Showing papers in "Records Management Journal in 2011"

An assessment of the state of national archival and records systems in the ESARBICA region

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess and compare the current state of archival and records systems in two of ESARBICA member countries, namely South Africa and Botswana.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a qualitative research approach. To draw inferences and make recommendations, a survey was conducted in national and provincial archival institutions of both countries. Secondary data were derived from literature search and primary data from questionnaires.Findings – While archives and records services in both countries do have legislation, they are not being recognised and given status in the government and public arena. Archivists and records managers in either country are still marginalised by state administration. There is no political champion of archives and records management in either country. There is a shortage of funds and staff, accompanied by poor infrastructure and lack of vision by the leaders of archival institutions in both countries. In South Africa, the national ar...

Records management myopia: a case study

Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to provide some important lessons learned from the introduction of a new records management system in a tertiary educational institution and its relation to records management.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a case study using after action review.Findings – The key findings build on the extant literature that is largely case study based. The findings were that: it is easy to lose sight of key systems issues and knowledge management in a busy world; knowledge and records management are strategic issues; records management is essential to organizational effectiveness; records and knowledge management is not just another task; implementation needs to be driven from the top and built from the bottom; training and support are essential; development is ongoing; and external expertise should be used when necessary.Research limitations/implications – The research is limited by being a single case study.Practical implications – The case study provides practical ...

Accountability, open government and record keeping: time to think again?

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re‐visit debates around accountability, openness and record keeping and to suggest that existing assumptions need to be challenged.Design/methodology/approach – This is a scholarly essay based on published and unpublished works. The focus is on parliamentary democracies where the Queen or a titular president is head of state.Findings – The primary role of records managers as active citizens should be to provide systems that will enable others to discharge their duties. The primary role of archivists in a plural democracy should be to secure the record for the future. The notion that archivists need to protect the record from political pressure should be re‐considered. A more pressing need is for political pressure to be applied at the highest level, to ensure that there is a record.Research limitations/implications – The research has been limited by the fact that the author has not had access to the Cabinet Office.Social implications – If the upper echelons of the...

Preserving records in the cloud

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of managing records in a cloud computing environment and compare these with existing archiving models, exemplified by the open archival information system (OAIS) reference model.Design/methodology/approach – The authors compare the functional entities in OAIS with a layered model of cloud computing, in which services are abstracted and shared between layers.Findings – It is concluded that there are a number of areas where OAIS does not integrate well with cloud computing systems. Based on the findings, a new layered model for a cloud archiving system is defined using the concepts and information types from the OAIS reference model. The proposed model allows the sharing of functionality and information objects by making them available as services to higher layers. The model covers the entire document lifecycle, making archive functionality such as preservation planning possible at an early stage and helping to simplify records transfer.R...

Measuring the impact of records management

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a source of reliable, empirical data regarding the return on investment (ROI) that can be achieved by an organization through various approaches to improving the management of records. It is hoped that these data will help address the current dearth in such evidence in relation to records management and provide a source of citable reference data as part of the business case for investment in records management elsewhere. The paper also aims to explore some of the issues and challenges surrounding the measurement, analysis and interpretation of performance data in relation to records management.Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the collected outputs of six UK higher education institutions, each of which were funded to pilot the JISC infoNet Impact Calculator. All six of these projects used the same transparent tool (the Impact Calculator) as the basis for their data collection and analysis, but each chose to apply it to different records man...

Rising to the level of a record? Some thoughts on records and documents

Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to suggest ways of understanding the relationships between records and documents.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews some of the statements made about records and documents in professional literature. It also offers some thoughts on the connections between records and documents in digital and pre‐digital environments and their intersections with other concepts such as “data”.Findings – Although professionals have often seen records and documents as closely intertwined, this paper argues that the record and the document follow different logics. Documents are characterised by their format, records by their relation to activities, events or other temporal occurrents. Records need not be in documentary form, and can exist at multiple levels of aggregation. The notion that documents become records when they are “declared” is problematic. Capture and declaration do not determine record status, but if capture systems are robust they allow the power of the record to be harne...

US and global efforts to expand the use of electronic health records

Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to analyze attempts, in the USA and globally, to create new and improved methods used to manage patient health information: electronic medical records (EHRs). This new system of records management is to be examined to determine the possible benefits for patients, providers, insurers, employers, and others, as well as barriers to the use of EHRs, particularly in those embedded in US law.Design/methodology/approach – In the USA, and in various other jurisdictions, new laws have been enacted to incentivize the use of EHRs, and the paper examines the regulations and provisions incentivizing the adoption of this type of integrated system for lifelong tracking of health‐related information. There are issues to be dealt with, such as cost, privacy, and legality, but each of these can and must be overcome to effectively manage and communicate health care informationFindings – The use of EHRs is increasing in the USA and globally, both in acute care hospitals and in primary care medical ...

Functional classification of records and organisational structure

Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to examine how an electronic records management system has been used in a Finnish government agency. In particular, it aims to study the relationship between functional classification scheme and the way users in different organisational units and at different organisational levels have employed the system. The goal is to examine whether electronic records management systems were easier to use if the system “knew” what functional classes the user (or other employees in the user's organisational unit) typically need in their work.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on two sources. The first source is metadata in records that were captured in the electronic records management system of the agency. It reflects actual behaviour of users when they interact with the system and classification of records. The second source is distribution of functions to organisational units in the light of policy documents and a survey made in the organisation. The study compares the two so...

Motivations for records management in mobile work

Abstract: Purpose – All organisations may not have the same motivations for investing in records management For some organisations the benefits of records management are more important than for others It can be hypothesised that an organisation with a “natural” motivation for records management controls records processes more thoroughly than an organisation without a similar motivation However, it is not understood how organisational context affects records management In this paper the aim is to examine what motivations there are for an organisation to invest in records management especially in a mobile working environmentDesign/methodology/approach – Aspects explored were ISO standards, and record users in three different organisations The empirical data were gathered by interviews with 25 respondents and qualitative analysis of the ISO 15489 standard content Results from the interviews were compared with the ISO standard For this purpose, quantitative analysis was used to identify and categorise motivatio

ICT and digital records management in the Ugandan public service

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present empirical research findings regarding the contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as computers, to creating and managing digital records in the Ugandan Public Service (UPS). It seeks to review the ICT developments in Uganda and to discuss the extent to which UPS agencies have adopted digital record‐keeping systems, how the management of digital records is incorporated with ICT strategies, and to identify challenges faced.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature on ICT developments in Uganda and empirical studies dealing with management of digital records in the UPS is presented. The review of empirical research findings is based on 23 Government of Uganda (GoU) ministries. Applying both quantitative and qualitative approaches, a survey research design was adopted. Multiple methods of data analysis including coding, tabulation and use of descriptive statements were also used to ascertain the quality of the findin...

Records professionals: an invisible profession in Malaysia

Abstract: Purpose – This study seeks to examine the existence of records professionals and their role in Malaysian organizations.Design/methodology/approach – The study compares case studies done in six government‐controlled companies. Interviews were conducted with the persons handling the records and information (including records in electronic environment) in the organizations. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed manually to obtain the comparative data from each case.Findings – The findings indicate that there are no “real” records professionals in Malaysian organizations. The responsibility and accountability of documenting and managing the organizations' records are dispersed and decentralized. Records managers as a profession are not established within the Malaysian organization structures. Generally there is no specific position of “records manager” in Malaysian organizations. However, the “archivists” are confined at the National Archives and there are no such positions at any of the case orga...

ISO 15489 and other standardized management systems: analogies and synergies

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the current links between standardized models ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 27000 and the model ISO 15489.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on comparative analysis and on the authors' knowledge of the series of standards.Findings – A definition of the most relevant current analogies between these systems and an analysis of observable synergies between the model ISO 15489 and the aforementioned management model were produced.Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the harmonizing capacity of the ISO regulations 15489 related to records management requirements as regulated by the series ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and ISO 27000. It offers perspectives on the potential of these regulations to strengthen records management in organizations and on the benefits that series ISO 15489 offers to producers who have adopted these codes of good practice.

Records management in English local government: the effect of freedom of information

Abstract: Purpose – University College London (UCL) ran a research project over 12 months in 2008‐2009, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, which examined what the impact of the UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 had been on records management services in local government. This paper aims to report on some of the findings of the study, with a focus on the practical records management issues.Design/methodology/approach – The research considered the three perspectives of records managers: institutional FOI; policy managers; and FOI requestors and user communities. Following an extensive literature review, qualitative research methods were used to gather data, specifically semi‐structured interviewing of 27 individuals from 19 different institutions in London and the South East of England and with 11 requestors.Findings – The findings reported in this paper focus on records services in local government, in particular their organisational location and status, and aspects of the management of cu...

A new approach to records management with the Information Workplace Platform

Abstract: Purpose – This case study aims to set out the challenges faced by the Department for Education (DfE) in managing information and encouraging collaboration. The DfE has restructured its systems and delivered the Information Workplace Platform (IWP), in order to encourage better collaborative working and improve the success of its records management processes.Design/methodology/approach – The case study gathers together information from a number of sources within the Department (through interviews with individuals and written materials) to establish the “story” of the development of the IWP.Findings – The case study includes details of the benefits of the implementation of IWP, both quantitative and qualitative.Originality/value – This case study fulfils a need to share best practice with others in order to encourage positive change for information management, collaboration and records management across the public sector.

Public access to legislative drafting files

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of setting access restrictions to legislative drafting records – specifically in New Zealand.Design/methodology/approach – Various international archival institutions and other offices which create legislative drafting records were contacted to see what access restrictions were placed on any legislative drafting files that they held. The information provided by these institutions, together with written theoretical information regarding public access and legal professional privilege, was the basis for the research.Findings – There is no standard approach to allowing public access to legislative drafting records across the institutions researched. The level of accessibility varies, as does the period of restriction. In New Zealand legislative drafting records are considered to be protected by legal professional privilege and therefore are restricted unless the privilege is waived.Research limitations/implications – The main form of communica...