Editorial

Citation

McLeod, J. (2006), "Editorial", Records Management Journal, Vol. 16 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/rmj.2006.28116caa.001

Editorial

The unusually high summer temperatures that the UK is witnessing as I write my editorial have had many people checking the records. Radio and television news items have reported temperatures exceeding all others since “records began”. But July has not been the only good month weather-wise in the UK. Two weeks in May were also very good which was excellent timing for the hosting of a very different kind of conference in Newcastle upon Tyne. Entitled “Exploring the Essence of Records Management: Engaging with Experts”, organised by Northumbria University where I am based, and co-sponsored by Emerald Publishing and Iron Mountain UK Ltd, it comprised a series of “witness seminars”. We believe it is the first time such a format has been used for a records management conference in this country, and no doubt it will not be the last since the delegates were unanimous in their positive feedback.

The opinion piece in this issue, written by David Ryan a member of the Records Management Journal Editorial Advisory Board, is based on the concluding remarks he gave at the conference in his role as conference rapporteur. His ability to distil the essence of one-and-a-half days of intense, stimulating and very enjoyable discussion and debate was remarkable; so much so that it seemed a pity not to share his views as early as possible with a much wider national and international audience. As well as sharing the “food for thought” offered by the participants, he also offers his own food for thought in the form of a series of important questions that we need to consider.

Although some issues of the Records Management Journal are deliberately themed, this is not one of those, and yet there is a common thread running through all of the contributed articles. They all provide case studies looking at information and records management tools, but very different ones, and presented in different ways, focusing on different issues.

To begin, Nigel Craig and Professor James Sommerville of Glasgow Caledonian University share not just one, but three case studies from the construction industry. The findings are from research undertaken in connection with a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between the university and a private sector company. The UK Government’s Department of Trade and Industry KTPs are an excellent opportunity to build partnerships between academia and business for mutual benefit (see www.ktponline.org.uk/), and it would be excellent to see more in the records and information management discipline. In their article the authors examine the construction industry’s approach to managing project information and the use of information management systems (IMS) software through an evaluation of three projects. They highlight the benefits of using IMS as well as the pitfalls. Major construction projects generate vast quantities of information and sharing that project information in different locations at different times is essential for the successful and timely completion of any construction project. There are valuable lessons to be learned from the findings of this research investigation.

The next article, by Gary Malkin, could hardly be from a more different context but one which, in fact, involved much construction a few years ago. As Librarian and Archivist of BALTIC, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead which is only a short distance from my own university campus, Gary has the challenge of capturing and sharing information about the exhibitions, performances, etc. that have taken place in the art gallery. Since BALTIC has no permanent collection and a non-collecting policy this is as much a question about how to capture the gallery’s memory as it is about information retrieval tools to enable its access. The focus is very much on using appropriate digital tools to do the capture and provide access to its wide range of users. What happens “behind-the-scenes” in a converted flour mill is fascinating.

The remaining two articles both look at business classification schemes and file plans for organising records in the digital environment. María José del Olmo, a document management officer with the European Commission, provides a detailed insight into the development of the business classification scheme used by the Commission’s Directorate General Environment. Using a functional approach the classification system is represented in two-dimensions, as a matrix, where one dimension relates to types of business activities and the other to subjects or the field of business operations. After very thorough pilot testing the approach appears to work very well indeed, which is precisely what is required of any business classification scheme and file plan derived from it.

On the same topic, business classification schemes and file plans, Diane Bedford of the Sector Skills Development Agency and Jeff Morelli, who acted as consultant to the Agency, share an example of implementing a business classification scheme without an electronic document and records management system. Their focus is on the approach taken, including the introduction of policies and procedures, the project management method, training and IT upgrade requirements. They emphasise that the approach was not to focus on IT and show how successful implementation was achieved whilst also highlighting actions for improvement that emerged from the post-implementation review.

In addition to all of these articles being case studies they have another common thread and that is the need to facilitate effective information sharing, and hence information use. This surely is what good records management is about.

Returning to the witness seminar conference, that is the subject of the opinion piece, Rachel Hardiman, Records Assistant at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, was one of the conference delegates. She offers a very positive incisive review of the conference and in the process includes some valuable references. Ceri Hughes reviews a book whose title alone is sufficient to capture the reader’s interest Corporate DNA – Using Organisational Memory to Improve Poor Decision-making. As a knowledge manager and records manager Ceri found the book an “invigorating read” and one that should stimulate further thought about the role records managers can play in using organisational memory (both tacit and recorded) to add greater value to the organisation. For those records managers keen to play such a role she says this book should be added to the top of their reading list. And I have included a brief review of what is a novel tool with huge potential for the records management discipline. espida is a model for communicating benefits to senior managers in a language they understand. Originally conceived for demonstrating the value of digital resources the developers from Glasgow University, lead by Dr James Currall, have recognised is much wider potential value in building business cases, making impact assessments and evaluating proposals.

Finally, I wanted to mention, for anyone who has not yet seen it, the Microsoft Records Management Team blog (http://blogs.msdn.com/recman/default.aspx), which a member of the journal’s Editorial Advisory Board kindly brought to my attention. Running since April this year members of the Microsoft team are sharing their views on managing records in the e-environment and the records management functionality which will be part of both the new MS Office SharePoint Server 2007 and MS Exchange Server 2007 software releases. If you were fortunate enough to have been at the Managing Electronic Records (MER) conference in May (www.merconference.com), then you may have heard one or both of their presentations on the topic. Perhaps, like me you’ve been wondering when Microsoft would start to incorporate records management functionality. It appears we are about to see it. If anyone would like to review the blog (there is some interesting reading on it) then please let me know and we can feature it in the resources review section.

Julie McLeod