CA Archivist Records Management & Preservation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which environmental condition poses the greatest long-term risk to magnetic tape recordings in archival storage?
- Low relative humidity below 30%
- Elevated temperature combined with high humidity (Correct answer)
- Fluorescent lighting exposure
- Fluctuating barometric pressure
Correct answer: Elevated temperature combined with high humidity
High temperature combined with high humidity accelerates hydrolysis and oxidation in magnetic tape, causing binder degradation and data loss.
Question 2: When applying the principle of provenance to a collection of personal papers, an archivist discovers letters from multiple family members mixed together. The correct action is to:
- Arrange all letters chronologically regardless of author
- Separate letters by family member to maintain individual provenance (Correct answer)
- Discard duplicate correspondence to reduce volume
- File all materials alphabetically by correspondent name
Correct answer: Separate letters by family member to maintain individual provenance
Provenance requires maintaining the origin and context of records by keeping materials from each creator distinct from those of others.
Question 3: A finding aid's container list serves primarily to:
- Provide a narrative history of the creating organization
- Describe the scope and content of the entire collection
- Identify specific boxes and folders where materials are physically located (Correct answer)
- List the preferred citation format for the collection
Correct answer: Identify specific boxes and folders where materials are physically located
A container list maps intellectual arrangement to physical location, enabling researchers to request specific boxes and folders.
Question 4: The OAIS (Open Archival Information System) reference model defines a 'Submission Information Package' (SIP) as:
- Information delivered by the archive to a requesting consumer
- Information delivered by a producer to the archive for ingest (Correct answer)
- The internally stored version of information within the archive
- Metadata describing preservation actions taken on a record
Correct answer: Information delivered by a producer to the archive for ingest
A SIP is the package of information submitted by a content producer to the archive at the point of ingest.
Question 5: Which format is considered the most appropriate for long-term digital preservation of text documents?
- Microsoft Word (.docx)
- PDF/A (ISO 19005) (Correct answer)
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- HTML 5
Correct answer: PDF/A (ISO 19005)
PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of PDF specifically designed for long-term archival preservation of electronic documents.
Question 6: Deacidification treatment is applied to paper records primarily to:
- Remove mold and fungal growth from affected pages
- Neutralize acids and deposit an alkaline buffer to slow deterioration (Correct answer)
- Consolidate fragile or flaking inks and coatings
- Restore lost text through chemical enhancement
Correct answer: Neutralize acids and deposit an alkaline buffer to slow deterioration
Deacidification neutralizes existing acids and adds an alkaline reserve to slow future acid-catalyzed paper degradation.
Question 7: Under the Federal Records Act, which agency is responsible for overseeing records management programs across U.S. federal executive agencies?
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (Correct answer)
- Library of Congress
Correct answer: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
NARA is the federal agency with statutory authority to set records management standards and provide guidance to executive branch agencies.
CA Archivist Records Management & Preservation 2
Which environmental condition poses the greatest long-term risk to magnetic tape recordings in archival storage?