”. Head of project Luciana Duranti makes a conclusion, 
that “with electronic records, the function of appraisal has changed in four fundamental 
ways: first, the appraiser must assess the authenticity of the records considered of con-
tinuing value; second, the appraiser must determine the feasibility of the preservation 
of the authenticity of the records; third, the appraisal decision must be made very early 
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
156
in the life of the records; and, fourth, the appraiser must constantly monitor the records 
of the creator and, if this were warranted by the changes that they have undergone, 
revise the appraisal decision” (Duranti, 2002).
A great contribution to the development of the theory of examination of the value of 
electronic documents was made by the famous Canadian archivist Terry Cook, who con-
sidered the assessment of electronic documents not as a special project, but rather as 
part of a strategic acquisition policy that follows the traditional analysis of the func-
tions, actions and procedures of office work of all departments of the organization 
(Cook, 1991).
Also, in the surveys, the examination of the value of electronic documents is considered 
in detail in the works of the Russian scientist V. Tikhonov. He notes that “The methodol-
ogy for selecting electronic documents for long-term storage also has some specificity 
compared to traditional archival materials. This applies both to the assessment of the 
content side of documents and selection criteria in general, and to the forms of carrying 
out procedures for the examination of value” (Tikhonov, 2009).
Unfortunately, in the small number of studies of Kazakhstani archivists, this problem 
remains practically unexplored.
3 RESEARCH DESIGN 
In accordance with the national legislation of Kazakhstan, the examination for the val-
ue of documents is carried out in order to select documents classified as part of the 
National Archives Fund (NAF), prepare them for transfer for permanent storage to the 
appropriate state archive, as well as determine the storage periods for documents and 
allocate documents with expired storage periods for destruction.
Evaluation of documents and their content is carried out at almost all stages of creation 
and processing, starting from writing the content, agreeing, determining the form and 
type of the final version of the document; the procedure for bringing it to the addressee, 
establishing a registration system, choosing a place and method of storage.
The first stage in the examination of the value of documents can be considered the com-
pilation of a nomenclature of cases, when the storage periods of the created documents 
are determined.
The second stage of the examination of the value of the documents themselves is car-
ried out when the documents have left operational work, in preparation for their long-
term storage and transfer to the archive of the organization.
In the third step specifies the value of the documents when transferring them to per-
manent storage in the state archives and the destruction of documents with expired 
storage period.
Examination of value is carried out on the basis of: regulatory legal acts, guidelines and 
instructions, as well as lists of documents indicating storage periods and nomenclatures 
of organizations. For the assessment, the criteria and origin, content, external features 
of documents are applied in a complex manner.
The criteria for the origin of documents include the role and place of the organization, 
the significance of the tasks and functions it performs, the importance of an individual 
in the life of society, the time and place of formation of the document.
The criteria for the content of documents include the significance of the event reflected 
in the document, the value of the information contained in the document, its repetition 
in other documents, the authenticity, kind and type of document.
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
157
The criteria for the external features of the document include the authenticity of the 
document, the legal reliability of the document, the form of recording and transferring 
the content of information, the features of the material medium and the physical con-
dition of the document.
For electronic documents, additional special criteria are approved by law:
• integrity of metadata,
• authenticity of electronic documents,
• absence of duplicate information in documents previously accepted for archival storage.
However, the normatively does not provide for a separate methodology and technolo-
gy for the examination of the value of electronic documents.
In 2018, the state archives of Kazakhstan started to implement the project “Single Ar-
chive of Electronic Documents” (SAED). Its main task is to ensure storage, management 
and the possibility of further use of electronic documents that are created in state in-
formation systems, incl. EDMSSB. The information system made it possible to automate 
the work of both departmental and state archives. The processes of acquisition of the 
archive, accounting and examination of the value of documents, storage of archival 
documents have been automated. Web portal IS “EDMSSB”, which provides users online 
access to archive resources, was created. The functionality of the web portal allows you 
to carry out full-text and attributive search of archival information with “open access”, 
to submit applications for providing access to archival documents. Integration bus is 
used for integration with external information systems of state bodies.
IS “EDMSSB” provides automation of functions of administration and differentiation of 
access, as well as provides the ability to monitor and analyze data through the software 
tools of IS “EDMSSB”. As noted above, the main source of replenishment of the system is 
the integrated with it SAED and IPSB, functioning in all state bodies of the republic. After 
operational storage in them, electronic documents are sent through dedicated commu-
nication channels to the “Departmental Archive” module of the SAED, which ensures the 
reception of data from the structural divisions of the organization, their ordering, the 
execution of case inventories, acts on the allocation of documents for destruction, their 
coordination with the state archive and approval, organization of work of expert com-
missions. Electronic documents are transferred to the SAED in a package that includes an 
attached file, EDS, electronic registration and control card and metadata.
As a result, about 30TB of data for 2007-2018 was migrated from the electronic docu-
ment management systems of state bodies to the SAED. In the process of implementing 
the project, Kazakhstani archivists faced a number of methodological problems related 
to both the assessment of the content side of the documents and selection criteria in 
general, and the determination of the forms of carrying out procedures for the exami-
nation of value.
It became obvious that if in relation to the substantive part of electronic documents it 
is possible to apply the methodology for evaluating traditional documents, then with 
regard to technological characteristics, a revision of special criteria is required, in par-
ticular, problems of certification and authenticity of electronic documents.
Thus, the system accepts documents only after confirming the validity of their electronic 
digital signature (EDS), as the main condition for their legitimacy and authenticity. All 
documents that did not pass this check are allocated in a separate act and, depending 
on the type and content, the presence of a paper original, a decision should be made on 
their further fate. The law “On the National Archival Fund and Archives” gives the archi-
vists the right to certify the electronic version of the document with their EDS if there is a 
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
158
paper original. But the question of authenticating documents created only in electronic 
form, the EDS of which is not valid, remains unresolved.
And here we can agree with Tikhonov, who notes that “designed to provide electron-
ic documents with legal force and thereby give them the proper long-term value, the 
existing EDS, on the contrary, leads to a noticeable reduction in the period of use (and 
therefore storage period) of an electronic document” (Tikhonov, 2009).
As a tool for confirming the legitimacy of an electronic document, one can consider 
checking the receipt of the “timestamp”, which is generated in the electronic document 
management system at the time of signing the document (which is already used in a 
number of foreign countries). For this, it is necessary to establish normatively not only 
the concept of “time stamp” itself, but also the development of a mechanism for its use 
when confirming the legal force of an electronic document.
The period of temporary storage of electronic documents in organizations of Kazakhstan 
is 5 years, after which they are transferred to the state archives. The types of documents 
created only in electronic form (without duplication on paper) and their storage periods 
are approved by the List of standard documents generated in the activities of state and 
non-state organizations, indicating the storage periods. And if earlier documents could 
be created only in electronic form, the storage period of which did not exceed 10 years, 
then from January 1, 2018 this requirement has been canceled and documents of per-
manent and long-term storage are already being created in electronic document man-
agement systems. On the basis of this List, the organization develops and approves a 
nomenclature of cases, according to which electronic documents, entering the SAED, 
are formed into cases. An internal inventory is automatically generated for each case 
in the system. It is checked and corrected by the responsible employee of the archive, 
signed by his EDS and included in the file. This functionality is based on the essential 
difference between electronic documents and paper documents - the possibility of 
their machine processing.
3.1 METODOLOGY
The work is based on the results of the analysis of the national archival legislation of 
Kazakhstan, generalization of the practical experience of the work of Kazakh archivists 
with electronic documents and transmissions and their archival storage. Special litera-
ture and research on the problems of examination of the value of archival documents by 
domestic and foreign authors were studied.
The methodological basis of the research was formed by the principle of scientific ob-
jectivity, a systemic and dialectical approach to the problems of cognition. The study 
attaches particular importance to the method of comparative and complex research. 
The study of the topic was carried out from theoretical knowledge to the isolation of 
problems and their analysis based on the accumulated factual materials. The work is 
presented according to the problem-thematic principle.
3.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH
The study is based on the results of the implementation of the information system “Sin-
gle archive of electronic documents” and the experience of the state archives of Kazakh-
stan with electronic documents.
THE PROBLEM OF APPRAISAL OF DIGITAL RECORDS ALIYA MUSTAFINA
159
4 RESULTS
Thus, to date, Kazakhstan has formed certain regulatory requirements for the examina-
tion of the value of electronic documents and the acquisition of archives with them. In 
accordance with the Law “On the National Archival Fund and Archives” electronic doc-
uments are accepted for state storage and included in the NAF special criteria for the 
selection of electronic documents has been approved, and types of documents created 
only in electronic form have been established. However, the existing regulatory legal 
framework is clearly insufficient for organizing a full-fledged examination of the value 
of electronic documents.
The implementation of the SAED project in Kazakhstan has shown that ensuring the 
safety of electronic documents is a complex and costly process. In this connection, the 
issue of the selectivity of electronic documents for permanent storage, depending on 
their value (as well as in the case of paper documents) remains relevant.
5 DISCUSSION 
The main methodological problems in the selection of electronic documents are in the 
selection of criteria, primarily in relation to their technological assessment. Therefore, 
the traditional method of assessing the value of archival documents should be revised 
taking into account the essential characteristics of electronic documents. So, along with 
the criteria of origin, content and external features, criteria for assessing technological 
characteristics become equally important, and in some cases, the main ones: ensuring 
their availability in the future, the ability to read from the information carrier, correctly 
reproduce, and most importantly, guarantee their authenticity and integrity.
It also becomes obvious the need to develop a methodology for automatic selection of 
electronic documents using modern information tools. This would significantly opti-
mize and simplify the process of examining the value of electronic documents, as well 
as exclude or minimize the direct participation of specialists.
6 CONCLUSIONS
In modern conditions of the uncontrollably growing volume of digital information, the 
main problems of the examination of the value of electronic documents are to identify 
which of them are subject to temporary and which to permanent storage. At the same 
time, the traditional methodology for selecting documents for permanent storage does 
not provide a solution to these problems. There is a clear need for the development 
and automated methods and forms of selection of electronic documents using modern 
information technologies and tools. Revision of the criteria for evaluating electronic 
documents requires special attention. Unlike paper documents, such characteristics as 
legitimacy, integrity and authenticity are of particular importance. This requires the de-
velopment of an appropriate regulatory legal and methodological framework.
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