Charles M. Dollar is an internationally recognized expert[peacock prose] on thelife cycle management ofelectronic records, particularly electronic records archiving. He pioneered research intodigital preservation of electronic records.
Dollar was born inMemphis, Tennessee, and earned hisBachelor of Arts fromUnion University before leaving for theUniversity of Kentucky.[1]
A historian atOklahoma State University (1968–1974), an electronic records program manager at theNational Archives and Records Administration (1974–1994), an archival educator at theUniversity of British Columbia (1994–1999), and a Senior Consultant at Cohasset Associates (1999 to the present), he was a pioneer in establishing the electronic records preservation program of the National Archives in the 1970s.[1] He had a major leadership role in early efforts of theSociety of American Archivists and theInternational Council on Archives to address the challenges of electronic records. He served on the Standards Board of the Association of Information and Image Management and Technical Committee 171 of theInternational Organization for Standardization and was the author ofISO 18492, Long Term Preservation of Electronic Document-Based Information (2005). His book on The Impact of Information Technology on Archives Theory and Practice (1993) and Authentic Electronic Records: Strategies for Long Term Access (1997) advanced the profession's understanding of the challenges of digital preservation.
While on the staff of theNational Archives, Dollar organized and directed the first electronic records program for theUnited States Federal government and subsequently had a major role in research projects on digital technology standards, digital storage media, and digital imaging applications in electronic archiving.[2] In 1994, Dollar joined the Graduate Faculty of theSchool of Library, Information, and Archival Studies at theUniversity of British Columbia, where he taught in the Archival Studies Program.[1]
Over four decades he has published articles inarchival andrecords management journals, includingThe Impact of Information Technologies on Archival Principles and Methods.[3] Dollar was the 2005 recipient of theEmmett Leahy Award, which recognizes an individual whose contributions and outstanding accomplishments have had a major impact on the records and information management profession.[4]