(a) General. This section specifies the media or method used to transfer permanent records to the National Archives of the United States. (See 36 CFR 1236.28 for the requirements governing the selection of electronic records storage media for current agency use.) The agency must use only media that is are sound and free from defects for transfers to the National Archives of the United States. When permanent electronic records may be disseminated through multiple electronic media (e.g., magnetic tape, CD-ROM) or mechanisms (e.g., FTP), the agency and NARA must agree on the most appropriate medium or method for transfer of the records into the National Archives of the United States.
(b) Magnetic tape. Agencies may transfer electronic records to the National Archives of the United States on magnetic tape as follows:
(1) Open-reel magnetic tape must be on 1⁄2-inch 9-track tape reels recorded at 1600 or 6250 bpi that meet ANSI X3.39 or ANSI X3.54 (both incorporated by reference, see § 1235.4), respectively.
(2) 18-track 3480-class cartridges must be recorded at 37,871 bpi that meet ANSI X3.180 (incorporated by reference see, § 1235.4). The data must be blocked at no more than 32,760 bytes per block.
(3) For DLT tape IV cartridges, the data must be blocked at no more than 32,760 bytes per block and must conform to the standards cited in the table as follows:
| If you are copying the records on . . . | . . . then, the standard below applies. |
|---|---|
| DLTtape IV with a DLT 4000 drive . . . | ISO/IEC 15307 (incorporated by reference see, § 1235.4). |
| DLTtape IV with a DLT 7000 drive . . . | ISO/IEC 15896 (incorporated by reference see, § 1235.4). |
| DLTtape IV with a DLT 8000 drive . . . | ISO/IEC 16382 (incorporated by reference see, § 1235.4). |
(c) Compact-Disk, Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) and Digital Video Disks (DVDs). Agencies may use CD-ROMs and DVDs to transfer permanent electronic records to the National Archives of the United States.
(1) CD-ROMs used for this purpose must conform to ANSI/NISO/ISO 9660 (incorporated by reference, see § 1235.4).
(2) Permanent electronic records must be stored in discrete files. Transferred CD-ROMs and DVDs may contain other files, such as software or temporary records, but all permanent records must be in files that contain only permanent records. Agencies must indicate at the time of transfer if a CD-ROM or DVD contains temporary records and where those records are located on the CD-ROM or DVD. The agency must also specify whether NARA should return the CD-ROM or DVD to the agency or dispose of it after copying the permanent records to an archival medium.
(3) If permanent electronic records are stored on both CD-ROM (or DVD) and other media, such as magnetic tape, the agency and NARA must agree on the medium that will be used to transfer the records into the National Archives of the United States.
(d) File Transfer Protocol. Agencies may use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to transfer permanent electronic records to the National Archives of the United States only with NARA's approval. Several important factors may limit the use of FTP as a transfer method, including the number of records, record file size, and available bandwidth. Agencies must contact NARA, by mail at National Archives and Records Administration; Special Media Records Division (RDS); 8601 Adelphi Road; College Park, MD 20740-6001, or by email at [email protected] (for digital photographs) or [email protected] (for electronic audiovisual records). For all other electronic records formats, contact NARA to initiate the transfer discussions, by mail at National Archives and Records Administration; Electronic Records Division (RDE); 8601 Adelphi Road; College Park, MD 20740-6001, or by email at [email protected]. Each transfer of electronic records via FTP must be preceded with a signed SF 258 sent to RDE.
(1) FTP file structure may use the 64-character Joliet extension naming convention only when letters, numbers, dashes (-), and underscores (___) are used in the file and/or directory names, with a slash (/) used to indicate directory structures. Otherwise, FTP file structure must conform to an 8.3 file naming convention and file directory structure as cited in ANSI/NISO/ISO 9660 (incorporated by reference, see § 1235.4).
(2) Permanent electronic records must be transferred in discrete files, separate from temporary files. All permanent records must be transferred in files that contain only permanent records.
[74 FR 51014, Oct. 2, 2009, as amended at 83 FR 13656, Mar. 30, 2018]