Ethics, Accountability and Record Keeping in a Dangerous World

Citation

Sharrocks, M. (2008), "Ethics, Accountability and Record Keeping in a Dangerous World", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 82-83. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330810851654

What are the social and ethical responsibilities of archivists and information managers in maintaining full and accurate records of human activity? Throughout history, record keeping has proved to be something of a hit‐and‐miss affair, subject to the whims of fate, accident and technological progress, but also in the hands of decision‐makers within organisations, and at a national level. This has always been so, but the modern world brings new issues, further responsibilities and ever more dangerous possibilities from organised terror and political corruption. “This book”, says Sarah Tyacke in her foreword, “is about power: the relative powers of archivists and record managers and the organizations for which they work”.

The book consists of revised versions of a number of previously published articles and essays, collected here to provide a unified perspective on a common theme. They are written almost exclusively from a North American perspective, but to a large extent their relevance, in terms of social responsibility, could be said to transcend national boundaries and have universal applications.

Of particular interest is the notion of evil and record‐keeping, which can work in two ways: the deliberate suppression, alteration or misrepresentation of public records, and the misguided use of historical records and data to underpin morally indefensible political objectives, such as those advocated by the eugenicists in the Nazi regime. What this book reminds us is that individuals, organisations and even governments will always be seeking ways of suppressing and perverting information to their own ends. The problem, of course, lies in the disparity between the power of information to influence events, when used unscrupulously, and that of the people charged with overseeing the collection of robust, truthful and accurate records.

Cox discusses the case of Deborah Lipstadt's libel trial, instigated by David Irving following the publication of Lipstadt's book on Holocaust deniers, as an example of how the legal process can ultimately lead to a vindication of historical records in the face of deliberate misrepresentation:

Without documentary evidence, there is no history, or, at least, there is not a complete picture of the past. [Lipstadt's] book provides substantial descriptions of Irving's convoluted arguments about his use and interpretation of historical documents, and where his own imagination played a greater factor than the documents in his reconstruction of past events.

If prominent academics can fly in the face of historically documented facts to support their thesis, what might they do when the “facts” are themselves subject to alteration and corruption, often at the state level and for political objectives? And which of us, faced with the reality of this, would have the nerve to blow the whistle on a corrupt and all‐powerful government or organisation?

Cox uses the examples of Enron and Arthur Andersen to discuss issues of corporate responsibility. “In Enron's case, we find false financial records hiding questionable activities, accounting procedures favouring certain kinds of risky speculative behaviour and inflating financial profits, auditors bought off, and reports fabricated to disguise illegal and unethical behaviour – all with multiple implications for records professionals.” It is tempting to think that because these were uncovered, it somehow vindicates the legal processes that brought the abuses to light. One wonders, however, to what extent these corporations were simply unlucky rather than exceptional? And I suspect that most people of integrity recognising these or similar abuses would opt simply to leave the organisation rather than risk the corporate backlash by blowing the whistle.

The book's first chapter “Testing the spirit of the information age” attempts to draw parallels with the Christian church, which I found simply baffling and irrelevant. Further chapters deal with the role of the National Archives of the United States, the presidency, censorship and intellectual property.

Central to the book is a discussion of the implications of the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 for the way in which we view and use information within society, and asks the question “how long will it be before someone working as an archivist or a records manager will be put into the situation of being a whistle‐blower and leaking records countering a prevailing view of government activity in the war against terror?” Cox discusses the ethics codes adopted by records and information professionals and suggests that we may now need to revisit these in the light of new laws, methods of gathering intelligence and the prevention of terrorism. Disturbingly, records professionals may increasingly find themselves at odds with the national interest (as perceived by the state), and they need to be prepared for this.

Cox's book raises some important issues and, on the whole, provides intelligent and useful discussion of these. There are questions here that ought to be considered by anyone responsible for maintaining records and information, and I would recommend the book to them. The Introduction to the book, in particular, gives a good overview of the central issues facing records professionals today. Ultimately, however – and I think Cox himself is well aware of this – I'm not sure that he (or anyone else for that matter) has the answers. Archivists alone cannot ensure the accurate recording of human activity for posterity, though they are one of its prime agents. But this book, in addressing the many facets of archive management, should at least ensure that we are more alert to the dangers facing the profession – and society – today.