Editorial

Citation

McLeod, J. (2007), "Editorial", Records Management Journal, Vol. 17 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/rmj.2007.28117baa.001

Editorial

The number of textbooks on records management and related topics is relatively small in comparison with, for example, other branches of the information management profession. But, as I highlighted in the previous editorial, this has changed in the last two years, at least in the UK. A recent discussion with one UK-based publisher and perusal of the contents of the latest catalogue of another publisher indicate that this change will continue with many exciting and much-needed titles forthcoming. Evidence of the change can be found in this issue, which contains no fewer than eight reviews of resources and is the reason why I begin, rather than end, this editorial discussing them.

Rather than cite each resource and its reviewer individually my comments are reserved for the range of topics they span and their origins. Five are about record keeping specifically, although each has a very different focus; two relate to information/corporate governance and the other is about research. There is also some overlap, rather than duplication, between the topics in all but one item – an indication perhaps of today’s professional agenda. The range of authors and editors is international and the intended audiences for the books vary. The latter include the less experienced and the very experienced records professional as well as the broader information professional. The text on gatekeepers is not aimed at information professionals at all but contains much of relevance and much to make us think. Their nature varies from the practical to the polemic. We look forward to including many more reviews in future issues and if any reader of the Records Management Journal would like to review a resource please contact the Professional resources Editor, Catherine Hare.

Peter Benfell, now an independent consultant after a career in government, not only provides the opinion piece, but also one of the most tantalising and elusive titles I can recall for any article published in the journal. In it he explores the roles of today’s records managers and also cites one of the eight reviewed resources. Very current! To be accurate Peter explores the more thought-provoking notion of “expectations” within the context of roles, and not just the roles of records managers but of other recordkeeping stakeholders. Before you read the piece you might like to consider what makes records managers distinctive – what are our particular specialisms, our expertise that sets us apart from other information managers? Is it appraisal theory, retention management, classification, something else? Whatever your thoughts, one of the messages to take from this opinion piece is that we should reassess our personal and professional expectations in the e-environment.

Dr Gillian Oliver, Senior Advisor on Digital Preservation at Archives New Zealand, share some of the results of her doctoral research into the relationship between culture and the successful implementation of standards, in particular of ISO 15489. Her case study research involved three universities, which were similar in terms of functions but different in terms of terms of location (namely, Australia, Hong Kong and Germany), and therefore likely to have different cultural characteristics. The article is interesting from the perspective of both the findings and the research process; Gillian used the records continuum model as an analytical tool to identify success factors for managing change and introducing international standards. As the title of her article suggests, knowing your organisation, its culture and attitudes, is key to successful records management.

Dr Karen Anderson, based at Edith Cowan University, Australia, explores a range of issues of particular concern to educators and trainers in her article on education and training for records professionals. In addition to exploring the relationship and distinction between education and training, she highlights the responsibility of educators to help students learn to learn, to become lifelong learners and subsequently reflective practitioners. These are both concepts that are core to my own institution in terms of its programmes for records and information professionals and the academic staff who develop and deliver those programmes.

The final article comes from Nigeria. Dr Sunday Popoola and David Oluwole, at the University of Ibadan, present the results of their investigation into career commitment of civil service records professionals in their country. The responses of nearly 300 staff revealed significant negative relationships between career commitment and job tenure and level of education but a positive relationship between age and career commitment. It would be interesting to conduct comparative research in other geographical locations.

Increasingly as editor I find that there is often a common thread or at least a link between the articles in an issue of the Journal and this issue is no exception. People are at the heart of each of the contributions here, whether it be records professionals and their roles and continuing professional development, record keepers and their attitudes or those preparing to enter the profession. There should, therefore, be something for every reader.

The final issue of 2007 will focus on research. Research is high on the academic agenda in the UK as the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise approaches but it is also one of wider import to the profession. In fact Karen Anderson describes the encouragement of research in the records profession and encouragement of its professionals to “undertake research-based higher degrees” as an “urgent issue for the archives and records management profession.” Research and development are after all what take us forward.

Julie McLeod