"THE FACTS ABOUT FAX": FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION AND ARCHIVES by ERWIN WODARCZAK B.A., The University o-f British Columbia, 1986 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHIVAL STUDIES in THE FACULTY OF ARTS (School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1991 © Erwin Wodarczak, 1991 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. ££/40OL or LIBRARY ? A#CtOA£^ t •Departmcnt of /SJFORMAT/OlO STU&//^S The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date /SrOc/. /J/ DE-6 (2/88) ii ABSTRACT In recent years, facsimile transmission, or "fax", has become the leading medium of written telecommunication. At the same time, the basic technology for fax has been in existence for some 150 years. Nevertheless, there has been little analysis of facsimile transmission in an archival context. This thesis aims to fill at least part of this gap in archival literature. The first chapter is an overview of the history of fax, and examines the various transmission and recording techniques developed over the years, discusses the uses to which these techniques have been put, and describes potential sources from which an archives might acquire facsimile documents. The next chapter illustrates modern facsimile processes in detail, analyzes the chemical and physical make-up of papers and inks used, and explores the conservation problems inherent in certain kinds of facsimile paper. On the basis of this technical examination, the rest of the dissertation discusses the treatment of fax documents in the archival context, in terms of both theory and practice, with specific reference to law, archival theory, and records management. The nature of facsimiles as records and the characteristics of their physical form are amply discussed; and their legal value is examined to determine the criteria to be used in their appraisal. In this regard, special attention is given to the way in which the legal profession handles problems of authenticity and security inherent in fax transmission, and to the way in which organizations deal with the operational and legal problems presented by fac- similes. Archivists have to be alert to changes in communication technology, in order to determine i-f archival theory and practice have to adapt to such changes. In the case o-f -facsimile trans• mission, this study concludes that no fundamental changes in archival theory are required in order to deal with it effectively in the archival context. What is needed is a basic understanding of the technology involved, and a thorough knowledge o-f archival concepts and of relevant legal principles. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: THE EVOLUTION OF FACSIMILE TECHNOLOGY 5 CHAPTER TWO: MODERN FACSIMILE TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS ... 22 CHAPTER THREE: FACSIMILE DOCUMENTS AS "RECORDS"— THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS 47 CHAPTER FOUR: FACSIMILE DOCUMENTS AS "RECORDS"— PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 68 CONCLUSION 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102 V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to the following people: Sue Bigelow, for providing a copy of the Australian Archives technical report on facsimile; Jennifer Jordan, for giving information on the B.C. Court of Appeal fax filing project; Kosuku Business Paper (Canada) Ltd. of Richmond, B.C., for providing technical, informa• tion released by Mitsubishi; my thesis advisor, Luciana Duranti, as well as the other members of my committee, Albin Wagner and Tony Sheppard, for their help, advice, and support; Terry Eastwood, who was a source of encouragement even before I entered the M.A.S. program; my fellow students in the program, for their moral support through the past two years; and finally my parents, for their support, and for being willing to explain to friends and relatives exactly what I was studying. 1 INTRODUCTION In the course o-f their professional careers, archivists have to be alert to changes in communication technology, because they work with the products of such technology. That is, they deal with records, which are documents created or received in the course of a practical activity, and which consist of recorded information communicated and preserved on a physical medium. It is therefore necessary to determine whether the archival theory on which archivists base their work has to evolve in order to take techno• logical changes into account. In recent years, facsimile transmission, or "fax", has become the leading medium of written telecommunication, surpassing both telegraph and telex. In 1989, over ten million fax machines were in operation around the world,' and the number continues to increase. Fax transmission is convenient, fast, and powerful. With it, one can send any kind of written (as opposed to oral) or still (as opposed to moving-image) document—letter, report, drawing, or photographic image—from one's office to the other side of the planet in a matter of seconds. At the same time, the basic technology was first developed almost 150 years ago, and has been in general, though limited, use since the beginning of this century. P.-A. Wenger, "The Future Also has a Past: The Telefax, a Young 150-Year Old Service", Te1ecommunication Journa1 56 (Decem• ber 1989): 777. Despite its long history and its recent rise to prominence, there has been little exploration of facsimile technology by archivists. Two recent studies have examined the problems associated with the conservation o-f some fax documents, but no general analysis of -facsimiles in an archival context has been attempted. The rapid and continuing diffusion of -fax as a means of communication makes it important to undertake such an analysis. If they have not already done so, archivists will soon be encountering records in facsimile form as they appraise series and fonds created or added-to since the mid to late 1980's. If -found in paper form, -facsimiles may be printed on what is known as thermal paper, which deteriorates rapidly and requires special conservation measures. Facsimiles may also be created and preserved in machine-readable form, as products of the combination of the technologies of f_ax t r_a o s m i s s i o n an d computer word- processing known as PC-fax. Archivists have to decide on stra• tegies for the preservation of these records, whether in their original physical form or in other media, such as bond paper or film. This thesis will study the history of facsimile technology and the development of modern facsimile systems in order to establish the foundation on which an archival examination of facsimiles may begin. The first point which such an examination needs to determine is whether -facsimiles are actually "records". In fact, the nature of a document is the basic idea on which the archival theoretical construct is -founded. Thus, the status of facsimiles 3 will be established, and the type of documentary form that •facsimiles represent will be explored. Facsimiles are similar to telegrams and telexes in that they are products of the communica- t ion or t r ansmissron—o f—in f o r ma t-ion—by el ec t r on i'c—means-; Th i s makes them, in—the—eyes—of—some authorities, electronic records. In order to determine the validity of this position, the term "electronic record" will be de-fined, and then it will be seen whether -facsimiles fit in this category. Whatever the result of the theoretical exploration of the above issues, it has to be considered that archivists and archives do not exist only in an abstract world of theory, but also in the real world o-f legal and administrative procedure. How are facsimiles treated in the courts and by the legal profession? This is significant because, if -facsimiles can be accepted as records in the environment of the law, they can be considered as such in the administrative and archival contexts as well. Similarly, if standard procedures for processing -fax documents can be established in the courts—in particular the court registries—where strict adherence to legal and administrative principles is o-f paramount importance, one would think that they can be established anywhere. Therefore, the law o-f evidence will be explored for the purposes of establishing the admissibility of -facsimiles in court and their weight; and the facsimile filing project recently instituted at the British Columbia Court o-f Appeal Registry will be examined in detail for the purpose o-f determining how an organization may deal with the problems presented by fax transmission of court documents. Archivists are aware that evolving technology affects their profession as it affects all others. Facsimile transmission is just one example of this. A study such as this one is therefore needed, so that archival work can take such new developments into account. In addition, this study serves the more general purpose of continuing the comparison of basic archival principles with the ever—changing reality that archivists are confronted with, a comparison first made centuries ago and which is as much at the heart of archival work today as ever. 5 CHAPTER ONE: THE EVOLUTION OF FACSIMILE TECHNOLOGY Facsimile transmission has become the leading means of written telecommunicat_i.on--more-wi-de-l-y^used tThan either__feei'eg'raph or telex.