Basic Electronic Records Management

1. Basic Electronic Records Management The Lone Arranger’s Dilemma

2. What Is A Record? • A physical entity that provides “first-hand evidence” or proof of a transaction or event • Electronic records have no physical attributes • An electronic record presents only a partial view of a database

3. Electronic Records • Include digital images, e-mail, databases, word processed documents, spreadsheets, CAD, GIS, web pages, etc. • Dependent upon specific hardware and software to be accessed and used • Original technology used to create electronic records will eventually be obsolete • Need to work with information technology staff to develop preservation plans for retaining electronic records long-term (more than 10 years)

4. Provenance and Electronic Records • Maintain and understand the relationships between records and records creators and the relationships among records. Contextual information. • Contextual information includes “knowing where a document was created, in the framework of what process, to what end, for whom, when and how it was received by the addressee, and how it came into our hands.” (Charles Dollar). • Understand the business functions and activities underlying the information system that produced the records.

5. Provenance and Electronic Records: Problems • Electronic records do not exist as discrete physical entities. • Contextual information is either not visible or not captured. • Information is easily moved from network to network, office to Office. • Information is easily manipulated and changed to new formats.

6. What Is Metadata? • Data about data. • Corresponds to the finding aids in traditional archives. • Tracks the life cycle of a record. • Incorporates all contextual and records retention information.

7. Media Longevity • Acid-free paper 500 years • Acidic paper 100 years • Microfilm (silver/polyester base) 500 years • Hardware and software 10 years • Most computer technology will become obsolete before its life expectancy is met, and before the records dependent upon it have fulfilled their retention

8. Use and Application of Records Retention Schedules • Functional Analysis • General Schedules • Application of retention periods

9. Retention Schedules: Functional Analysis • Appraisal of common business functions rather than the records themselves • A business function represents an area of standard business activity such as accounting, marketing, public relations, legal, and human resources • Business functions always remain the same

10. Special Appraisal Issues • Documentation that describes readibility and use is non-existent • Doubts about reliability and completeness of the record • Cost of Preservation

11. Application of Retention Schedules: Electronic Recordkeeping System • Records Retention Module • Link electronic records to the module • Calculate destruction dates • Module permits a hold to be placed on records • Identifies candidate records for destruction • System oversees records for destruction • System maintains information on records destroyed • System does not permit destroyed records to be recovered