Managing Electronic Records

Citation

Urquhart, C. (2006), "Managing Electronic Records", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 62 No. 4, pp. 537-538. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410610673909

The editors of this book on the management of electronic records have extensive experience in records management and in the provision of educational programmes for records managers. Julie McLeod is also the editor of Records Management Journal. The contributors come from a variety of backgrounds, and there are the names one would expect to find in an edited collection on this topic. Inevitably, perhaps, in an edited collection, the reader has to do a fair amount of work trying to knit the chapters together. I wondered why the editors had chosen the format of a preface with a concluding chapter, as I might have expected a little more discussion and scene setting in an introductory chapter. In some ways the selected format makes more sense for those involved in records management as it is such a fast moving field that it is better to take stock of what has been achieved, what the remaining and emerging problems are, and how records managers could move forward.

The book sets out to be “a key textbook for records management courses” and that seems to be the main audience. Although the book explores issues for general information management, it might be difficult to use this book as a general introduction to records management issues for information management studies. It has to be a specialist text, and it succeeds at that very well, but it is not an introduction to records management for students who need a brief overview of the topic.

Chapter one sets the scene by comparing the vision of the future as seen by one of the contributors (John McDonald) in 1995 with the situation ten years later. He notes progress made with legislation and policy frameworks, but regrets that systems and technologies have not got over the hurdle of seeing records as an integral part of the business, not simply a dump for unwanted emails. That is partly a result of the lack of good portals and intranets that are focused on what people are doing in their work, not the format (email or document or spreadsheet) that is being used. Suggests that organisations need different management frameworks, and notes that governments need leaders to take the agenda forward. Change might be accelerated if there was more awareness, better accountability, improved architectures, and capacity. Several of the following chapters tackle some of these issues. For example, Hofman (chapter 2) discusses standards and models, derived from the archives field, and work in Australia specifically on records. Kate Cumming (chapter 3) discusses not just the type of metadata that should be present but how to implement metadata strategies in practice. David Ryan (chapter 4) continues in this vein, explaining why digital preservation strategies are necessary and how to develop strategies to ensure that digital preservation happens. Chapter 5, by Xiaomi An, takes a step back, examining the status of electronic records management research, research trends, and how research and development have been intertwined in projects such as InterPARES. Chapter 6, by Marciano and Moore, moves on to answering some of the “how” questions, dealing with technologies for preservation. David Stephens deals with the legal issues (national and international laws) in chapter 7. In chapter 8, Verne Harris discusses some of the political and ethical issues, with reference to experience in the apartheid and post‐apartheid eras, pointing out that totalitarian states are generally renowned for their record‐keeping. As an aside, it is interesting that the spy services have often recruited from archivists (Dame Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, for example). Laeven (chapter 9) discusses the competencies required by electronic records managers, and how to set up continuing professional development frameworks for continuous learning. Fuzeau (chapter 10) discusses two case studies from the French private sector, one a large firm and the other a small research‐intensive company. Risk management means different things to each organisation but is equally crucial to each organisation. Ellis (chapter 11) presents a case study from the public sector, unsurprisingly an Australian example as Australia has done so much on records management.

The book has an adequate index. There is a complete list of URLs available on a companion website (managed by the publisher). For records management courses the book provides a good overview of the some of the current debates and the contributors are generally well known in the field. For those expecting a gentle introduction to records management this could not be expected to be the answer, but there are other texts that deal with the principles and practice of records management. At times, therefore, I thought that some of the contributors could have discussed more than they did. Several explained and described, but discussion would have been more in keeping with the aims of the edited collection. However, for many records managers the presentation of some proposed solutions, with an easy comparison of some case studies might be all that they need. One of the book's strengths is the range of international expertise represented, and that alone makes it a useful addition to the bookshelf of a records management specialist.