75th General Convention: June 13-21, 2006 in Columbus, OH  Home   Register   Economic Development   Election of Bishops   Bible   Liturgy

75th General Convention: June 13-21, 2006 in Columbus, OH

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church move toward adopting recognized open standards for the data that are used in its electronic communications and data storage. A recognized open standard is defined to be one that is documented by, and whose specification is controlled by, a well-known national or international standards body; and be it further
Resolved, That proprietary data descriptions using these standards be fully published; and be it further
Resolved, That these recommended standards be communicated to the dioceses and congregations of The Episcopal Church and our ecumenical partners.

EXPLANATION
Electronic document storage and retrieval technology is rapidly evolving. The ability to store information electronically allows it to be easily retrieved, searched, and shared with others. However because the formats that are used to store the information are being modified, there have been numerous instances where information has become inaccessible because the system used to retrieve that information has become obsolete and is no longer manufactured. A classic example of this is scientific and demographic data that was collected and stored on punch cards in the 1960's. Much of this data is no longer able to be readily accessed without expensive techniques to transfer it to modern storage formats. A more recent example is the difficulty that some have in getting access to files that were created in older programs like WordPerfect or Dbase.
By using open-standard document formats, the Church will be able to "future proof" its data and ensure that the files created will be able to be read by future users. In addition, there is a significant advantage in using fully documented file systems for people who may not have access to expensive technology or who may need assistive technology to communicate effectively. Proprietary formats can often be used only with expensive proprietary software.

* The final language, as well as the final status of each resolution, is being reviewed by the General Convention office. The Journal of the 75th General Convention and the Constitution and Canons will be published once the review process has been completed.