It`s a digital age and almost all our data is kept on devices such as computers. However, if your computer breaks down and you haven`t backed up your information you could find yourself in trouble. Most of us have created a document at some point, only to lose it due to corrupted files, computer glitches and broken storage devices. This is so common that millions of pieces of important data are lost this way every year.
In my previous post I dealt with a fundamental difference between records management and the Web 2.0 environment – namely hierarchical classification vs tagging. I posited that EDRMS providers will have to take this, as well as other Web 2.0 functionality, into consideration when building their systems for the future. Steve Bailey has prompted this post’s structure by asking a number of questions in the comments field of that post. Let’s look at them in turn: Read the rest of this entry »
Ever since Euan Semple inveighed with his keynote speech at the RMS Conference in April on the potential of user-controlled electronic content management systems – Digg, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Google Docs, Blogging, Discussion Forums, Web 2.0, and all that internet schnazz I’d be lost without – there’s been a right hoo-har about the relevance of electronic document and records management systems – those systems that are controlled centrally in organisations and generally by a group of experts who control user behaviour consisting at least in part by a records manager. Read the rest of this entry »
Part of any records manager’s career is getting a job in the industry. Some folks gain experience in a position because no-one else wants it then feel a need to move into a more RM specific position, others find themselves graduating with a records management qualification and seeking employment, still others find records management to be an add-on to their librarian role or what have you. Whichever way we find ourselves on the career path, eventually we’ll need to enter the job market, and this article seeks to educate you on just how to go about that.
This in no way attempts to provide a comprehensive list of all records management resources available in the UK, what it does provide is some essential resources I’ve found myself regularly consulting in my professional duties.
Most of us are aware of the chilling environmental catastrophe lurking around the corner if we don’t do something drastic now to lesson our tread on the planet’s fragile ecosystem. Here are some no-nonsense, effective tips to not only alter your behaviour to save the planet but make considerable long-term cost and efficiency savings for your organisation’s accounts too.
Further to the post below, the DCA recently issued the following announcement:
At 10am today, 16th December 2006, the Department for Constitutional Affairs published the consultation document ‘Draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007′.
Bright, enthusiastic and driven to bring information management to the fore in the minds of the nation’s leaders, Natalie Ceeney, the youthful ‘Keeper of the Records’ at The National Archives delivered an inspirational opening address to the delegates of the twenty-first Records Management in Government conference in Newcastle on the 4th of October, 2006.
Disasters in a records management context involve situations that could cause irrevocable damage to an institution’s records. As far as both paper and computer records are concerned, disasters can range from a small fire setting off some sprinklers to the complete flooding of a basement where an organisation’s records are stored, to a slow leak into a vital records holding which ruins an important client’s records. The loss of such records may sound somewhat trivial, but the resulting legal action can potentially be catastrophic.
A help file to assist you with using the free Information Auditing software available from the ‘Information Auditor 2.3 link above.
Many of us find the data and information we store to be in all sorts of areas, be it in the basement VHS collection, on the bookshelf, emails on the home computer, or spread out over an organisation in various silos. If we wanted to access all the information we had on hiring staff we’d get ourselves into an awful pickle hunting through each of the informational areas.
Let’s start by asking what is an information policy? Though organisations will vary on the scope of a policy, it is generally a document that has been approved by senior management that covers how employees create, access, store, and dispose of information whether of a personal or business nature. It should cover all the information assets held by the organisation, including emails, and be easily accessible to all staff – perhaps on the intranet or held within the ‘policy’ folder of the business. Aspects of it could also be available for the public, particularly if your organisation is subject to freedom of information legislation. Read the rest of this entry »
There was much ado in January 2005 when the Freedom of Information Act came into force, with newspapers publicizing some high profile instances where they had used the Act to obtain information. However, many people are still in the dark as to how exactly to submit a request. “Is there a special form to fill out and where do I get it from?” was one question we received recently. Putting in a freedom of information act request is quite the opposite, however. You don’t even need to quote the act. Let’s explore just what you do need to supply when making a request.
It’s not uncommon for people within the records management profession to be undervalued. The fact is, most people think little of it but a new politically correct term for a filing clerk. As someone who’s been involved in the profession since 1990, the truth is a little more complex.
Though it can involve circulating files, the emphasis is very much more on setting up procedures so that people can manage their own records easily, minimise their risk, and reduce their costs.
nce we’re clear about just what a record is, it’s time to create a folder structure that will provide you with a way of capturing, accessing and disposing of them.
There are a number of names that we call these ‘folder structures’ – a thesaurus, a classification scheme, a business file plan, a records tree, a hierarchy of terms – all attempt to explain a set of pointers to or containers for information that we can navigate into and out of – so that we can access our information. If possible, we can also add retention and security criteria to these folders, but we’ll be looking at those issues another time. For the moment, we’ll focus on the backbone of records management – the folder structure. Once that’s in place we’ll be able to develop further protocols to ensure our information’s integrity is maintained and we don’t suffer from overload.