From Sumeria to Sunny Hill: are we still cooking the books?

Abstract

The accuracy, completeness and authenticity of a record assure its reliability as an acceptable informational and evidential document. An evaluative, historical survey of the possibility and desirability of achieving reliability in records with special application to the pupil records at Bruton School for Girls, Sunny Hill, Bruton, Somerset, UK indicates that such reliability has not been achieved since records began with the Sumerians, although every generation of record‐keepers has invented methods to aim to ensure it. Because definitions of accuracy or what makes a true record have not been universally accepted, although reliability is desirable for most record keepers, deliberate and accidental error occurs. Aiming for eradication of error by installing efficient records management systems will ensure a better approximation to the truth of a record.

Citation

Chapman, A. (2004), "From Sumeria to Sunny Hill: are we still cooking the books?", Records Management Journal, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/09565690410528901