CA One struggle facing us is to convince the rest of society that the ÔÇ£information superhighwayÔÇØ is very much about records, evidence and ÔÇ£recordnessÔÇØ.
Phrases
<P1> It has been argued that existing computer software applications harm recordkeeping because they are remiss in capturing the full breadth of contextual information required to document transactions and create records -- records which can serve as reliable evidence of the transactions which created them. In place of records, these systems are producing data which fails to relate the who, what, when, where, and why of human communications -- attributes which are required for record evidence. This argument has found both saliency and support in other work conducted by the Netherlands and the World Bank, which have both noted that existing software applications fail to provide for the capture of the required complement of descriptive attributes required for proper recordkeeping. These examples point to the vast opportunity presented to archivists to position themselves as substantive contributors to information infrastructure discussions. Archivists are capable of pointing out what will be necessary to create records in the electronic environment which, in the words of David Bearman, meet the requirements of ÔÇ£business acceptable commincation. (p.87) <warrant>
Conclusions
RQ Can archivists provide access to information in the unstable electronic records environment we find ourselves in today?
This paper discusses how metadata standards can help organizations comply with the ISO 9000 standards for quality systems. It provides a brief overview of metadata, ISO 9000 and related records management standards. It then analyses in some depth the ISO 9000 requirements for quality records, and outlines the problems that some organizations have in complying with them. It also describes the metadata specifications developed by the University of Pittsburgh Electronic Recordkeeping project and the SPIRT Recordkeeping Metadata project in Australia and discusses the role of metadata in meeting ISO 9000 requirements for the creation and preservation of reliable, authentic and accessible records.
Publisher
Records Continuum Research Group
Critical Arguements
CA "During the last few years a number of research projects have studied the types of metadata needed to create, manage and make accessible quality records, i.e. reliable, authentic and useable records. This paper will briefly discuss the purposes of recordkeeping metadata, with reference to emerging records management standards, and the models presented by two projects, one in the United States and one in Australia. It will also briefly review the ISO 9000 requirements for records and illustrate how metadata can help an organization meet these requirements."
Conclusions
RQ "Quality records provide many advantages for organizations and can help companies meet the ISO 9000 certification. However, systems must be designed to create the appropriate metadata to ensure they comply with recordkeeping requirements, particularly those identified by records management standards like AS 4390 and the proposed international standard, which provide benchmarks for recordkeeping best practice. The Pittsburgh metadata model and the SPIRT framework provide organizations with standardized sets of metadata that would ensure the creation, preservation and accessibility of reliable, authentic and meaningful records for as long as they are of use. In deciding what metadata to capture, organisations should consider the cost of meeting the requirements of the ISO 9000 guidelines and any related records management best practice standards, and the possible risk of not meeting these requirements."
