The Center for Electronic Records of the National Archives and Records Administration was established in 1988 as the custodial unit for the permanent electronic records of the U.S. federal government. The program for the long‐term preservation of electronic (or machine‐readable) records by the National Archives goes back to 1968, and the acting archivist of the United States has recently acknowledged the thirtieth anniversary of the first formal appraisal of electronic records. This article will highlight both the Center for Electronic Records' program and the various levels of access to information about the records in its custody.
The Center for Electronic Records of the National Archives is the unit of the National Archives and Records Administration responsible for the appraisal, accessioning, preservation, and provision of access to thc permanently valuable electronic records of the Federal government. Recent changes in technology, especially the development of global networks of computers, have changed the way some archivists view the role of archives, especially for electronic records. From a reference services perspective, there is a continuing r~1 e for electronic records archives. [Arlicle copies available for a fee fmm The Howorth Document Delivety Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail addmss: getinfo@iawor~h.cor,r]
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