Abstract

We present the need to evaluate and compare the development of e-government, and review benchmarking tools and practices. First we discuss the stages of e-government models that are currently in use and discuss the main characteristics and applications. The different e-government benchmarking approaches are analysed, pointing out that e-administration is the more benchmarked e-government area. A more in-depth analysis of the most relevant benchmarks is performed. Both  analyses reveal several limitations of existing studies with respect to applicability to local administration. These include the scarcity of studies focused on this area, the extent of adoption of public services and the use of models of evolution of egovernment that do not reflect the new trends in the provision of services. Finally we point out improvements to be made in future benchmarking of electronic services to increase their applicability in the field of local administration.

Abstract

The article presents a survey of international research studies and development in digital preservation, devoting a section to the situation in Spain. The author outlines applications in areas such as institutional repositories, administrative records, personal archives, aerospace industry and museum archives, but the greatest attention is given to digital preservation applications in libraries and archives. The pre-eminent role of certain libraries and the national archives and records of certain countries is evident in an analysis of the protagonists of this research, as well as the emerging role of software companies. The major lines of research include the integration of tools to create integrated preservation systems.