Council on archives international records management trust


Managing Electronic Records



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Managing Electronic Records


Principal Authors

Kimberly Barata and Piers Cain


Kimberly Barata is a Research Officer and Consultant for the International Records Management Trust. She is a specialist in electronic records and has advised the Governments of Ghana, Malta and the Secretariat for the Commission for East African Co-operation. Prior to her appointment with the Trust, she was the UK Representative for Archives and Museum Informatics (A&MI) and a senior research fellow at the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at University College London. Kimberly is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences and participated in the latter end of the Functional Requirements for Recordkeeping Project.

Piers Cain is the Director of Research, Development and Education of the International Records Management Trust. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Trust’s research strategy, directing research projects and overseeing the Trust’s education projects. His research interests include the impact of the ‘information revolution’ on in both industrialised and developing countries. In addition Mr Cain has extensive experience in a wide range of organisations, including Reuters Ltd, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Corporation of London.


Contributors


Rick Barry

John McDonald

Laura Millar

Rosemary Murray-Lachapelle


Reviewers


Sue Bryant, Treasury Board of Canada

Christiane Desautels, National Archives of Canada

Terry Cook, (formerly) National Archives of Canada

Tony Leviston, State Records Authority of New South Wales


Testers


Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service

State Archives and Heraldic Services, South Africa


Additional Acknowledgments


This module is based on a variety of sources developed by records and archives programmes around the world. While a bibliography of sources is provided, much of the information for this module derives from guides and reports prepared by the following organisations:

    Archives of Ontario

    Centre for Technology in Government, New York State, US

    National Archives and Records Administration, US

    National Archives of Australia

    National Archives of Canada

    National Archives of the Netherlands

    New York State Archives and Records Administration

    Public Record Office, UK

    State Records Authority of New South Wales, Australia

    University of British Columbia

    University of Pittsburgh


We are grateful for the support of these and other organisations that share a common concern about the management of electronic records.

Contents


Introduction 1

Lesson 1 Electronic Records: Basic Concepts 5

Lesson 2 Electronic Record-keeping Systems 20

Lesson 3 Management Issues and Electronic Records 50

Appendix 1: Guidance for the Creation and Use of
Electronic Records 70

Lesson 4 Establishing an Electronic Records Programme:


Programme Level Issues 78

Lesson 5 The Components of an Electronic Data and


Records Management Programme 100

Lesson 6 What to Do Next? 152


Figures


  1. Data versus Records 13

  2. Content, Context and Structure of an Electronic Record 15

  3. Example of a Template 26

  4. Table of Standards for Different Types of Data 33

  5. Table of Selected Information Technology Standards
    of Relevance to Record Keeping 34

  6. Framework for Records Management 63

  7. Custodial versus Non-custodial Model 66

  8. Competencies 85

  9. Matching Strategies to Environments 92

  10. Cost of Processing Electronic Records 114

  11. Appraisal Checklist for Electronic Records 115

  12. Example of Data File Transfer/Electronic Records Form 122

  13. Preparing a Data File for Long-term Retention 125

  14. Codebook and Partial Dump of a Data File 127

  15. Example of a Validation Statement 128

  16. A Printout Showing Errors 129

  17. Migration Strategies 134

  18. Integrating Common Record-keeping Considerations
    into Computer Systems Development 144



Introduction

Introduction to Managing Electronic Records

Managing Electronic Records introduces the basic principles of electronic records management.

Electronic record: A digital record that can be manipulated, transmitted or processed by a computer.

Computerisation has led to rapid and dynamic changes in the way governments and businesses operate. Records managers today encounter a much wider range of records, paper-based and electronic, than they dealt with even ten years ago. Even the strategies adopted for integrating and managing paper and electronic records will be subject to change over time. As a result, this module offers only an introduction to the management of electronic records and should not be viewed as a comprehensive training programme that will equip records professionals for all situations.

Students of this module are strongly advised to seek more detailed information from the sources listed in Lesson 6 and the bibliography and to take every opportunity to keep abreast of emerging records management issues.

This module focuses primarily on the management of electronic records in the public sector, but it will have relevance to other sectors. It is particularly concerned with the management of electronic records in current and semi-current use. When the records become archives some of the principles covered in the module on Managing Archives will need to be adapted.

It is vital that students should be familiar with the use of computers before studying this module. The module Understanding Computers: An Overview for Records and Archives Staff provides an introduction to the basic issues involved, but in order to gain real value from the module, students will need to gain more in-depth experience using computers. Moreover, it the module is to expose the student to what it means in practical terms to manage electronic records, it must go beyond the theoretical concepts involved. Therefore, several of the lessons seek to challenge students to understand technical concepts.

The module is composed of six lessons:

Lesson 1: Electronic Records: Basic Concepts

Lesson 2: Electronic Record-keeping Systems

Lesson 3: Management Issues and Electronic Records

Lesson 4: Establishing an Electronic Records Programme:


Programme Level Issues

Lesson 5: The Components of an Electronic Data and


Records Management Programme

Lesson 6: What to Do Next?




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