Records management – resources for the professional

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.

For Starters:

JISC InfoKit aimed at people in Further and Higher Education (FE and HE) who are new to the discipline, they provide an excellent short course in basic records management for anyone new to the discipline.

Professional Organisations

The Records Management Society – UK based organisation devoted to the professional. Runs an annual conference and regular regional and role related groups. Also publishes the RMS Bulletin.

Chartered Institute of Lirary and Information Professionals (CILIP) – though lacking a great records management body of knowledge, CILIP does provide a well established route to ongoing professional development for records managers.

Society of Archivists – though devoted chiefly to archivists, the society has a strong records management branch, and records management is the focus of the 2007 conference. Also produces the peer-reviewed Journal of the Society of Archivists.

Standards bodies

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative – Open forum to develop the Dublin Core metadata standard.

The National Archives: Records Management – The National Archives provides advice and guidance to records managers across UK central government, and aims to transform and lead in the records management field.

International Records Management Trust – A non-profit organisation developing new approaches to the problems of managing public sector records in developing countries. Includes information on its educational, research and country project work.

Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records (MoReq) – The MoReq Specification is a model specification of requirements for Electronic Records Management Systems (ERMS). The Specification can be downloaded from this site.

Listservs

Records Management UK Mailing List – A mailing list for UK records management professionals.

RMAA List – If you have a particularly niggly question on records management, the Australian professionals are the ones to ask.

News and blogs

As well as the RMS Bulletin, the TNA’s Recordkeeping and the SOA Journal, the following are useful web resources:

FCW Topics – Records Management – Records management news from the Federal Computer Week.

Managing Information – News and articles covering both public and private sectors. Topics include copyright, patents, trademarks, knowledge management, data protection, freedom of information, intellectual property, taxonomy and customer care.

The Information Auditor – A great resource for those initiating an information audit.