Public Sector Records Management

Records management has undergone significant change in recent years, owing to the introduction of freedom of information legislation as well as the development of e-government and e-business and the need to manage records effectively in both the private and public sector. There are very few purely practical texts for records managers and this book aims to fill that gap. The author has spent his entire career in public sector records management and has contributed to records management standards for governments around the world. The text is wholly practical and written at an accessible level. Although the author discusses legislation and examples from the UK, the book is relevant to public sector records management at an international level. It will be essential reading for professionals in record management posts as well as anyone who is responsible for record keeping as part of their operational duties.

This book argues that records management can contribute to public sector reform and transformation in the new climate of austerity, without losing its essential characteristics. Over the last 15 years, records management has prospered, tackling problems of electronic information and building a strong case for information governance based on a model of regulation and management control. The public sector environment is now changing rapidly, with more emphasis on efficiency, flexibility and innovation, devolving control, loosening regulation, and cutting budgets. By linking practical ideas about the use and management of knowledge, the author will draw on insights from the study of policy-making and programme delivery to show how managing the relationship between records and knowledge, their creation and use, can not only make an important contribution to public sector innovation in itself, but also reconcile the demands of regulation through a wider concept of the governance of knowledge as well as information. Draws on practical real-world examples Focuses on how records management can respond to the challenges of transformation in this period of public sector retrenchment, as yet little discussed elsewhere Integrates concepts from records and knowledge management in a coherent applied framework, and locates this within the context of policy-making and delivery, to achieve positive benefits

Records management has undergone significant change in recent years, owing to the introduction of freedom of information legislation as well as the development of e-government and e-business and the need to manage records effectively in both the private and public sector. There are very few purely practical texts for records managers and this book aims to fill that gap. The author has spent his entire career in public sector records management and has contributed to records management standards for governments around the world. The text is wholly practical and written at an accessible level. Although the author discusses legislation and examples from the UK, the book is relevant to public sector records management at an international level. It will be essential reading for professionals in record management posts as well as anyone who is responsible for record keeping as part of their operational duties.

This book identifies key factors necessary for a well-functioning information infrastructure and explores how information culture impacts the management of public information, stressing the need for a proactive and holistic information management approach amidst e-Government development. In an effort to deal with an organization's scattered information resources, Enterprise Content Management, Records Management and Information Culture Amidst E-Government Development investigates the key differences between Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Records Management (RM), the impact of e-Government development on information management and the role of information in enhancing accountability and transparency of government institutions. The book hence identifies factors that contribute to a well-functioning information infrastructure and further explores how information culture impacts the management of public information. It highlights the Records Continuum Model (RCM) thinking as a more progressive way of managing digital information in an era of pluralization of government information. It also emphasizes the need for information/records management skills amidst e-Government development. Ideas about records, information, and content management have fundamentally changed and developed because of increasing digitalization. Though not fully harmonized, these new ideas commonly stress and underpin the need for a proactive and holistic information management approach. The proactive approach entails planning for the management of the entire information continuum before the information is created. For private enterprises and government institutions endeavoring to meet new information demands from customers, citizens and the society at large, such an approach is a prerequisite for accomplishing their missions. It could be argued that information is and has always been essential to all human activities and we are witnessing a transformation of the information landscape. Presents research with broad application based on archives and information science, but relevant for information systems, records management, information culture, and e-government Examines the differences between Enterprise Content Management and Records Management Bridges a gap between the proponents of Enterprise Content Management and information professionals, such as records managers and archivists