Archives & Records Management Ireland

RMS Ireland Meeting 26 October 2006

2006-09-25T15:35:00.000Z

The Records Management Society cordially invites all Records, Information and Archive Professionals interested in those issues affecting the profession in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the 2nd meeting of the “RMS Ireland” regional group in Dublin City Hall, 26 October 2006.

In response to the feedback received from attendees at our inaugural meeting, leading practitioners in the field from different sectors will share their knowledge and experience of implementing practical steps for a successful records management programme in a series of case-studies and a practical workshop.

Please see below for details. If you would like to attend please contact: sah@eurofound.europa.eu.

A list of participants will be circulated at the meeting. If you do not wish your details to be included please notify us when you confirm attendance.

AGENDA
RECORDS MANAGEMENT SOCIETY IRELAND GROUP
CITY HALL, DAME STREET, DUBLIN 2
26 OCTOBER 2006

CLEARING THE FOG
PRACTICAL STEPS FOR SUCCESSFUL RECORDS MANAGEMENT

9.30 – 10.00 Registration & Coffee
10.00 – 10.05 Welcome address by John Tierney, Dublin City Manager, Dublin City Council

10.05 – 10.15 Introductions: Robert Corbett, Chair, RMS Ireland, Belfast City Council

10.15 – 11.00 Paul Dodgson, Leicestershire County Council
Establishing a Records Management Culture in your Organisation
Establishing a Records Management Policy and developing a Strategy, to deliver change, which will include: conducting information audits, developing file plans, retention schedules, change management, procurement, project management, EDRMS buy and build

11.00 – 11.20 Tea/Coffee and Networking Opportunity

11.20 – 11.30 Aidan Maher, Dublin City Council, will introduce the pre-lunch session

11.30 – 12.00 Lisa McElhinney, Records Manager, DIAGEO Ireland
Records Management in DIAGEO Ireland: the private sector experience

12.00 – 12.30 Claire Graham, Records Manager, Craigavon & Banbridge Community Health & Social Services Trust
Records Management in Health and Personal Social Services organisations in Northern Ireland
12.30– 12.45 Discussion

12.45 – 14.00 Lunch (sponsored by Glenbeigh Records Management)
and Networking Opportunity

14.00 – 15.30 Workshop on Developing a File Plan with Functional Value and Flexibility

14.00: Training session led by Paul Dodgson

14.30: Round Table discussion groups

15.00: Feedback from discussion groups

15.30 Closing remarks: Robert Corbett, Chair RMS Ireland

Please note that attendance is limited to 85 attendees due to space and Health and Safety considerations. Preference will, therefore, be given to members of the Records Management Society. Details available on www.rms-gb.org.uk.

RMS Ireland

2006-07-21T16:28:00.000Z

The Inaugural Meeting of the Records Management Society Ireland Group (RMS Ireland) was held in the impressive surroundings of Belfast City Hall on 29 June.

The meeting which was formally opened by The High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor William Humphreys, was attended by over 100 delegates representing the public, private and semi-state sectors from Ireland, North and South. The delegates heard presentations by Julie McLeod from the University of Northumbria, Paul Duller and Lawrence Rogers of the Records Management Society, Mike Beare and Harry McCabe of the Northern Ireland Civil Service EDRMS Project and Brendan Murphy of the HSE Mid-Western Area.

Following the presentations, and a lunch sponsored by Archives Consulting Services Ltd, delegates were asked to engage in an open discussion on the future role of RMS Ireland, topics for future discussion and education and the state of Records Management in Ireland.

Finally a Committee was elected to serve for the next 12 months, comprising principally of;

Robert Corbett – Chairman
Sarah Hayes – Secretary
Pat Reidy – Treasurer

The next meeting is planned for October, to take place in Dublin. This meeting will address the interests and concerns voiced by delegates at the inaugural meeting and a large turnout is to be hoped for again.

Archives Consulting Services

2006-05-05T13:51:00.000Z

Looking over this blog I realise its been a long time since I posted anything, this has primarily been because I've been busy running my company Archives Consulting Services. Since we started in April 2005 the company staff and turnover have quadrupled, and we're now the acknowledged number 1 provider of Archives and Records Management services throughout Ireland. We're also the only consultancy in Europe to have successfully carried out ISO 15489 certification for our clients.

I've been speaking at a variety of conferences and seminars over the last months, and I hope to put some of my presentations online in the near future. However I'm currently managing a number of major projects in Dublin, Galway and Belfast so it may be a while before the next update.

In the interim, you can contact me through the Archives Consulting Services website if you require any information relating to your information, document, archives or records management needs.

Records Management and Organisational Change

2005-11-08T14:59:00.000Z

You can see my Powerpoint presentation on Records Management and Organisational Change here. Many thanks to all that attended, and to Aidan Maher from Dublin City Council, Kerry Holland of UCD Archives Department and Martin Brown of SAP for their interesting presentations. Thanks also to SAP and Filestores for organising today's event.

Emails as Records

2005-10-23T15:54:00.000Z

I found this interesting article on the ongoing question of "what to do with your emails" - as with all Records Management issues it really boils down to having proper policy and procedures in place.

Much of what is transmitted through an email system or an instant messaging (IM) system constitutes a ‘record’, or a document that must be kept for a minimum period of time that is often established by statute.

A messaging archiving system that can index, store and purge these records according to corporate or other policies is an important component of an overall messaging management strategy, particularly in heavily regulated industries, such as financial services or healthcare.

However, messaging archiving systems can also provide other benefits, including the ability to automatically migrate messaging system content to other storage media, thereby making messaging servers more efficient and users more productive.

Other benefits of messaging archiving systems include the ability to make the messaging system serve as a corporate knowledge store, allowing users to mine data for a variety of purposes.

Corporate Reluctance to Retain Messaging System Data

Virtually no enterprise decision maker is undecided about the costs associated with messaging (they want to reduce them), the need to deal with viruses or spam (they want to eliminate them) or the basic need for messaging capabilities (email is viewed as more important than the telephone in many enterprises). However, there is significant debate and uncertainty about whether or not to preserve the content of email and IM systems on a long term basis.

Report Focus

This report analyzes the North American market for messaging archiving, providing the results of two surveys that were conducted specifically for this report during May 2004. The report also offers a variety of other information from additional surveys and secondary research, as well as information on key requirements for messaging archiving systems.

This report analyzes the market for messaging archiving not only from a compliance perspective, but also from the perspective of the improved storage management, knowledge management and assistance with legal discovery that a messaging archiving system can provide.

Key Findings Presented in this Report

- Most enterprises do not preserve email and instant messages in an archiving system, instead relying on simple tape backups to preserve content from their messaging systems.

- Current practices by most non-regulated enterprises make it very difficult to recover old email during legal discovery, during a regulatory agency’s audit or simply when a user is looking for old content. However, during the past
three years, the IT departments of nearly three in four enterprises surveyed has been required to search through backup tapes in response to a formal legal, HR or other request. A large percentage of enterprises have been ordered by a court or regulatory body to produce employee email.

- Compounding the problem is the fact that message stores are growing rapidly, increasing 24% in volume between May 2003 and May 2004.

- Although only 15% of enterprises surveyed employ a messaging archiving system, 62% of enterprises view such a system as either ‘desirable’ or ‘very desirable’, implying that there is significant unmet demand for messaging archiving capability.

- Most enterprises have no policies or systems in place to prevent users from deleting messaging system content that is important for the enterprise to retain on a long term basis.

- Fewer than one-half of enterprises have an email retention policy in place, despite the fact that virtually all enterprises use email for business applications.

- Most enterprises that are not heavily regulated, such as organizations outside of the financial services industry, are not satisfying the minimum data retention periods imposed by the array of statutory requirements for records retention.

- For the most part, enterprises view their preparedness for regulatory compliance to be inadequate.

Inside Government Article

2005-10-18T09:53:00.000Z

My article on Decentralisation and Records Management for Inside Government Magazine is now available here. You can also see a text version of the article here.

Digitisation of Archival and Manuscript Materials in Libraries

2005-10-11T15:51:00.000Z

You can see the presentation on Digitisation of Archival and Manuscript Materials in Libraries that I gave at this year's Library Expo in the RDS here.

For more on Scanning and Digitisation see the Archives Ireland Scanning Information page at www.archives.ie/scan.html

Data Storage = Good Corporate Governance

2005-09-22T16:15:00.000Z

I have a new article on Data Storage and Vital Records Protection at Techcentral.ie

Records Management Benchmarking

2005-09-20T18:17:00.000Z

You can see my presentation on Records Management Benchmarking: Choosing a Standard here.

Many thanks to all from DMG and Canon involved in organising today's seminar and to the the other Speakers Tom Maguire, John Roddy and Steve Rolls King for their informative presentations.

We got great feedback from this event and it was encouraging to see so many organisations seriously addresssing their ongoing Records Management issues.

Information Management Compliance for the Financial Services Sector

2005-09-14T18:30:00.000Z

Tuesday September 20th Clarion Hotel, IFSC, Dublin 1

Ensuring your organisation is compliant in the area of Information Management can sometimes be a daunting task. With new regulations, standards and legislation now required in the area of records management, Financial Services need to ensure that they are fully compliant in this area.

A number of experts in the field have come together to offer a half day seminar for people working in the Financial Services Sector in relation to Information Management Compliance for the Financial Services.

Benefits:

This workshop is aimed at providing independent advice on best practice, regulations and legislation relevant to the financial services sector. It offers many opportunities for financial based companies to recognise sweeping benefits from compliance-based information management projects. Additionally, you can explore how information management fits into internal auditing and compliance practices, looking at which regulations are relevant and which standards and frameworks can help.

Who Should Attend:

• Business Owners/Directors
• Record Managers, including Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officers
• Compliance Managers
• Risk Managers
• Operation Managers
• HR and Office Managers

Agenda:

Two half day workshops will take place on Tuesday September 20th in Clarion Hotel, IFSC, Dublin 1.

8.30am Registration
9.00 – 9.45am The Data Protection Act - Tom Maguire, Deputy Data Protection Commissioner
9.45 – 10.15am Records Management Benchmarking: Choosing a Standard - Martin Bradley
10.15 – 10.30am Coffee Break
10.30 – 11.15am Compliance for Information Management - John Roddy, Canon Ireland
11.15 – 12.00pm Corporate Governance for Document Management: Getting the Foundations Right- Stephen Rolls King

The afternoon session will be a repeat of the morning session. Afternoon registration will commence at 1.30pm and the last session will finish at 5pm.

Speaker Biographies

Martin Bradley: is a qualified Archivist and professional Archives & Records Management Consultant. Martin has previously worked with financial institutions such as Allied Irish Bank plc and Irish Intercontinental Bank. With 8 years experience in Information Management Consultancy, Martin has specialised in the area of Records Management training and ISO 15489 throughout Ireland and the UK.

Stephen Rolls King: formed Transact Business Solutions (TBS) in 1995 in the UK and expanded into Australia, Japan, USA, Bermuda and Switzerland between 1996 and 1997. Stephen Rolls-King provides consultancy services, specialising in the financial sector, for the implementation of Document and Records Management, as well as associated services such as Corporate Document Strategy, Information Compliance, Data Conversion, Hardware and Software Specifying and Information Controls.

Tom Maguire: was appointed Deputy Data Protection Commissioner in September, 2001. He is responsible for the investigation of Data Protection complaints, as well as all of the Office's Data Protection compliance functions, provision of guidance and advice and the strategic development of the Office in the light of the statutory responsibilities arising from the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. Prior to this, he was Head of Human Resources for the Prison Service and also held various positions in the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform.

You can book your place here

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie

Decentralisation and Records Management

2005-08-26T09:41:00.000Z

Decentralisation provides an unparalleled opportunity for Government Bodies to address their ongoing Records Management requirements and to resolve any deficiencies that may exist in relation to accessibility and conservation of their historical/archival material.

Physically moving archives, records and infrastructure into new storage and retrieval centres, outsourcing the running of records centres, cataloguing and barcoding material as it is checked in to ensure efficient future tracking of files, setting up servers with taxonomies that mimic file organisation charts for hard copy files, implementing new procedures for file creation and disposition and the formulation of policy for Records Management are all key areas that will need to be addressed as part of decentralisation. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner highlights some of these areas to be addressed in their Decentralisation Implementation Plan. CMOD has also published a basic Records Management Training Manual for use by Government Bodies.

Government Bodies must be careful not to squander this opportunity to set their records, past, present and future, straight. It is therefore vital that advice is sought from the right sources. Archives Ireland keeps an up-to-date list of qualified consultants.

For more information see the Second Report of the Decentralisation Implementation Group

See also my presentation on Records Management in Ireland: Current Situation, Policy and Issues which covers key drivers including Decentralisation, Policy and Standards.

ISO 15489 Records Management

2005-08-15T11:20:00.000Z

I've been asked by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to chair two round table discussions on their behalf at the Info Ireland event on 13/14 September.

I will be discussing the steps involved in ISO 15489 certification and the legal, administrative and regulatory benefits of applying the standard to your organisation.

You can register to attend, free of charge, here

For more information on ISO 15489 and Records Management see Archives Ireland

To delete or not to delete emails?

2005-08-09T11:44:00.000Z

Microsoft prides itself on selling you software that lets you to quickly locate and organise your e-mail. Yet, two years ago, Microsoft employees were instructed by a senior executive, Jim Allchin, to "not be foolish, do not archive your mail".

A prominent Silicon Valley company - not Google - has a business model that focuses on collecting and archiving web pages from around the internet: yet it has a policy of deleting employees' e-mails after a few weeks.

The schizophrenic nature of these tech companies, who, while they create incredible tools for storing and generating data, now methodically destroy their own digital records, comes from bitter experience.

Companies have suffered under discovery, the legal process in which the private internal communications of their executives are summoned and poured over by opposing attorneys.

Microsoft first learnt the pain of saving too much when discovery uncovered a delicate query from Bill Gates, asking "How much do we need to pay you to screw Netscape?". Microsoft's hyper-competitive internal culture looked far from innocent when ancient e-mails were uncovered and quoted in court.

But Netscape, Microsoft's ancient competitor in the browser wars, had its own discovery woes. Unlike Microsoft, it had a strict document retention policy before the battle with the Redmond giant that meant that almost every mail was shredded within 90 days. Microsoft's own lawyers discovered and pounced upon an employee's private archive of a mailing list called "Really Bad Attitude", consisting entirely of Netscape workers freely venting about their work conditions.

So what should you do? The standard legal suggestion, which Microsoft, Netscape and others have - against their geekish instincts - adopted, is to delete all messages other than those they are legally bound to preserve.

But that is easier said than done. Data oozes everywhere, and with every computer logging so promiscuously, attorneys will often dig far further than lax destruction policies. Allchin's missive to delete mail itself was preserved.

And the closer to watertight a document retention policy gets, the worse the discovery can become. A deposition in a class suit against Boeing revealed that the company, while it had a retention policy, did have 13,000 e-mail backup tapes stored in a Washington DC warehouse. Decoding, restoring and picking over the tapes took thousands of hours of employee time, and the contents were so damning as to contribute to the $92.5 million (€76.5 million) the company settled for.

The problem is this: for most computer applications, the cost of storing data that may be useful one day is so low, and the price of deleting the wrong thing is so high that their creators err on the side of logging everything.

E-mail clients like Outlook save every mail by default, even when it is impossible for anyone to rationally pick through its archives.

Your web browser idly stores the address of every single page you visit in its history file for anything up to a month, on the assumption that such a surfeit of data might one day be useful. Back-up programs back up everything, for fear that some vital bit of data might be lost.

That you will want to refer to this history is unlikely: the chances are that the data is only used occasionally to suggest the ending of a website address, or to turn those hyperlinks that you have clicked on purple.

Unless, of course, you are a jealous spouse, an investigating attorney or a nosy company tech guy. Retaining data is cheap: until it becomes very expensive indeed.

But merely having a data retention policy can cause its own problems: the American Civil Liberties Union, whose investigations often revolve around an expectation of meticulous record-keeping practices of government, was embroiled in scandal when its archivist resigned. Her complaint was that despite a careful retention policy, key officials had "personal shredders" in their offices to selectively destroy documents.

And the recent overturning of a criminal conviction against Arthur Andersen by the US Supreme Court revolved around how and when, precisely, it was alright for them to destroy archives. In the end, the Supreme Court decided that Andersen's decision to enforce a previous retention policy more strictly was acceptable, even though lower courts had decided that this was incriminating behaviour.

So, delete mail or not? For most of us, a lawsuit against us is barely imaginable, and for that far-off reason we neither have the time nor the organisation to successfully purge our files. We act in exactly the opposite way that lawyers - and perhaps our best interests - would recommend: delete sporadically, let our applications collect data where they may. Our computers file away everything for a determined investigator, but nothing we can casually use ourselves.

No matter how many times their company or their profits are affected, deleting data that might one day be useful, no matter how unnecessary it seems now, is against every instinct a technologist treasures. So they - and we - log away, hoping contradictorily that this data will stay safe and stay out of the wrong hands.

Source: The Irish Times
See more information on Electronic Records Management

"The Future is Bright for Paper"

2005-07-22T09:10:00.000Z

I found this article on the Hewlett Packard website:

"We may be living in the digital age but the long-awaited paperless office is no nearer now than it was 30 years ago.

Our use of computers, email and the World Wide Web hasn't consigned paper to the waste bin of office history.

Quite the reverse in fact according to a new book, The Myth of the Paperless Office (MIT Press), by research scientist Abigail Sellen of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories Bristol and Richard Harper, Director of the Digital World Research Centre at Surrey University.

They explain that digital technologies lead more often than not to an increase in the amount of printing we do. Case studies have shown that use of the Web and email can cause a rise in paper consumption of up to 40 per cent.

Sellen is one of two HP scientists who have recently published books with MIT Press. In October, MIT released The Laws of the Web: Patterns in the Ecology of Information by Bernardo Huberman, an HP Fellow and director of the Information Dynamics Lab.

In The Myth of the Paperless Office, Sellen says that paper will continue to play an important role in our lives. Far from being outmoded, paper is the perfect medium for many key work activities and so complements digital tools.

"Paper certainly isn't going away," Sellen says. "Rather than pursuing the idea of the paperless office, we should be finding creative new ways to use paper and electronic documents together, to get the best out of both technologies."

As the authors point out, if you want to know which people in a company are getting down to real knowledge work, look for the desks covered with paper, then check their wastebaskets -- they should be full.

Sellen and Harper began their investigation of the use of paper in the office five years ago. They were amazed that there was so little research looking at why people continue to use paper in the digital age. The data that did exist was mostly just trend analyses of projected paper use.

So they started their own in-depth study of the work that people do and the way they do it, focusing on more than 10 organizations, including a police force, an air traffic control suite, a hospital and a chocolate manufacturing company.

At one of organizations, the International Monetary Fund in Washington, the authors found that employees use paper for 85 percent of their activities even though they have the latest digital tools to hand.

Our use of digital technology may continue to grow, but "one thing is for sure," says Harper, "the future is bright for paper."

For more information on how to manage your paper files see www.archives.ie

PRONI Records Management Page

2005-07-20T11:36:00.000Z

The new PRONI webpage for Records Management has been launched today at www.proni.gov.uk . To access - click on 'Records Management' on the PRONI homepage. PRONI's Initial EDRM Lessons Learned Report has been published on the site also.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie

Info Ireland Exhibition - ISO 15489

2005-07-17T12:30:00.000Z

I will be chairing a round table discussion on the importance of ISO 15489 in Irish Records Management at the Info Ireland event on 14 September at the Burlington Hotel, Dublin at 2.00 pm. For more information and to book your place see the Info Ireland website http://www.infoevent.net/delegates/programme/prog_list_14th.asp

For more information on Records Management and ISO 15489 click here

CSTD Records Management Guidelines

2005-07-07T16:14:00.000Z

The Civil Service Training and Development Centre has produced a set of guidelines for Records Management in the Public Sector, entitled Old Rules are still Good Rules which is available here

The document aims to reinstate some of the old values of record-keeping that became casualties of the paperless office, but which more and more institutions are now realising are essential to efficient administration. It includes this handy guide on "How to declutter your office"

1. What is the objective?
Ask the question – If I were not in the Office could every record under my control, either paper or electronic, be quickly and easily located by a colleague? Aim to organise your records so that the answer to this question is yes.

2. Before you start
Know the rules - Locate a copy of the records management policy in place in your organisation.
Set aside time – Schedule specific time into your diary for records management – even a ½ hour per week will make a significant difference. Let your colleagues know that you are devoting time to this the task.

3. Remove the clutter
Everything belongs on a file - Place papers from folders, pocket envelopes, etc. on an appropriate official file.
Lessen the clutter - Dispose of duplicate records unless there is significant notation on the copy. For example, all records where a Minister has had an input or where a significant amendment is recorded should be preserved.
Choose meaningful titles - Open new official files as required. Avoid catch-all titles such as general or miscellaneous correspondence. Such files will quickly attract a large volume of material from which it will be difficult to extract the relevant records for day to day business purposes, FOI, Discovery Orders, etc. Where such a file must be created, an index of documents should be placed in the inside cover.
Send non-active records to storage - Put old volumes (parts) of a file which are no longer live and are not likely to be needed frequently in the central file storage.
Destroy old non-official papers - Some items can be destroyed where they do not constitute official records and are no longer of use due to the passage of time. Items which can fall into this category include
· documents which were used for reference only i.e. periodicals, articles, press cuttings, old conference notes, trade magazines, etc.
· manuscript notes which have been typed and placed on file
· obsolete forms
Multiple copies - You may hold copies of records which are also held elsewhere in the organisation. Examples might include material circulated on which your section had “no obs” and where the original is held elsewhere in the organisation. Depending on the continued relevance of the documents to your section, it may be sufficient to retain evidence that a “no obs” reply was given.
It may be worthwhile to check with colleagues or with your library if they have an interest in particular documents before disposal.

4. Order
Create order – Put files away in an ordered manner, such as numeric, alphabetical, chronological, etc. which will best meet your business needs. A scheme should be easy to understand and in most instances an alphabetic scheme by file title is appropriate.
Grouping of files - In some areas the work will be broken down into sub-units and each of these sub-units could necessitate a self-contained filing system.
Electronic files – Ensure that electronic files such as e-mails, word processing documents, spreadsheets, etc. are filed in computer directories with titles which can be easily identified.

5. Filing cabinets/presses/filing shelves
Display contents lists - Labelling should be comprehensive and avoid the use of acronyms which are not in widespread use within the organisation. The outside of each drawer/ shelf should have an index of the files stored therein.
Use tabs - Where suspension files are used they should have tabs which clearly identify the file.
Record who has the file – Each suspension file should contain a simple index card which remains as a placeholder when a file is removed. The person responsible for the movement of the file should be recorded on the index card.

6. Casework
Label as appropriate to the needs of the office - Where a large volume of casework is involved it may be more appropriate that each shelf has a label to indicate the range of file names/numbers contained.
Tracing the movement of files - A suitable file tracking system, either manual or electronic, is needed where there is movement of files between members of staff and work areas.

7. Folders
Defined purpose only - When folders are used instead of official files they should have a definite purpose and a definite timeframe – i.e. a submission where the reader does not need the entire file.
Link all folders with a file - All folders should be given the title of the official file to which the papers will be associated. The cover of the folders should have a date created and a date by which the folders are to be returned with observations.
Temporary status - The papers from the folders and any associated observations are put on the official file at the earliest opportunity and the folders destroyed.

8. Clean Desk
Making space - Consideration should be given to having a “clean desk” policy, which means that at predetermined times or dates that all files and records must be removed from officers’ desks and filed appropriately.

9. Documentation
Record the system - You have done the hard work, so document the filing system which is in place. This should be capable of being covered in one page and a copy displayed prominently in the Office.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Kainos EDRM event a great success

2005-06-29T10:53:00.000Z

This morning's EDRM seminar organised by Kainos was a great success. Many thanks to John McCormack and Suzanne Shaw at Kainos for giving me an opportunity to speak at the event and to meet so many of the people who attended afterwards.

You can see my Powerpoint presentation on Records Management in Ireland: Current Situation, Policies and Issues at www.archives.ie/Records Management in Ireland.ppt

For more about Kainos see www.kainos.com
For more about Records Management and EDRM see www.archives.ie

Jobs / Vacancies for Archivists and Records Managers

2005-06-28T14:46:00.000Z

DMG Services are looking to recruit qualified archivists for a number of Archives and Records Management positions working on short and long-term contracts in Dublin.

For more information send CVs to Carrie Mullins at cmullins@dmg-services.com

E-Gov Monitor Article on ISO 15489

2005-06-22T11:21:00.000Z

UK site E-Gov Monitor has published an article on ISO 15489. Read it here.

Clongowes Wood College Archives Article

2005-06-14T12:24:00.000Z

This article appears in the Summer Edition of Heritage Outlook magazine, published by the Heritage Council. It outlines the recent work that has been carried out on the Archives of Clongowes Wood College and which has been assisted by a grant from the Heritage Council. Work on the archives has entailed listing material in a basic manner, repacking and reboxing for preservation and numbering/entering on a database for quick reference. Part of this work involved carrying out basic conservation and cleaning work including removal of paperclips and treasury tags and repacking in acid free boxes and folders. The Archives are now held in a dedicated storage room that was fitted out with environmental monitoring equipment and archival-standard shelving as part of the general refit of the Castle that took place in 2003, and there are facilities for exhibition as part of the renovated Serpentine Gallery.

The Archives

Clongowes Wood College was founded by the Jesuits in 1814 following the purchase of Castle Browne for the sum of £16,000 from the Wogan-Browne family. The purchase caused something of a stir at the time. John Gillard, writing in the Hibernian Magazine commented 'The magnificent edifice of Castle Browne in the county of Kildare, which cost over £26,000 in building, has been purchased by a party of Jesuits for £16,000. Ireland now stands in imminent danger. If Popery succeeds, our fairest plains will once more witness days worthy to rank with those of bloody Mary, and the walls of Dublin shall again become the lamentable bulwarks against popish treachery and massacre.'

The Clongowes Archives holds a complete set of title deeds for the Castle and surrounding lands, the earliest of which is a lease dated 01/12/1605 (John Wogan Esq. and Judith Wogan to Lord Viscount Gormanstowne; lands at Rathcoffy, Kildare), and includes the important Conveyance of 04/03/1814 by which Reverend Peter Kenney S.J. took possession of the castle on behalf of the Jesuits.

Archives relating to the foundation, upkeep and administration of the school form the greater part of the collection and include

· Student Registers 1814-present, and files for more recent pupils
· Accounts 1814-
· Journals of Prefects of Studies giving insights into the day-to-day running of the school, mainly 1818-1865
· Photographs / Photographic albums of pupils / school events
· Minutes and Registers relating to the many College Debating Societies
· Material relating to the merger with St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg
· Complete Student Registers for St Stanislaus College
· Material relating to Clongowes Past Pupils at war, including Clongowes Wood College War List revised to January 1918. Giving full details of all past pupils of Clongowes who served during World War I. (approx 800)
· Medical Journals listing ailments suffered by pupils and treatments prescribed
· Clongowes Union (The Clongowes Wood College Old Boys Association) material, including complete runs of the annual publication The Clongownian from 1895 and material relating to the 1914 Centenary Celebrations.

The collection also contains considerable material of general historical interest including

· Autograph collections of prominent 19th/early 20th Century figures
· Militaria from WW1 and WW2
· Correspondence and other material relating to famous past pupils, including Thomas Francis Meagher, John Redmond, James Joyce, Daniel O’Connell’s sons
· Material relating to the Suppression and Reinstatement of the Jesuit Order
· Historical and religious manuscripts from the 12th Century onwards
· Collections of Dublin newspapers from the 17th Century onwards
· Material relating to the Easter Rising and Irish Nationalism.

In all the collection is one of enormous social and historical significance, indeed Professor Eunan O’Halpin of Trinity College Dublin has identified it as one of the most important collections of Jesuit Archives in Ireland.

Further Work

The work that has been carried out to date has ensured the physical conservation of the archives. All the archives have been repacked and reboxed in acid-free materials, are now easily accessible by means of a database and are stored in environmentally stable conditions. However, plenty more remains to be done. As the next step it is anticipated that the photographic collections comprising glass plates, negatives and prints from the late 19th Century to the present will be properly catalogued, scanned and made available as a research resource.

About the author

Martin Bradley is a professional archivist and freelance Archives and Museums Consultant. For more information see www.archives.ie/consult.html

See a scanned version of this article at www.archives.ie/Clongowes Article.pdf

EDRM.....your journey to setting the record straight

2005-06-05T14:06:00.000Z

Event: EDRM.....your journey to setting the record straight
Date: 29/06/2005
Location: The Conrad Hotel, Earlsford Terrace, Dublin 2

"More than a quarter of Irish organisations would not be able to show that the information they hold electronically is accurate, accessible and trustworthy " (source AIIM 2004)

"The average organisation makes 19 copies of each document, spends 120 Euros or 400 hours per year searching for a missing file and loses one out of every 20 documents" (Martin Bradley)

Are these issues facing your organisation? Are you involved in developing a new information management policy? Do you need to know more about the operational as well as business case issues involved? Are you charged with researching and planning your business in response to key drivers such as FOI, DPA, compliance, decentralisation or cost management? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, your attendance at this briefing will be time well spent. This seminar will help you to:

Understand the key drivers

Cut through the jargon to the issues involved

Prepare for business case development

Gain extra benefits beyond compliance

Understand common mistakes and traps

Come to grips with essential changes to your technology, your business, your people

In this free of charge breakfast briefing, Kainos in conjunction with our partners Meridio and Microsoft will host a lively and informative session, giving you the facts about practical solutions for document and record management, delivered in the context of their experience in local and Central Government. Compere for the day will be Vere Wynn-Jones.

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Who should attend?

Business managers / owners

Records managers

Information systems managers

Freedom of Information, DPA compliance managers

IT Project managers

All involved in researching, procuring, implementing and exploiting

document and record management systems and procedures in Government

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Kainos and Meridio look forward to welcoming you at the Conrad Hotel, Earlsford Terrace,
Dublin 2, Wednesday June 29th at 07.30 am.

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Should you not be able to attend please feel free to forward this invitation to a colleague.

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To register click here or free phone 1800 927 315 or RSVP to s.shaw@kainos.com

Agenda
0730-0745 Arrival & Registration
0745-0810 Full Irish Breakfast served
0810-0815 Welcome & introduction by your compere Vere Wynn-Jones
0815-0830 "EDRM In Practice" - Kainos present a Public Sector Case study
0830-0850 Martin Bradley, Archivist, "Situational Analysis and Issues, looking forward"
0850-0910 Microsoft give their view of Information Management
0910-0935 Oliver Lennon, Kainos "How to make it happen"
0935-0945 Q&A and wrap up
0945-1030 Coffee and networking

Public Sector Forums ISO 15489 guide

2005-05-30T11:41:00.000Z

The UK site Public Sector Forums have used my article on ISO 15489 along with a piece by UK expert Dr Lydia Pollard on ISO 15489 and meeting the requirements of Service Priority Outcome G19. Under the terms of G19 all UK Councils must adopt ISO 15489 methodology for Electronic Document Records Management (ERDM) and identify areas where current records management policies, procedures and systems need improvement to meet the requirements of Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection legislation

The international standard ISO 15489 defines best practice for the management of documents and records management. The standard was devised to ensure that appropriate protection is given to all records, and that evidence and information they contain can be retrieved more efficiently and effectively, using standard procedures.

Read the article here http://www.publicsectorforums.co.uk/page.cfm?LANGUAGE=eng&pageid=1202 (You will need to register to view the article, but registration is free)

See also the Knowledge Ireland article on Records Management and ISO 15489 http://www.archives.ie/Records_Management_ISO_15489_Article.pdf

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Some useful sites

2005-05-19T11:53:00.000Z

Here are a couple of UK-based sites that are very strong on Records Management and EDRMS in the Public Sector.

http://www.egovmonitor.com/edrms

http://www.publicsectorforums.co.uk/

IRMT Releases free Records Management Tools

2005-04-27T11:35:00.000Z

The International Records Management Trust has released two new free Records Management tools. RMCAS and an E-Records Readiness Tool.

The Records Management Capacity Assessment System (RMCAS) software tool, funded by the World Bank, has been designed to help assess records and information systems in the public sector. The rapid growth of information technology presents significant challenges for capturing and preserving fragile digital evidence over time. In this increasingly complex environment, The Trust's aim has been to offer an objective means of evaluating whether the infrastructure and capacity exist to manage records effectively and, at the same time, to provide a methodology to identify problems and begin to plan solutions. RMCAS has modules for measuring records and information systems in the financial management, human resource management and legal and judicial areas. It also can be applied generically.

RMCAS uses a diagnostic model, based on the records life cycle or continuum, to assess records management policies, procedures and resources against established international standards and to identify strengths, weaknesses and risk areas. Three standards or models have been analysed and used as the basis for deriving statements of good practice (ISO 15489, the European Commission's Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records and the National Archives of Canada's Information Management Capacity Check). The diagnostic model is linked to a database of capacity building materials that can be used to support improvements in records management capacity and infrastructure in relation to the assessment. The Trust plans to expand this database over time.

The E-Records Readiness Tool, which was funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat, has been designed to be used in conjunction with existing E-Government Readiness Tools to provide a simple, high-level assessment that will determine whether a government or a public agency's records and information management infrastructure is capable of supporting e-government initiatives.

The Tool is a brief questionnaire that divides E-Records Readiness into 12 high-level components that make up the framework for managing electronic records (eg laws, policies, procedures and ICT infrastructure). Not only will the Tool provide a quick overall risk assessment of e-records readiness, but the process of completing the questionnaire should help to focus attention on the need to manage records as part of the overall e-government strategy. Where problems are identified, the Trust also provides a free Records Management Capacity Assessment System (RMCAS) software tool to support a more in-depth evaluation and to identify relevant capacity building resources.

Both tools can be download from www.irmt.org

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

For more information on Electronic Records see www.archives.ie/electronic.html

Lost Casement letters discovered

2005-04-27T11:26:00.000Z

A lost batch of letters to and from Roger Casement was last night described as a very significant find by Fianna Fáil senator Martin Mansergh.

The public will be able to view the letters for the first time from today.

At a reception to launch the collection last night in Ennis, Senator Mansergh said the letters are of considerable importance and add another dimension to the study of Roger Casement.

The 50 letters had been stored away under lock and key and possibly forgotten about for over 30 years before Clare County Council archivist Róisín Berry discovered them during a trawl of the vast council archive in 2003.

In an accompanying statement released with the archives last night, a leading expert on Casement, Angus Mitchell, said that the discovery of the letters "is a small jewel" to historians involved in Casement studies.

Mr Mitchell said that scrutiny of letters between Casement and an old German friend from his days in Africa, Count Gerhard Blücher, "enables a number of old biographical myths to be more critically examined and laid to rest".

The letters concern the last three years of Casement's life, from his arrival in Germany in 1914 to the very month he leaves Germany in 1916 on the U-19 submarine bound for Ireland.

The documents address a range of subjects including the enlisting of Irishmen in the first World War, the appointment of an envoy from England to the Vatican, the Findlay affair, the work of Father Crotty in German prison camps, writing articles for the press, keeping a diary, and the desire for peace.

Mr Mitchell said evidence from the letters should persuade a new generation of historians that a combination of isolation, disillusionment and depression, largely resulting from Casement's hatred of the first World War, was at the heart of his breakdown.

"What comes across most strongly, however, is Casement's inextinguishable passion and drive for the cause of Irish independence, reflected also in his writings from the period."

The last letter on file is one from Casement, dated April 4th, 1916, just 11 days before his departure for Ireland on a German U-boat, which landed him at Banna Strand, Co Kerry, on Good Friday, 1916.

The letters had been in the council's archive since the late 1960s after being donated by the late Ignatius M. Houlihan, who had received a gift of the papers from a member of one of the noble families in Europe.

Ms Berry said yesterday she came across the papers during an inventory of the archives. "At first, I did a double take, I wasn't expecting something so exciting. I instantly recognised the value of them and I was anxious to make them accessible as soon as possible."

Mr Mitchell said although there is plenty to suggest that significant parts of the Casement archive have, over the years, been lost or destroyed, the discovery of the Casement-Blücher letters confirms that history is not a fixed science capable of definite truths.

Born in Dublin in 1864, Casement had a successful career with the British Foreign Office before resigning from the service in 1913 due to ill-health. He returned home to Ireland when he put his energies towards achieving an independent Ireland.

The "Casement in Germany" exhibition will run from today to Friday June 3rd in Clare Museum's Westropp Room.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Archives Management see www.archives.ie/archives.html
For more information on Consultant Archivists see www.archives.ie/consult.html

Data Protection Act and File Sharing

2005-04-19T12:37:00.000Z

Internet service providers are refusing to provide the music industry with the names of customers accused of illegally sharing music on the internet. This is expected to lead to a series of lengthy court battles.

The Irish Recorded Music Association (Irma), which is a trade group representing firms such as Universal and EMI, said this week it wants to sue 17 individuals it accuses of illegally sharing music over the internet. It said it had gathered clear evidence of illegal supply of music tracks by what it calls "serial uploaders".

The industry claims to be losing tens of millions of euro in revenue every year because of illegal downloading of music by file-sharing software and networks such as Kazaa.

But Eircom and BT Ireland confirmed yesterday that this customer data was protected under the Data Protection Act and they would not be giving the names to Irma. "We can't reveal names of customers to them because of data protection laws. But if there is a criminal inquiry, we can deal with gardaí, but only the gardaí," said a BT Ireland spokeswoman.

Irma will now have to seek injunctions from the High Court to compel the service providers to supply the information they need to prosecute. It said it is confident that the courts will force firms to supply the data. However, legal experts warned that there is no such guarantee.

"Internet firms are justified in not voluntarily disclosing such detail. It is then up to the music companies to show in court that they have sufficient evidence that particular individuals have been illegally distributing music files," said solicitor Paul Lambert.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Electronic Records see: www.archives.ie/electronic.html

No Policy for Disposal of Confidential Records

2005-04-18T14:19:00.000Z

Eight out of ten Irish IT companies have no policy in place for the safe disposal of company files and documents, according to a survey by DMG Services. The number of IT firms without formal policies surpasses the Irish average of 62 percent. Meanwhile, SMEs across all sectors admitted to taking a casual approach to the disposal of files and confidential information: 79 percent of those surveyed said they had no formal policy in place. Over a quarter of Irish companies questioned strongly agreed that their attitude to document storage could pose a potential threat to the company, and DMG warned that this practice could leave companies exposed to security threats and could have a negative effect on customer relations if customer information were to get into the wrong hands.

Disposal of Confidential Records is an important element of any Records Management system, and should be governed by a Records Management Policy. Staff should be designated with responsibility for certifying the destruction of records according to a pre-arranged Retention Schedule and a certificate of destruction should be issued and then filed. This is also a key element for compliance with ISO 15489.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Records Management in Hospitals called into question

2005-04-11T12:17:00.000Z

A new report on troubled Cavan General Hospital has shown that many of the problems identified at the hospital following the death of a nine-year-old girl last year are still present. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.

The report by the hospital's medical board points to a lack of clerical support throughout the hospital, which means patients' medical records may not always be available when they are needed.

When Frances Sheridan, from Cootehill, presented at the hospital's A&E unit with abdominal pain at the end of January last year, three weeks after having her appendix out, her medical records could not be found.

She was seen by two junior doctors who believed there was nothing seriously wrong with her and sent her home.

An obstructed bowel had gone undiagnosed and she died 36 hours later.

The medical board report, dated February 28th, 2005, was prepared for the Medical Council. Its purpose was to update the council on issues at the hospital since the council inspected it in the wake of the publication last June of a report into the circumstances of the girl's death. That report said medical records should be easily accessible on request.

The hospital medical board's report said lack of consultant trust in management continues and the medical board, made up of the consultant staff, is constantly reminded that it has no statutory or executive function.

It adds that there is ongoing lack of communication between management and the medical board over key issues on which communication should be possible.

"The communication between management and medical board remains dysfunctional," it says.

Furthermore, it says the report into the death of Frances Sheridan recommended that one paediatric trained/experienced nurse should be rostered on each shift because 30 per cent of attendances at the hospital's A&E department were children. However, this still hadn't happened.

"We consider this to be a serious and significant deficit," the medical board said.

The board's report, which has been seen by The Irish Times, also notes that staff are demoralised because of the lack of beds and resources.

Patients remain on trolleys in A&E while there are empty beds at Monaghan hospital. A plan for additional beds in Cavan, it says, has not been ratified by the Department of Health and at the current rate of progress a planned extension to the A&E unit, which is too small, will be several years away.

Furthermore, it states that a Royal College of Surgeons recommendation that three A&E consultants be appointed has not been met, and no clear structures have been put in place to develop any clear role of clinician in management despite numerous recommendations.

It also expresses concern that continuing bed shortages and an embargo on major surgery at the hospital means there is insufficient volume and complexity of work to maintain training standards and experience.

The medical board's report is the second in recent months to criticise the hospital. A separate report from the Royal College of Surgeons, following its inspection of the hospital in November, found the surgery unit to be in a "dysfunctional" state. It also referred to a lack of communication between management and consultant staff at the hospital and stressed that unless the situation was addressed, the entire unit may have to close.

Last night the Health Service Executive (North Eastern) Area said it required time to respond to the issues raised in the medical board's report.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Records Management see: www.archives.ie/records.html

For more information on Records Management Consultants see: www.archives.ie/consult.html

Read an article on Records Management in Ireland here

Article on Records Management in Ireland

2005-04-07T17:05:00.000Z

Here's an exerpt from an article that appears in this month's Knowledge Ireland magazine. To read the full article you can pick up a copy via the links at the end of the piece. KI is a relatively new publication but is essential reading for anyone involved in Information, Records or Knowledge Management.

".....In the public sector, the main driver has been the Freedom of Information Act. All records created since April 21st 1998 must be capable of being identified and retrieved quickly for FOI purposes. Although there has not been something as important and as singular as this in the private sector, the increasing emphasis on corporate compliance and the various associated ‘shredding scandals’ that led to this have created an environment where this is also important.

According to Martin Bradley, a leading Irish Records Management Consultant, “The private sector has been a little more slow in addressing Records Management, primarily because of the lack of any single piece of legislation to drive interest in the area, such as the Freedom of Information act.”

By comparison the drive for FOI has galvanised the public sector to invest in Records Management solutions, as there had been a significant decline in this area during the 1980’s.

Bradley continues “The key element that drove Records Management from within FOI was the inclusion of the clause that institutions could only charge for the retrieval of information or schedule it for destruction within the terms of a stated Records Management Policy. If you were not able to find information, or it took vast quantities of staff time to find information to respond to a request it was your responsibility. The fear of being swamped by requests for information that couldn’t be found led many public bodies to seriously examine their requirement for proper Records Management systems.”

Another element in the FOI drive towards good records management is one of embarrassment. The FOI legislation is policed by the Information Commissioner and they have the power to carry out an investigation at any time into the practices and procedures adopted by public bodies and present this to a joint committee of both houses of the Oireachtas.

During reviews, the office of the commissioner may find examples of poor record management because of fundamental flaws in a particular organisation’s record management policy. To illustrate this and the issues that can lead to this, in 2002, the Commissioner discovered that the Defence Forces “appeared to be having difficulty” in locating records concerning application to join the army. What transpired was that from the 1980s until 2002, there had been no policy in place relating to the maintenance of records relating to unsuccessful applications in at least some of the Commands and Brigades of the Defence Forces.

For those records that could not be found, there was no record of their destruction or information relating to what may have happened to them. Just as the commissioner was considering whether to carry out a formal review, the Defence Forces themselves recognised shortcomings in this area and had started work on a formal record management policy.

Where shortcomings in records management concern sensitive & personal data, the issues can be very far reaching. In July 2002, the Department of Health & Children started a project to index the records it has concerning people who, as children, were in the care of the State. There were apparently a large number of general files that mentioned individuals and these were not catalogued. One of the reasons why the Department embarked on this project was the fact that they were getting a large number of requests for information under FOI legislation. For people trying to find out about their past it must be frustrating – not to mention suspicious – if their requests for information are refused because that information cannot be found.

To lead by example, the Office of the Information Commissioner published its own internal records management handbook late last year. In the document it states that the absence of a proper records management policy “is directly linked to inefficiencies and increased costs” and that their policy of keeping everything indefinitely was “inadequate and would leave the Office unable to cope with the growing mass of unmanaged records”. It provides a useful pointer for other organisations and is available from http://www.oic.gov.ie/264e_3c2.htm.

Martin Bradley aggrees that ridicule is also a powerful incentive for businesses to act – albeit for the wrong reasons; “Many businesses have come to the area as a reactive measure, especially in the wake of tribunals and legal investigations where their inability to lay their hands on necessary documentation has been a source of embarrassment.”

To properly galvanise the private sector in the same way as the public sector, Bradley believes that the Government needs to put out a single piece of legislation that covers all Records Management requirements for companies and clarifies the situation in a definitive way.

“Most of the legal framework that affects Records Management, especially requirements for things like permanent periods and retention media is hidden away in a wide swathe of legislation such as the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, Electronic Commerce Act 2000, the Data Protection Act (including the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003) and many more, so you really need to know your way around the different acts in order to be really compliant”.

Bradley believes that most businesses and Government bodies are “pretty good” about their records management but don’t necessarily have the most effective or systematic approach to it.

Even without legislation there are some pretty convincing economic arguments for adopting an official records management policy. At the moment, companies are so scared of throwing anything away that might be needed later they often hoard vast quantities of unneeded, unused documentation.

This “lets be on the safe side” policy may seem cheaper than investing in a Records management policy but it is a short-term approach that hides significant business benefits.

Martin Bradley feels that the first benefit such a policy brings is to give organisations the confidence to safely dispose of extraneous paperwork knowing that their legal obligations have been checked and there is a schedule and procedure for doing this. “As a rule of thumb about 40% of what is held in offices can be classed as extraneous in this context – the savings in the physical cost of storage and the manpower needed to perform it can be significant.”

“Money can also be saved by helping organisations lay their hands on the information they need, when they need it. The average organisation makes 19 copies of each document, spends €120 in labour searching for a lost/misfiled document, loses 1 out of every 20 documents and office workers can each spend 400 hours per year looking for lost files. As between 1% & 5% of all documents are misfiled this is not really surprising. The potential for cost savings is significant and provide fairly quick return on the investment in establishing the policy.”

At the moment countries like the US, UK and Australia are ahead of Ireland in developing this records management culture but Martin Bradley feels that Irish companies will catch up fast, once they see the significant savings to be made. In an increasingly competitive world market, any measures to improve efficiency and cut costs tend to be grabbed by businesses with both hands.

These policies have tended to relate to the management of traditional data, but the increasing use of technology is causing specific problems that can be addressed in a records management policy.

One of the first errors organisations make is to assume that because information is being stored electronically, then it is the responsibility of the IT department and not the Records Management Policy. Any communication that documents a business transaction or function should be classified as a ‘record’, and this includes emails, spreadsheets and databases, as well as more traditional paper-based records. It is the content that is important – not the medium.

Bradley agrees that the newer technologies have also created extra problems – in addition to them adding to the amount of records being created. “There is no doubt that email, messaging and SMS have opened up a can of worms for many organisations. For instance many firms involved in share trading have had to freeze their employees out from Instant Messaging products such as Yahoo/MS Messenger for fear of sensitive information being leaked.”

“The real danger is that employees view these forms of communication as being personal, whereas they are in fact business transactions. They can be easily traced to the issuing organisation so a very clear policy must be in place for these services to ensure that nothing libellous or containing sensitive business information about your company or its clients is inadvertently passed on.”

Email is a key area here. Many people are quite ruthless at maintaining an empty inbox, whereas others tend to only delete information when quotas are breached. In both cases key company records could be destroyed. If companies recognise the importance of email in this context they tend to keep everything just in case. The issuing of guidelines on which email constitutes a business record and mechanisms to file them accordingly will help ensure obligations are met, while minimising unnecessary storage costs.

To meet the demand for standards in this area, the International Standards Organisation launched the first standard in this area in 2001. Named, in typically romantic Swiss fashion, ISO 15489 – Information & Documention – Records Management. Aimed at those responsible for setting policies, standards and guidelines for information management within organisations, it is now possible to attain accreditation in ISO 15489 from the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

The standard was put together by experts from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia who jointly reached agreement on a clear and systematic approach to the essentials of record keeping.

At the time of its launch, Robert McLean from the ISO technical committee that drew up the standard was quoted as saying it “clearly shows how an organization can systematically and effectively improve its record keeping - and do so in such a way that the business objectives are supported. Senior management will be able to identify tangible benefits such as reduced costs and better managed risks, thereby contributing to better corporate governance." For those executives who see this as just another burden on their business this should be a nice bonus for them.

In the absence of a single piece of legislation, this standard may well act as the catalyst the private sector needs to adopt professional Records Management policies and there is a precedent for it. Companies did not adopt and develop quality policies & procedures from the 1990s because of the requirements of legislation, but because there was an internationally recognised standard – ISO 9000 – the attainment of which was used signify that the organisation had developed systems to help improve their business and therefore their customer care.

It soon became common for businesses to only agree to do business with organisations that had achieved ISO 9000 and so it became a self-perpetuating approach. Martin Bradley thinks that ISO 15489 will soon achieve the same level of significance because “it reflects a commitment to good record keeping and assures clients and regulatory bodies that your organisation takes Records Management seriously, with all the benefits to efficiency that entails. “

“Before there was no benchmark for Records Management, but this standard allows organisations to clearly show that they organise their information efficiently, which I suspect will have a major impact on which companies get chosen, especially for Government contracts, in future.”

...Therefore, a solid Records Management policy can also significantly contribute to your public image and reputation. Not only will it allow you to save money and save time, but it also helps you to save face."

For more information and guidance on Records Management visit www.archives.ie/consult.html or email info@archives.ie

For more information on Knowledge Ireland magazine, including how to subscribe see
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/knowledgeireland/

Paper trail is the key to open government

2005-03-21T09:54:00.000Z

The Travers report on charges for persons in long-stay care is a landmark in Irish public administration.

John Travers worked at senior level on economic and industrial policy in the Taoiseach's Department in the 1980s, and went on to chair Forfás, the umbrella body overseeing the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. He is one of a number of highly motivated and hard-working public servants, who helped bring about the conditions for the Celtic Tiger economy.

As Minister for Health Mary Harney noted in the Seanad, the Travers report cost a fraction of cumbersome tribunals. In terms of value for money, the method of inquiry chosen in this instance wins hands down.

The report was clearcut in its conclusions and attributions of responsibility. The criticism that Travers should have talked to more former senior officials and ministers does not hold water. The documentary trail is far more valuable and reliable than possibly faulty and inevitably defensive recollections. It would be interesting, however, to establish what, if anything, was on file in the Department of Finance

Running through the report is palpable anger at "long-term systemic corporate failure... principally a failure of public administration". While not dismissing a level of political responsibility, the primary duty to ensure that the legal basis of long-stay health deduction charges was straightened out lay with the public service.

There has been much talk regarding criminality and the Northern peace process of "parallel universes". "Overlapping spheres" may describe the relationship between political decision-making and public administration.

Ronan Fanning's classic history of the Department of Finance (up to 1958) gives the impression that, compared to key civil servants, ministerial influence on economic policy was often marginal.

On any given issue, the bulk of detailed work at the coalface is carried out by public servants, whose responsibility is to get it right.

There is much policy continuity between governments. Political difference typically focuses on a few issues. Long-term policy evolves as much from within departments or from social consensus as from political parties. Like Whitaker's White Paper on Economic Development of 1958, the 1986 NESC report was the policy blueprint for the economic recovery beginning in 1987, though politically sponsored initiatives such as the International Financial Services Centre made an important development contribution.

The Department of Health circular 7/76 administratively circumvented the legal, financial and political inconvenience of a Supreme Court judgment that precluded the charging of long-term patients with full eligibility for health expenses. There was a political and administrative preference for reinterpreting full eligibility, rather than stating explicitly that it did not mean what it said.

Nonetheless, there is near-universal political consensus on the equity of a substantial deduction charge for maintenance (even if Age Action marchers at the Tipperary St Patrick's Day parade were not impressed). Few advocate the Scottish system of providing long-term care entirely free of charge, now fully embraced in this week's British budget as an election sweetener.

This State, despite greater generosity in recent decades, remains frugal in its approach to social provision.

Because of cross-party culpability, emotive language has been restrained. If old people were being "robbed" for 28 years, it seems extraordinary that the Oireachtas would try to legalise the practice, if not retrospectively then for the future.

Many would agree that the 80 per cent maximum deduction, which leaves little money for discretionary spending by poorer pensioners, must not become the norm. A little extra humanity by the State can surely be accommodated by tax revenue.

The real scandal apparently is the potentially massive compensation bill. If decision-makers had been alert to this, they would have reacted much earlier.

The lack of ministerial focus on this over many administrations has been noted, with the cursory exception of John Boland. Ministers of State are often not that close to senior ministers. Special advisers, never a substitute for formal channels between civil servants and ministers, provide useful additional contacts. Part of their job is to identify and advise of looming political problems.

The Oireachtas seems to have paid equally little attention to warnings buried in lengthy reports.

The conjuncture of a more persistent Fine Gael opposition and the advent of a new Minister for Health in Mary Harney brought the matter finally to a head.

It is sad when capable, hard-working public officials quit their post, because of some omission, which rarely cancels out their previous contribution. Let those who invariably succeed in responding promptly and without fail to all their duties cast the first stone.

Yet every senior public official, however secure their employment, has to reckon with the eventuality that an unforeseen real or perceived lapse in standards may demand their having to step aside to satisfy accountability.

An administrative scandal in Germany, over sanctioned abuses in granting visas, despite clearer political involvement, has not led to a senior ministerial resignation.

Few commentators have dwelt on the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Financial compensation is the lifeblood of civil law. Rather than invoke the principle of fiat justitia without responsibility for consequences, the justification is that the State today can afford to pay.

(Charles Haughey as taoiseach in 1987 asked me to tot up the cost of Supreme Court judgments of the previous three years, which amounted to about £250 million.)

Though this one is more expensive, the costs can probably be absorbed, without prejudice to services. Beyond recent years, should estates be reimbursed, except where family hardship can be demonstrated? Some claimants seem ready to waive reimbursement.

The present debacle may have the benefit of reversing the trend of writing down as little as possible because of freedom-of-information legislation.

It is essential to any good system of administration, notwithstanding the value of informal contact and unminuted exploratory discussion, that views and communications be recorded in writing.

No dutiful civil servant should be deterred by fear of FOI, or the knowledge that, when major controversy breaks, documents (or the lack of them) become open to public scrutiny.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html
For more information on Freedom of Information see www.archives.ie/freedom.html

Source: The Irish Times

Filestores first Irish Company to receive ISO 15489

2005-03-15T13:20:00.000Z

First ISO 15489 Record Management Certification in Ireland

The Minister for Trade & Commerce, Mr Michael Ahern T.D., has presented Filestores, the Document Storage & Data Management Company with ISO 15489 at the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment. Filestores, who is also a part of DMG Services, is the first record management company in Ireland and one of the few in Europe to have received this ISO standard.

ISO 15489 is a new standard which promotes and spreads international best practice for records management. It focuses on the business principles behind records management, applying to records in any format or media, and shows how organisations can establish a framework to enable a comprehensive records management programme.

Commenting on the presentation the Minister said, “Managing information in the workplace is becoming increasingly important. Having a standard that benchmarks a company’s performance in records management will assist all levels of management in adhering to best practice. This assures customers that their information is not only easily retrievable but ensures that costs can also be managed efficiently.”

The General Manager for Filestores, Mr Cecil Ryan added, “This is further proof that Filestores systems, processes and people are the best in the business. We are proud to be leading the industry in with our high quality records management service.”

For more information see www.filestores.com
See also The National Standards Authority of Ireland website www.nsai.ie
For more information on ISO 15489 and Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Department of Health retrieves missing letters

2005-03-14T11:19:00.000Z

Missing file: Copies of the documents in a key file on nursing home charges prepared for the Attorney General by the Department of Health in 2004 were made available to the Travers inquiry, the Department of Health insisted yesterday.

The file, which was never sent to the Attorney General, had disappeared, the Travers inquiry found, and it is still missing.

It was prepared by a group of civil servants for department secretary general Michael Kelly, following a meeting in December 2003 in the Gresham Hotel at which it was decided the AG's advice should be sought on the legality of imposing charges for long-stay care on elderly medical-card holders in public nursing homes.

Mr Kelly told the Travers inquiry he recalled reading the file at the end of January/early February 2004. It had been presented to him for his signature.

He believed he sent it to the then health minister Micheál Martin's office because of its legal, financial and political consequences.However, Mr Martin claims he never received it.

Given that the file is missing, it cannot be established if Mr Martin's office received it or not. It would have been stamped by the Minister's office if it arrived there.

The report said there was no documentation showing the file being logged in or out of either man's office.

It was only when the present Minister for Health, Mary Harney, was asked about the legality of nursing home charges in the Dáil last October that it emerged the file had never been sent to the Attorney General.

When Ms Harney ordered that the Attorney General be consulted, a copy of the documents which would have been in the missing file was retrieved from the civil servants who prepared them for Mr Kelly in early 2004. Civil servants normally keep copies of letters they prepared for others, the Department of Health said.

The Travers report noted that the letter and background papers sent to the Attorney General last October following Ms Harney's intervention "were essentially those prepared in January 2004".

The copies of the documentation contained in the missing file were made public by the Department of Health yesterday.

It said so many documents were provided for former head of Forfás John Travers, who compiled the report, it would have been impossible to append them all to his report.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Source: The Irish Times

Office of the Information Commissioner publishes Records Management Handbook

2005-03-06T10:55:00.000Z

The Office of the Information Commissioner has recently published its Records Management Handbook. You can read it here in full:

Office of the Information Commissioner

RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
November 2004

Contents Page

Introduction 1
Records Management: the Context 2
Why a Handbook? 5
Records Management Standards 6
Records Management Policies 7
Records Management Procedures 13
Governance Mechanisms 16

1. Introduction

In Summer 2003 a project team was established within the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) to look at how the Office manages its records environment after five years in existence. The team comprised Des O'Neill, Mary Byrne and Cathal Duffy and following staff surveys and a review of existing arrangements, a report was produced in Autumn 2003 which provided a number of recommendations as to how the Office should manage its records environment going forward.

Following consultation with the Committee, a Records Management Framework document was agreed and presented to management which incorporated a prototype operational handbook which outlined the standards, policies and procedures required to put in place a fully functioning records management infrastructure.

A Records Manager (Cathal Duffy) was then appointed and, as an essential interim step, an overhaul of a number of the existing databases was undertaken particularly OIC Typists General and Office Files. The Framework document was also copied to all staff who were invited to make submissions, comments or recommendations on its content in advance of the publication of a formal Records Management Handbook.

The Handbook has now been finalised having regard to all of the various staff contributions and in the context of changes brought about as part of the records management project, such as the installation of a new hi-spec scanner.

The process also involved meeting with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the National Archives and securing their agreement to proceed on the basis as outlined in this Handbook.

2. Records Management: the Context

The International Context
Records Management is becoming an increasingly important part of corporate governance in organisations of all sizes worldwide. An important factor in this heightened awareness of the role of Records Management is ISO 15489 which was published by the International Standards Organisation in September 2001 and has since been adopted by the National Standards Agency of Ireland.

Experts from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia developed ISO 15489 to ensure that a common standard was established and it has emerged at a time when Records Management in Ireland has become increasingly important in the context of the introduction of the Freedom of Information Acts, 1997 and 2003 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act, 2003.

ISO 15489 is aimed at individuals responsible for setting policies, standards and guidelines for information management within organisations including records managers, archivists, librarians and database managers. It sets out a comprehensive framework and methodology for the design and implementation of a sustainable Records Management infrastructure and includes guidelines for doing so with a description of the actions and outputs that are required at each of the following eight stages.

Preliminary assessment including staff surveys
Detailed analysis of existing work practices
Identification of a framework outlining what is required
Detailed analysis of existing systems
Identification of a strategy to meet requirements
Design of a Records Management system
Implementation of the new Records Management system
Post-implementation review and ongoing assessment

ISO 15489 is however just one of several national and international standards that provide such guidelines. According to the World Bank, a properly functioning Records Management infrastructure within an organisation requires;

appropriate management structures and trained staff,
adequate and continuous funding,
appropriate environmental conditions and physical security,
awareness and compliance with legal requirements such as Data Protection, and
computer systems that fully meet current and future business requirements whereby;
upgrades are provided when required to sustain efforts,
source data is well organised, accurate and easily accessible,
a reliable power supply is available with realistic back-up and storage procedures, and
adequate communications and sustainable technical support are provided.

The OIC Context
The OIC relies on records to conduct its business. Records are essential for the effective and productive functioning of the OIC and without a records management infrastructure the OIC would be incapable of managing current operations and would have only limited ability to use the experience of the past for guidance in future.

The OIC's records, both hard-copy and electronic, document decisions taken and activities carried out and serve as a benchmark by which future activities and decisions can be measured. Without proper management of these records, staff will increasingly be forced to take decisions on an ad hoc basis without the benefit of organisational memory. Records management is therefore inextricably entwined with increased transparency, accountability and good corporate governance.

The absence of a proper records management framework is directly linked to inefficiencies and increased costs. The OIC's previous policy of retaining all records indefinitely was inadequate and would leave the Office unable to cope with the growing mass of unmanaged records. This would make it ever more difficult for staff to retrieve the information they need to manage workloads and to make informed recommendations and decisions. The fact that the
Office creates, receives and retains both hard copy and electronic records would, in time, compound problems in this regard. Accordingly, it is clear that the OIC needs to ensure that its electronic information systems and databases are not set on top of an inadequate paper filing system which in time would result in two detached regimes that would become incapable of being managed in unison.

3. Why a Handbook?

This Handbook provides a framework to facilitate the consistent management of OIC records. The aim of this Handbook is;

to co-ordinate records management standards, policies and procedures which support the OIC business plan and organisation strategy,
to facilitate a more consistent approach to organising activities and documents,
to ensure that all standards, policies and procedures are traceable to one of the High Level Goals contained in the business plan,
to improve security and confidentiality controls, and
to reduce costs to the organisation in terms of time spent looking for a particular record and in terms of freeing up storage space that may be currently used to retain records that are never going to be required again.

In drawing up this Handbook it is intended that it should;

be appropriate for this organisation and our requirements,
be used and enforced on a regular basis by all staff members,
be communicated to all staff,
increase staff awareness of the role of records management in supporting organisational efficiency,
avoid complexity where a simple solution will suffice,
be complete and thorough and address all relevant record management issues,
be flexible to changes in our business strategy, and
be efficient and cost effective.

4. Records Management Standards

The OIC Records Management Standards are a set of principles that define how documents and records components are to be created, managed and used by this Office. Without such standards, and as the number of records increases substantially as each year passes, the OIC would find itself with uncoordinated approaches, architectures and processes which are incohesive and costly in terms of resources and which will become increasingly difficult to manage.

It is essential that all OIC Staff familiarise themselves with these standards and adhere to them.

Document and Record Standard
Lotus Notes is the principal office tool for the creation of documents and records and should be used for all document and record management activities. The only exception to this would be when staff may wish to avail of facilitates offered by the IT Unit to prepare presentations that may, for practical or technical reasons, have to be produced using non Lotus Notes tools such as Powerpoint etc.

Database View Structure Standard
Databases within Lotus Notes are defined by the data contained within them and the various "views" are used to present that data to the user.
Wherever possible, a Lotus Notes database should have a hierarchical structure which facilitates the logical storage and retrieval of data.

5. Records Management Policies

The OIC Records Management Policies are required to provide guidelines to all OIC staff on the handling of documents and other forms of records. These policies are closely linked to procedures which describe the step-by-step tasks for complying with a policy. Without policies staff may make decisions on the retention and storage of documents and other forms of records that are uncoordinated and which result in inefficiencies and increased resource costs.

It is vital that staff are familiar with and adhere to these Policies.

Filing of Hard-Copy Documents
All hard-copy documents must be filed as soon as it is possible to do so.
All case related hard-copy documents must be placed in chronological order on the appropriate case file.
All other hard-copy documents must be placed on the appropriate Office File, or other as appropriate.
Any queries in relation to the appropriate file that a particular document should be placed on should be directed to the HEO in the Support Unit or to the Records Manager.

Responsibility for Filing of Documents
The person responsible for a hard-copy case file is the official recorded as the "case worker" on the case tracking system.
It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that they have been recorded as the "case worker" each and every time they take physical possession of a case file.
All documents relevant to a case file should be passed to the "case worker" as soon as possible and that person is then responsible for filing the latest documents received.
As regards non-case related documents, it is the responsibility of the "relevant" official to ensure that documents created and/or received are properly filed and can be readily accessed both physically and electronically.
The "relevant" official is the signatory to a document that originates in the Office or, if the document was submitted to this Office by a third party, the person to whom the correspondence has been addressed. If the correspondence is not addressed to any particular official, if it is addressed to the Commissioner, or if it is sent to the wrong official, it is the responsibility of the person who ultimately deals with the correspondence to ensure that it is properly filed.

Scanning of Hard Copy Documents
All hard copy documents received, except the actual records that are the subject of a review, must be scanned and saved in the appropriate file on the case tracking or other database, as appropriate . Exceptions would be hard-copy documents received that are of no value to the Office, such as innocuous circulars or publications, including documents received in error, that are not being placed on a hard-copy file.
Hard copy documents being placed on a hard copy file must be scanned onto the electronic version of that file thereby ensuring consistency between the two systems which in due course will facilitate destruction of the hard copy version in accordance with the policies that are referred to below.
If hard copy documents are received which are difficult to scan, such as bound publications etc., the Office should request the sender to forward an electronic version of the document. If an electronic version is not available, the cover of the document should be scanned and a "Quick Note" created to indicate that a full version of the document has been placed on the hard copy file.

Logging of General Enquiries
Apart from innocuous enquiries directed to or received by the Office in error, all enquiries dealt with by the Office should be recorded on the General Enquiries database. This would include enquires received by phone, letter, fax, e-mail and from persons who call to reception. Such enquiries should not be recorded as EGENs on the case tracking system.
The General Enquiries database provides for the capture of the name and address of the person making the enquiry, their query and the nature of the answer provided and these should all be recorded to the greatest extent possible. Enquiries received by letter or fax should be scanned onto the database and those received by e-mail should be copied onto the database.
In the case of persons who call to reception or elsewhere to make a face to face enquiry, these details should also be entered onto the database.

Case and non-Case Related Typing Policies
All case related typing should be created and retained in the appropriate case file on the Case Tracking database. No case related work should be created or saved elsewhere e.g. in the OIC Typists General database.
Non-Case related official typing should be carried out in the appropriate folder of the staff member concerned in the OIC Typists General database. All staff members should save any such typing in a folder under their own name within this database. If a record created in the OIC Typists General database becomes official and is finalised i.e. it is issued, published, circulated or retained as a final document, it must be then copied and moved into the appropriate file in the Office Files database and be deleted from the OIC Typists General database i.e. the record should not be retained in two separate databases. Staff should not create draft documents in the Office Files database as this should always reflect the final position of a document. This is not to say that short memos or notes of meetings etc. cannot be created in Office Files but it is important that they are finalised immediately and not left as a work in progress.
Draft documents created in OIC Typists General that are not subsequently finalised should be deleted as soon as the staff member that created the record is satisfied that it will not be required and therefore has no retention value. Deletion of records from the Typists General database can only be carried out by the HEO in the Support Unit or by the Records Manager. Accordingly, when staff wish to delete a record, they should contact one of those persons, preferably by way of an e-mail with a link to the record in question.
All staff also have a Private Typing database which should generally be used only for the creation of personal records. It is important that this database is not used for drafting case related or other official OIC work which other OIC staff may require urgent access to e.g. when staff are on leave etc. Personal records of staff should not be created or saved in any other database, such as OIC Typists General, as all OIC staff have open access to all records in OIC related databases e.g. staff member A can view the content of staff member B's folder in the OIC Typists General database.

Case Work Retention Policies
All review applications received are allocated a case reference number and both a hard-copy file and an electronic case record is created even if the application is subsequently found to be invalid or is not accepted for whatever reason.
As regards records retained electronically on the case tracking system, these records should be retained for a period of seven years. There are two exceptions to this policy. The first applies to the actual decision letter in cases where a decision issued under section 34(2) of the Acts. Decision letters are to be retained indefinitely on the case tracking system. The second exception applies to the electronic records relating to a case that is or has been the subject of a High Court appeal and also a small number of cases that are considered to be of "precedent value" (e.g. the decision taken has been published on our website and may also include a number of reviews given a category 3 ranking by the Investigator).
All hard copy records of both reviews carried out and applications that were not accepted should be destroyed one year after a final decision has been taken. Exceptions to this policy are cases that are or have been the subject of a High Court appeal and cases that are considered to be of precedent value, as per above, hard copies of which should be retained indefinitely.
Apart from cases that have been or are to be the subject of a High Court appeal, the Office will seek to return all of the records that were the subject of a review to the public body concerned eight weeks after the Commissioner's decision or immediately if the case has been withdrawn or settled. If the public body indicates that it does not want the records to be returned, they shall be shredded as soon as possible by OIC staff.

Non-Case Work Retention Policy
An electronic version of all non-case work records must, where practicable, be created. All letters, notes, reports, memos and other records created by staff must be saved, when finalised, in the appropriate electronic Office File or General Enquiries database. All correspondence received from outside of the OIC must be scanned or, if applicable, an electronic version should be sought and saved in the appropriate file.
The electronic version of all Office Files can be retained indefinitely subject to the Personal Data Retention Policy. However, apart from sensitive original documents that may be required to be retained in that format, hard copy records can be destroyed one year after receipt provided an electronic version has been created. Where it was not possible to scan or acquire an electronic version of a record, the hard copy will be retained on file, subject to the Personal Data Retention Policy, for as long as it is considered by a Senior Investigator to be of retention value.
Given that all correspondence in relation to General Enquires is captured electronically, it is not necessary to retain hard copies of such correspondence for longer than one year after the enquiry was dealt with. The electronic record of such enquiries must be retained for seven years and then deleted.

Statistical Records Retention Policy
All statistics generated must be filed both electronically and on the appropriate hard copy file.
All such statistics, apart from those that relate to identifiable individuals, should be retained indefinitely in electronic format whilst hard copy records should be destroyed in line with the general policy of destroying hard copy non-case related records after one year.

Personal Data Retention Policy
Apart from the exceptions referred to under the Case Work Retention Policy, all personal data held in respect of case work should be deleted/ destroyed after seven years.
If any personal records whether hard-copy or electronic, such as statistics generated in respect of identifiable individuals, are held on the Office Files or other databases and are over seven years old, these must be reviewed each year in order that a decision can be taken as to whether they still need to be retained and, if so, whether they can be anonymised i.e. if the record must be retained is it still necessary to identify the person about whom the record relates.

Recording of E-Mails and Faxes Received
All case related e-mails and faxes received electronically must be copied and saved, either by way of clicking on the "Receive" button in the appropriate "Review Details" page or by creating a "Quick Note" under the appropriate case reference on the case tracking database. In the case of faxes received electronically, it may be necessary to amend this policy to provide that all faxes musts be scanned on to the database rather than copied. If this arises, an addendum to this Handbook will be issued.
All attachments received by e-mail must be sent to the IT Unit for virus scanning before being opened.

Destruction of Hard Copy Records
Records that are to be destroyed should be shredded, if necessary by an external firm under appropriate supervision.

Electronic capture of all relevant events
It is the Office policy to electronically capture all relevant events in relation to reviews and also all relevant information in relation to issues that arise which result in copies of correspondence being filed on the Office and General Enquiry filing systems and databases.
Accordingly, annotations, unless innocuous, should not be entered on hard copy records. An electronic (typed) note should be created and saved under the appropriate electronic file thereby ensuring that a record of all relevant events is retained and will not be lost when the hard-copy file is destroyed. If a hand written annotation is made on a record, by the Commissioner for example, then that document should be scanned and saved under the appropriate file before the case is closed.
The case closure checklist provides that the Investigator responsible for a case must ensure that this policy has been adhered to before the file can be returned to the Support Unit.

6. Records Management Procedures

This section describes specific procedures for Records Management within the OIC. In general, the requirement for such procedures is determined by the complexity of the business processes and accordingly it is clearly not necessary to define procedures which are readily understood by staff. However, in respect of the following procedures which are deemed sufficiently important to be included, any failure to follow them can lead to inefficiencies, including duplication of work and higher operating costs, and critically, the possible loss of records not intended for destruction.

All OIC Staff should familiarise themselves with these procedures and fully adhere to them if and when they are carrying out any of these procedures.

Document and Database Housekeeping Procedure
The content of all files and databases, both hard copy and electronic, should be reviewed periodically by the Records Manager with the assistance of the Support Unit.
Starting in January 2006, the hard copies of all '04 cases that were closed during 2004 and '98 cases closed during 1998, including applications refused, should be moved to a single secure location in the Office and considered for destruction in accordance with the Case Work Retention Policies. In January 2007, the hard copies of all '04 and '05 cases closed in 2005 should be treated similarly as should all '98 and '99 cases closed in 1999 and so on each year thereafter.
Also in January 2006, all '98 cases closed during 1998, including applications refused, should be examined on the case tracking database and considered for deletion in accordance with the Case Work Retention Policies. In January 2007, all '98 and '99 cases closed in 1999 should be treated similarly and so on each year thereafter.
Starting in January 2005 and continuing each year thereafter, the hard copy and electronic Office Files should be examined with a view to destroying/ deleting material that it is no longer necessary to retain in accordance with the Non-Case Work Retention Policy.
Starting in January 2006 and continuing each year thereafter, the review and destruction of hard copy General Enquiries records should commence in respect of all enquiries received and dealt with between November 2003 and December 2004.
As regards the deletion of electronic records of General Enquiries, this should commence in January 2011 in respect of enquiries dealt with and finalised in 2003 and so on each year thereafter.
The hard copy Office Files should be reviewed every January, in accordance with the Non-Case Work Retention Policy, with a view to removing obsolete documents and those that have been captured electronically for longer than one year. The electronic Office Files should also be reviewed every January to ensure compliance with the Non-Case Work Retention and the Personal Data Retention Policies.
The Typists General database should be reviewed quarterly by the Records Manager to ensure that obsolete draft documents, or documents already copied into Office Files, have not been retained unnecessarily.
Full completion of all of the above measures should be recorded on the electronic "Housekeeping Check-list" found in file no. OF/OIC/006/001/002.

Case File Shredding Procedure
All case files that are to be shredded must be separated from those of a similar vintage that are being retained. A spot check of 10% of all such files, apart from those which are simultaneously subject to electronic deletion, must be carried out in order to ensure that an electronic version of such records has been retained. These spot checks should be documented on an electronic check-list which should be saved in the Office Files database.
The shredding of such files should only be carried out in a location or at a time that will ensure that no other work, particularly paperwork, is being carried out in the vicinity of the shredding operation and in order that staff engaged in the task are not interrupted thereby ruling out the possibility of any other records being accidentally shredded.
As each case file is shredded, the details must simultaneously be entered on the "Review Details" screen on the case tracking system in order to reflect the fact that the file has been destroyed. The name of the official carrying out the shredding, as well as the date and time of the event must be recorded.

Other File and Document Shredding Procedure
In the case of records that were the subject of a review, which is not the subject of a High Court appeal, and which are not being returned to the public body concerned, these shall be shredded as soon as possible by a member of staff from the Support Unit. Such records must not be placed in a confidential waste bin.
Other documents that are being destroyed, such as those removed from hard copy Office or General Enquiries Files, can be placed in the confidential waste bin for shredding unless considered to be of some sensitivity, in which case they should be shredded by OIC staff.

Record Deletion Procedure
The deletion of electronic records, whether case related or otherwise, must be carried out with the assistance of the IT Unit. No records should be deleted without having made prior arrangements with the IT Unit to do so.
It is essential in making such arrangements that the records in question are being permanently removed from all systems and are not being moved into any auxiliary or archival storage facility. This is essential for compliance with the Data Protection Acts.
More detailed procedures in this regard are to be drawn up, before any records can be deleted, in consultation with the IT Unit and will be incorporated into future updated versions of this Handbook.

Scanning of non-Case Work Records Procedure
The post is opened by the Support Unit and correspondence which is non-case related is passed to the relevant official. The relevant official must then return the correspondence to the Support Unit for scanning and should clearly indicate which Office File, or otherwise, that the document(s) should be scanned and saved under. If the document is difficult to scan, the Support Unit should request an electronic version.
All of the above steps should, where practicable, be carried out within a maximum of three working days of receipt of the document(s) in question. It is vital that the relevant official passes the document(s) back to the Support Unit as soon as possible as any delay in this regard increases the likelihood that the document(s) may not be scanned at all.

7. Governance Mechanisms

In order to ensure that the standards, policies and procedures remain current and relevant, it is essential that they are reviewed on a regular basis. Due to legislative changes and other external factors which can affect the operation of the Office, such reviews should be carried out in an appropriate time frame. For example, if there is a change to the FOI Acts or Regulations which impacts on the OIC, the Handbook should be reviewed immediately in order to maintain relevance.

Staff are encouraged to recommend changes to the Records Manager at any time throughout the year.

Depending on circumstances, changes to the Handbook can be made at any time, either by way of issuing an addendum or by republishing. Otherwise an annual review is sufficient and will be carried out each August after consultation with all staff and a revised Handbook then published with all staff being informed of changes.

A member of OIC staff at Investigator level is to carry out the role and responsibilities of Records Manager whilst the HEO in the Support Unit is responsible for the day to day OIC Records Management activities that arise.

It is the responsibility of the Investigator managing the Reference Database to ensure that all material contained thereon is in compliance with this Handbook. In respect of case work records, the Reference Database for the most part only contains copies of published research, judgements and actual decision letters (which are being retained in any event) and therefore it is not envisaged that this Database would contain very many records that would be required to be deleted or anonymised etc. in accordance with this Handbook.

It is acknowledged that this first Records Management Handbook does not cover all of the record types, files and databases used by OIC staff. Later versions will encompass policies and procedures in relation to OIC records held in respect of FOI requests to the OIC, on the FOI Mail database, in Corporate Services Unit and in the Commissioner and Director General's Offices.

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html
If you would like to write a Records Management Handbook for your organisation contact me via the links here www.archives.ie/consult.html

ISO 15489: A Practical Guide for Irish Business

2005-02-27T19:13:00.000Z

Certification in ISO 15489, the International Standard for Records Management, is now available from the National Standards Authority of Ireland. This article aims to assist Irish Businesses to assess the benefits, both in terms of internal administration and public relations, that preparing for ISO 15489 will bring.

Who is the standard aimed at?

ISO 15489 is for any organisations that need to ensure their records (both paper and electronic) are properly maintained, easily accessible and correctly documented from their creation right through to ultimate disposal, be that archiving, imaging or destruction. The standard also ensures that this disposal is carried out in a transparent manner according to pre-determined criteria. ISO 15489 is then particularly important for organisations that need to reassure customers and clients that they maintain accurate, detailed records according to a stated policy, for instance the Health, Financial Services and State-Funded sectors. Of course good Records Management procedures as laid down in the standard bring their own rewards for all businesses; recent statistics indicate that managers spend an average of 4 weeks a year searching for or waiting on misfiled, mislabelled, untracked, or ‘lost’ papers; Up to 70% more records than needed are retained by most offices; Between 1% and 5% of all records are misfiled and; Office workers in general can waste up to two hours a day looking for misplaced paperwork, a total of 500 hours (62.5 days) per year.

What form does the standard take?

The standard is divided into two parts, ISO 15489.1-2002, Records Management - Part 1: General provides a high level framework for recordkeeping and specifically addresses the benefits of records management, regulatory considerations affecting its operation and the importance of assigning of responsibilities for recordkeeping. It also discusses high level records management requirements, the design of recordkeeping systems and actual processes involved in records management, such as record capture, retention, storage, access etc. It concludes with a discussion of records management audit operations and training requirements for all staff of an organisation. ISO 15489.2-2002, Records Management - Part 2: Guidelines provides practical and more detailed guidance about how to implement the framework outlined in Part 1. For example it provides specific detail about the development of records management policy and responsibility statements and outlines the DIRS process for developing recordkeeping systems. Part 2 also provides practical guidance about the development of records processes and controls and specifically addresses the development of key recordkeeping instruments such as thesauri, disposal authorities and security and access classification schemes. It then discusses the use of these tools to capture, register, classify, store, provide access to and otherwise manage records. Part 2 also provides specific guidance about the establishment of monitoring, auditing and training programs to promote and effectively implement records management within an organisation.

What systems need to be in place to achieve certification?

In the process of establishing the ISO 15489 standard, the ISO committee also formulated guidelines to implementing a sustainable records management programme across a broad spectrum of industries, irrespective of their country of origin. There are broadly eight steps in implementing a Records Management programme that meets the ISO standard.

1. Initial Overview

The first step in implementing an ISO 15489 records management programme is examining the administrative requirements of your organisation. This should cover all current internal administrative procedures, as well as external aspects such as economic and legal imperatives.

2. Analysis of Internal Administrative Structures

The next step is to carry out an in-depth analysis of your organisation's structures, functions, processes and activities. This will allow a better understanding of your records and the way that they are created and used by staff.

3. Identifying Records Requirements

The background information gained in the previous steps provides a foundation for identifying what influencing factors affect the creation and maintenance of records in your organisation. Requirements can vary depending on the creating office/department and some may be determined by legislation.

4. Assessing Existing Systems

Most organisations have some, albeit informal, systems in place for tracking and maintaining records. An assessment of existing systems needs to consider older processes the company uses and how to blend them with the new systems being developed.

5. Identification of Records Strategies

Once all the requirements have been identified, a company-wide strategy needs to be formulated incorporating policies, standards and practices to cater for them all.

6. Design of Records Management System

Only once the steps above have been implemented it is possible to start in on designing a Records Management System that incorporates best practice and most importantly mirrors the requirements of your organisation in order to minimise interference with core activities during the period of its implementation.

7. Implementation of Records Management System

The system should be implemented in easy to manage stages, each with an appropriate consultation period to ensure that the system reflects the needs of its users as well as the requirements of the standard. Since the new Records Management System will impact directly on most staff it is essential that a comprehensive training programme be implemented at this stage.

8. Review

Ensure all systems are working as designed, all records are accounted for and that staff have an adequate understanding of the requirement for a Records Management System, as well as how the nuts and bolts of the system operate on a day-to-day basis.

Useful Links

Archives Ireland www.archives.ie Links, resources and information on all aspects of Archives and Records Management in Ireland, including links to consultants and other service providers.

NSAI www.nsai.ie The National Standards Authority of Ireland

ISO www.iso.org The International Organisation for Standardisation

Filestores www.filestores.com The first company in Ireland to receive ISO 15489

About Martin Bradley

Martin Bradley is a professional archivist and Ireland’s only independent Archives & Records Management Consultant. Martin has helped organisations such as FÁS, Bord Bia, The Health Service Employers’ Agency, The Office of the Attorney General and others with their Records Management programmes. Martin can be contacted at 087 286 2274 or via his website www.archives.ie/consult.html

Vital Records Protection in Records Management

2005-01-31T11:18:00.000Z

I found this interesting article on how Vital Records Protection is an essential part of a Records Management Programme. While aimed at a US market, it is equally applicable to Irish Businesses.

Fire, flood or even burglary can destroy critical business records in a flash. Because it can be difficult to keep a business going without these records, disaster planning experts recommend that back-ups be made of all critical business records and that these records be securely stored offsite.
Records to be stored
As any business owner knows, paper documents can multiply rapidly. Not all of these documents need to be safeguarded in storage space that you are leasing from someone else. Determining which documents need the higher level of storage is often a matter to be discussed among business principals.
As a general rule, these records should include duplicates of everything that is critical to business continuity. Additionally, offsite storage can be used for documents which are not frequently accessed and would otherwise consume valuable space in the business's primary location.
To maintain order to these records, a records management system should be set up. This system should indicate what is being stored, when it was stored and how long the records should be retained.
Storage locations
Keeping these records in a company-owned auxiliary building will safeguard the documents against disasters that are highly localized, such as a building fire. This method, however, will not work in the event of a larger disaster such as a flood or hurricane.
In its booklet, Open for Business: A Disaster Planning Toolkit for the Small Business Owner, the Institute for Business and Home Safety and the federal Small Business Administration recommend that such storage be:
located at least 50 miles away from the primary business
regularly maintained through back-ups of payroll, tax, accounting, production records and customer lists
In an article for Contingency Planning and Management,, writer Cheryl Salierno additionally suggests that such storage:
Be clean, dry, free of odors and fully insured for fire and theft
Have 24-hour, 365-day access
Have a state of the art security system
Have a computerized bar-coding system and inventory control software for ease of record retrieval
Be humidity and climate controlled. Documents that are irreplaceable should be kept in fireproof locations. Key officers of the business, or in the case of a sole proprietorship, friends or relatives, should be told where these records are, says the SBA.

For more information on Vital Records protection contact me via the links here: www.archives.ie/consult.html
For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

ISO 15489 Records Management Standard

2005-01-25T11:01:00.000Z

Accreditation in the ISO 15489 International Records Management Standard is now available from the National Standards Authority of Ireland. The standard is divided into two parts, ISO 15489.1-2002, Records Management - Part 1: General provides a high level framework for recordkeeping and specifically addresses the benefits of records management, regulatory considerations affecting its operation and the importance of assigning of responsibilities for recordkeeping. It also discusses high level records management requirements, the design of recordkeeping systems and actual processes involved in records management, such as record capture, retention, storage, access etc. It concludes with a discussion of records management audit operations and training requirements for all staff of an organisation. ISO 15489.2-2002, Records Management - Part 2: Guidelines provides practical and more detailed guidance about how to implement the framework outlined in Part 1. For example it provides specific detail about the development of records management policy and responsibility statements and outlines the DIRKS process for developing recordkeeping systems.
Part 2 also provides practical guidance about the development of records processes and controls and specifically addresses the development of key recordkeeping instruments such as thesauri, disposal authorities and security and access classification schemes. It then discusses the use of these tools to capture, register, classify, store, provide access to and otherwise manage records. Part 2 also provides specific guidance about the establishment of monitoring, auditing and training programs to promote and effectively implement records management within an organisation.

If you need any assistance in implementing ISO 15489 in your organisation please contact me. You can find my contact details here www.archives.ie/consult.html

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Records Management for Schools

2005-01-22T17:05:00.000Z

The UK Records Management Society has released a Records Management toolkit for schools. Although this toolkit is intended primarily for schools in the UK much of it is equally applicable in Ireland.

"As part of the work being undertaken by the Local Government Group of the Records Management Society to assist public authorities in the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and other related legislation, a new Records Management Toolkit for Schools is now available. The Local Government Group is aiming to lead the way in issuing best practice guidelines for use by public authorities and other organisations who may not be able to resource a dedicated records manager. The Records Management Toolkit for Schools is the result of the work of a sub group of the Local Government Group who met virtually to put the documents together. The toolkit is the result of lots of work which has gone on in different authorities around the country who were prepared to share this work.

The Toolkit contains a sample records management policy and retention guidelines, as well as other records management advice, including a policy about dealing with e-mail. The intention is to provide schools with the documents they need to comply with the legislation with the minimum of duplicated effort.
The Local Government Group has also produced the Retention Guidelines for Local Authorities and Information Audit Best Practice Guidelines which are available to download and has also worked on the Local Government Classification Scheme which is part of wider work being completed. "

Click on this link http://www.rms-gb.org.uk/uploads/schoolsretentionschedulefinal_v1.doc to download the Toolkit and Retention Schedule:

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

Stormont Records Management left something to be desired

2005-01-18T10:54:00.000Z

This week the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast released several hundred files relating to 1974 under the 30 years rule.
One of the main series of files relates to the power-sharing executive of January-May 1974.
These range over the Ulster Workers' Council strike, meetings between the Stormont executive and the secretary of state, meetings between the executive and the Irish government of Liam Cosgrave and contacts between Brian Faulkner as chief minister and the Taoiseach during that period.
However, the actual day-by-day minutes of the executive, recording ministerial views and decisions, have mysteriously "gone missing".
A spokesman for the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has confirmed the failure of his staff "so far" to locate these vital documents. This is the first occasion in 20 years of covering the Stormont cabinet files for this newspaper that I found such a tranche of vital historical material to have been unaccounted for. It is true that extracts of the minutes of a few executive meetings have been copied in other secretariat files.
However, the views of particular ministers on such issues as Austin Currie's (minister for housing) introduction of punitive levy on "rents and rates strikers" or the late Basil McIvor's (minister for education) proposals for integrated education are not currently available.
Senator Maurice Hayes, who served the executive as a senior civil servant in 1974, believes that he may have a copy of the minutes in his files.
He recalls the "funereal atmosphere and mixed feelings" which shrouded the administration's downfall in May 1974.
"I remember going up to Sir David Holden, the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and, I suppose, my boss to tell him of the impending collapse of the executive. "He was, in his meticulous way, correcting the draft minutes of the last executive meeting in pencil. He heard my news without remark and went on with his task - I had just thought he would like to know."
Meanwhile, the search for the missing files continues at Stormont.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Records Management see www.archives.ie/records.html

UK Records Management Code

2005-01-14T10:25:00.000Z

On 29 December The UK National Archives (TNA) published its guidance on Freedom of Information (FOI) and deposited public records. This guidance will be relevant to places of deposit, which hold deposited public records on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, and to public records bodies, which transfer public records to places of deposit. The guidance will be available from 29 December as a pdf document on TNA's website at the following address:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/policy/foi/
Under the FOI Act the Lord Chancellor has issued two Codes of Practice which deal with a) the management of records, including (in Part 2 of the s.46 Code) the review and transfer of public records and b) with handling requests for information held in public records (the s.45 Code). The two Codes provide a framework of good practice in these areas. TNA's guidance publication sets out in greater detail the procedures and principles which public records bodies and places of deposit should seek to follow within that good practice framework. Public records bodies and places of deposit should be equally aware of both sections of this guidance, as it is in both parties' interests that the business of reviewing, transferring, and managing deposited public records is carried out efficiently and to mutual agreement.
The guidance has been prepared by TNA in collaboration with a working group consisting of representatives of places of deposit and public records bodies. Please note that the publication does not attempt to provide guidance on the application of specific exemptions in relation to requests for information: the appropriate sources of detailed information on the application of exemptions are those published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs and by the Information Commissioner. Also please note that although feedback from our consultation exercise in June suggests that many aspects of the guidance are applicable to non-public records, TNA's guidance is intended at this stage to relate only to public records.
The guidance will be reviewed periodically, beginning with a meeting of the working group in February 2005, and further editions may be issued as a result. TNA will publish any further editions on its website in the first instance.

Source: http://www.rms-gb.org.uk/

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

For more information on Freedom of Information see http://www.archives.ie/freedom.html

Northern Ireland EDRMS

2005-01-13T17:47:00.000Z

2000 staff at the Northern Ireland Office are to get electronic document and records management, in a project due to go live in January 2005.The software will be provided as part of the ‘FLAX programme’, set up to improve the Department’s information systems and ensure its compliance with legal requirements and government policy guidelines. A large proportion of the records held in the NIO’s existing office automation system, OASIS are unmanaged. Under the personal control of its users, the records are neither available to others nor safe from accidental deletion. There is also considerable duplication of documents that can lead to out-of-date, inconsistent and inaccurate records. The searching and retrieval of these documents has in turn become difficult and slow because computer storage space is unnecessarily filled. The TRIM Context system from TOWER Software will be installed by BT Solutions. As a result, e-government deadlines should be met with precision and the NIO will also be well equipped to handle FoI enquiries from 1st January 2005. The role of the Northern Ireland Office is to support the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in securing a lasting peace, based on the Good Friday Agreement, in which the rights and identities of all traditions in Northern Ireland are fully respected and safeguarded and in which a safe, stable, just, open and tolerant society can thrive and prosper. During devolution, economic and social matters are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. It handles policy relating to agriculture and rural development; culture, arts and leisure; education; enterprise, trade and investment; environment; finance and personnel; health, social services and public safety; higher and further education, training and employment; regional development and social development. The NIO also has a number of agencies: the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Compensation Agency for Northern Ireland and Forensic Science Northern Ireland. It also funds two legal offices: the Crown Solicitors Office and the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Background on the Flax programme A Business Review, carried out by ITSB in the summer of 2002, identified the following business objectives for information management services: > The business must have a stable, maintainable platform for its computer systems which meets the current and future needs of its customers (including those relating to devolution) and which delivers value for money; > By no later than 2004 the business must have developed the capacity to manage its electronic records in ways which meet legal requirements and government policy guidelines; > The business must be able to manage the internal publication and dissemination of information in a cost effective manner; and > The business must have access to information published electronically by other providers, particularly other government departments. The Business Review identified a further business objective, that of improving the Department's administrative support systems - such as those supporting finance and personnel - but recommended that addressing this need should be deferred until the other objectives had been achieved. The Flax Programme is being organised in line with OGC's best practice. The Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the Programme is the Director of Resources. The programme is under the strategic direction of the NIO's Information Systems Steering Group (ISSG). Day to day oversight of the programme is vested in a Programme Board made up of senior management representatives from the Department and other OASIS users. The ISSG and Programme Board will obtain objective assurance on technical and managerial issues from an independent Programme Assurance Team. The Flax Programme Manager is the Head of the NIO's IT Division. He will direct all activities relating to the programme and will manage a team of business co-ordinators and technical staff supported by a small administration staff.

Source: www.publictechnology.net

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html
For more information on Electronic Records see http://www.archives.ie/electronic.html

Department of Justice Archives opened up

2005-01-12T14:42:00.000Z

The Department of Justice is to open up restricted archives to academic researchers, the Minister has announced.
An archivist will be appointed from within the Department before Easter, and a group of prominent academic figures will be appointed to advise Mr McDowell on the best approach to take to opening up the confidential records.
Already a substantial proportion of the records of the Department are transferred to the National Archives after the 30-year time limit has elapsed. However, about 15 per cent are withheld every year on security grounds. While certain records may still remain confidential if they contain sensitive information, Mr McDowell said he intends to allow greater access to the historic archives to bona-fide researchers.
"Ever since the Department was established in 1922, its work has had an important impact on people's lives," according to a spokeswoman.
"The Minister is conscious that the documents and records of the Department are of particular interest to historians, sociologists, academic researchers in many disciplines and many others."
Accordingly, he has directed the Department to draw up proposals to facilitate access for academics and scholars to confidential historic records held by the Department that are more than 30 years old. These proposals will be drawn up in consultation with the expert group of academics to be appointed.
While certain documents may remain restricted, Mr McDowell wants to facilitate the maximum possible access to all documents over 30 years old, according to the spokeswoman.
These would be made available to researchers on the basis of individual application to the Department and would not be generally available to the public, she added.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Archives Management see http://www.archives.ie/archives.html
For more information on scanning archives see http://www.archives.ie/scan.html

Records Management in Action: Annual Release of State Papers

2005-01-10T11:06:00.000Z

State papers and the National Archives: The State files released to the media under the 30-year rule are just a small percentage of the files deposited in National Archives every year.

This year, almost 6,000 files were transferred from State Departments in time for examination by the media under Records Management schedules set up by the National Archives.

By the end of this year up to 200,000 files will have been transferred. Under the National Archives Act 1986, Government Departments and agencies are obliged to examine their records when they are 30-years-old, with a view to releasing them to the public.

If they do not wish to release them, they must give the reason for this decision.

Of the 6,000 files released to the media this year, about 1 per cent were withheld for various reasons. Personnel files are excluded for reasons of confidentiality.

Files can be withheld if they are in continuous use by the Department, if they are contrary to the public interest, or if they could cause distress or danger to a living person. They can also be withheld if they could cause a breach of statutory duty, where for example, someone mentioned in a file was assured of confidentiality.

Mr Tom Quinlan, head of records acquisition at the National Archives, said Government Departments had become more attuned to the idea of releasing information since the Freedom of Information Act was introduced.

"They don't have the same qualms as they had 10 or 15 years ago," he said.

Because Departments do not have to list the restricted files during the media preview, it's difficult to know what sort of files are being withheld.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is one of the few Departments to outline the files being restricted, and sometimes it is difficult to see why certain files are being withheld.

This year, the Department of Foreign Affairs forbade public access to files on the political situation in Nigeria.

A file on a DC10 air crash near Paris was also restricted. Information on community organisations in Northern Ireland was withheld, as was a file on "distressed seamen 1952-1968".

The Department of Foreign Affairs forbade public access to an intriguing file named "Complaint re article 'An Irishman's IQ' in brochure on Spain, January 1974".

The public was also prevented from viewing a file on a proposal to launch Bank of Wales in Ireland. A file on relations between Cuba and the Holy See would make interesting reading.

You can stumble across some unusual reading when you peruse the State Papers. A file "Musk Rats Act 1933 - its application to minks" documents efforts by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Charlie Haughey to eradicate the problem of "minks at large" by introducing licences for the keeping of the animals.

People can also read the Christmas card list of the consul general in New York in 1974. Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Coca-Cola chairman and the broadcaster Barbara Walters were all due to receive cards from the Irish representative.

Files also exist on the cycling allowances of Gardaí, President de Valera's Christmas cards and communist activists in Ireland.

Source: The Irish Times

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

International Records Management Trust

2005-01-02T13:27:00.000Z

For those who wonder about the positive benefits of a good Records Management policy you would be well served by having a look at the International Records Management Trust website (http://www.irmt.org/) which provides information on the charitable work of this organisation.

In short the International Records Management Trust assists developing nations to implement proper Records Management procedures in order to reduce poverty, introduce a climate of accountability, reduce corruption and effectively manage the resources of the host state.

Much of the work carried out by the International Records Management Trust would be taken for granted in First World countries, but would not necessarily be recognised as Records Management per se. It is clear that good Records Management is essential for the proper running of any organisation, from a company to a state, and it is time that more companies in Ireland recognised the role that Records Management has to play.

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

Some Records Management Links

2004-12-22T10:21:00.000Z

Here are a few useful links to Records Management policy documents created by agencies in Ireland. If you are thinking of implementing a Records Management Programme having a look at these will give you a good idea of what is involved.

Department of Enterprise and Employment Records Management Policy Document http://www.entemp.ie/publications/corporate/2003/recordsmanagement.pdf

IT Tallaght Records Management Policy Document
http://www.it-tallaght.ie/foi/pages/record_management.htm

UCD Records Management Policy Document
http://www.ucd.ie/foi/html/rmpolicy.htm

DCU Records Management Policy Document
http://www.dcu.ie/foi/man_policy.shtml

Trinity College Dublin Records Management Policy Document
http://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/Policies/records.html

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

Exploiting Archives

2004-12-21T11:31:00.000Z

It seems that in the age of Information Technology paper has become an extremely unpopular medium, with multitudes of companies offering to store, shred, scan or recycle paperwork. The key selling point of many of these companies is the physical bulk of paper and the amount of room it takes up, especially when office space is at a premium and rents are soaring. What these companies hardly ever emphasise is the value of this paper and the best ways to take advantage of it.

A well organised archive should be the dream of everyone involved in Marketing or PR and should not merely be viewed as the preserve of the older, well established companies. Good recent examples of the value of preserving documents in every medium are the current TV advertising campaigns being used to promote Wrigley’s chewing gum and Turkish Delight. Both of these campaigns are currently re-running adverts from the 1970’s, which have proved extremely popular. Similarly Colgate and Flake use elements of old advertising campaigns in new adverts. What is the message of these campaigns? It is simply this: “Our company has a history. You know and trust us.”

Other useful sources for Marketing, PR and generating goodwill include photographs, charters, deeds and personnel records, or for that matter any document that describes your company, the people who work for you, your premises or your products. In other words many of the documents that other companies are trying to convince you to dispose of.

No matter how old your company is, it has a history and a story. For instance many people know of the success of Iona Technologies and how it progressed from a small Trinity College Campus Company to its current position, with offices in the U.S. and new premises in Dublin 4. I wonder, however, whether Iona still has a copy of an invoice for rent of its office in Trinity, a photograph of the office, a photograph of the original staff or a copy of their first ever order?

It is often by comparison with the past that current achievements are best demonstrated and companies that preserve and cherish their past are more easily able to chart their successes and failures. It also helps your company to develop a more human, approachable image. Sure, that photograph of the 1st meeting of the Board of Directors in 1981 may be embarrassing, but your clients are probably around the same age as you and may identify more closely with your company if you are willing to use that photo to show how far you’ve come.

Someone may have been in your workforce who went on to achieve great things in the same or other field. This isn’t something that you should want to keep quiet. If, for instance, Richard Branson worked for my company in his youth I would be very keen to let as many people know as possible where it was he got his start. This would of course be easy to achieve by reference to his carefully archived personnel records, including photographs and details of salary & responsibilities. Many schools are keen to acknowledge the achievements of their alumni for the considerable kudos this attracts. Why don’t more companies do the same?

There is of course a certain amount of investment involved in starting a company archive, but the dividends can also be quite sizeable if documents are treated in the right way: As a resource, not as a problem.

It seems quite strange to me that many companies are used to spending vast amounts on IT but balk at the idea of spending any money on their archives. For a few thousand euro a room can be fitted with suitable shelving and proper climate control for all your different documents, and for a few thousand more professional, trained archivists can come in and sort, index & preserve your documents for posterity.

This archive can then be put to work for you. It can be used as the basis of a company history in book or CDROM format. It can be used as the basis of marketing and advertising campaigns. If it is combined with a Records Management programme to keep control of your current records it can make an extremely useful administrative tool.

Perhaps the best way to put a value on your archives is to think of your competitors. If you operate in a field where you have a completely unique selling point then you probably have no need to emphasise your experience and development, and exactly what it is that makes you different to the opposition. However if your company, like most, can only lay claim to a certain percentage of the market, you should be looking into as many ways as possible to make your presence felt.

It could just be that the future development of your company or institution lies in its past.

Master Classification Plan - Records Management Step 2

2004-12-20T11:50:00.000Z

After completing the Records Survey as the first stage of your Records Management Programme you should be left with a database listing all your records on a file-by-file basis. The information contained in the database should include: Reference Number, File Name, Start Date, End Date, Location, Title, Description and Creating Department.

From this database generate a report listing your files sequentially by Department, Reference Number and Location, which should give you a printout roughly the size of a 'phone book to work with.

Subdivide the Master Classification Plan/File List into the files belonging to each office/creating agent and provide headings for 'Status' and 'Electronic Equivalents?'. Ask the creators/users of the files to go through the list checking for accuracy and marking the files as 'Current', 'Non-Current' or 'Archival' according to guidelines and definitions you supply. Also ask the creators to note whether electronic equivalents exist for these records, and if so where are they saved and what are they titled.

Once all the annotated lists have been returned you can start work on the Retention Schedule, Step 3 of the Records Management Programme.

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

PRONI: Northern Ireland Records Management Standard

2004-12-16T16:46:00.000Z

Some useful reading for anyone implementing a Records Management policy in the North, and a good basic introduction to Records Management in general.

http://www.proni.gov.uk/NIRMS/edrm.htm

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

Information Commissioner: Records Management is important

2004-12-16T16:32:00.000Z

I came across this report from the Information Commissioner explaining exactly why Records Management is important, which although it dates from 2003 it is still very relevant . In the last couple of years there has been an increased knowledge and appreciation of the requirement for good Records Management procedures in Irish government and business. Hopefully we'll catch up with the US, Australia and the UK where Records Management is given equal importance as areas such as HR and IT in the near future.

Here's the link: http://www.oic.gov.ie/report03/221e_20a.htm

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

File Surveys - Records Management Step 1

2004-12-14T09:25:00.000Z

The first step in implementing a Records Management programme is to carry out a file survey. What this means in practice is going throughout your organisation checking every office, cupboard, basement and storage area (or anywhere else that files might be secreted away) and taking notes under the following headings:

Volume. The amount of records and files; the number of filing cabinets etc.
Media. Different storage media; paper; microfilm; disks; audio, video etc.
Creation. How and why records created; by whom?
Distribution Path. To whom information sent? How often? Why? Are people receiving information they no longer need or understand?
Age. How old is information stored on computer/in files/microfilm? How old is information in storage?
Usefulness. Active/inactive. How long is information needed in office/storage? When can it be destroyed?
Organisation. What kind of filing systems, codes, indexes currently in place?
Vital Records. What records/information vital to survival of institution in event of disaster (fire etc).
Problems. What problems do users have with files and their information?

The information on the files is then transfered to a database and a Master Classification Plan, or File List, is prepared from the data. For more on this see Records Management Step 2.

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

Retention Schedules

2004-12-13T14:33:00.000Z

I receive at least five enquiries a week from people who want to know if there is a publication they can purchase that lists all the legal requirements for document retention, including minimum retention periods, which categories of documents can be destroyed and to how to go about producing a retention schedule.

The short answer is "there isn't one", and with good reason. While there are certain legal requirements for record keeping, many of which can be found in the National Retention Policy for Local Authority Records (http://www.laois.ie/Shared/DocLive/NRPLAR.PDF), administrative requirements of the creating agency also need to be taken into account.

In other words, the records of each institution need to be treated differently when it comes to retention. While legal requirements inform part of the retention scheduling process the needs of the creators and users of the records need to be taken into consideration.

Retention schedules are normally the end result of implementing a basic Records Management programme. The first step in creating a Records Management programme is to carry out a survey of all your files. How do you go about it? I'll cover that in my next post.

For more information on Records Management see http://www.archives.ie/records.html

New arrivals at Cork Archives Institute

2004-12-10T14:52:00.000Z

The Archives Institute received a welcome addition to its holdings when some of the surviving papers and manuscripts of one of Cork's most interesting historical figures were deposited in May 2003. Denny Lane (1818 - 1895) was an eminent Corkman, scholar, businessman, politician and is perhaps best known in Cork for his ballad 'Carrigdhoun', which appeared in The Nation newspaper in 1845. Lane's great granddaughters, Claire Heald and Anne Roche, who located these previously unknown papers amid their late father's belongings, kindly deposited the papers. The papers include some of Lane's school reports, legal papers, and over 64 letters to Lane from such well known figures as Thomas Davis, William Smith O'Brien, Charles Gavan Duffy, Richard O'Gorman, John Martin and Daniel Owen Madden, dating from the time of Denny Lane's involvement in nationalist politics in the 1840's. Also found is a draft of a letter that Lane wrote while at Cork Prison in 1848. Denny Lane is buried in Matehy, County Cork. A Descriptive List of the papers is currently being produced by the Archivist. See also http://www.corkcorp.ie/ourservices/rac/archives/news.shtml

1916 Proclamation sells for €390,000

2004-12-09T09:21:00.000Z

Who says looking after your archives doesn't pay? A fortunate Dublin family who found one of only 20 surviving copies of the 1916 Proclamation in a cupboard are now €390,000 better off. http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=126805366&p=yz68x6x7z&n=126806126

If you think you might have an original copy of the Proclamation and would like information on how to authenticate it, or would like advice on valuing historical documents in general, please contact me via the links here www.archives.ie/consult.html

New Archives Ireland site up and running

2004-12-06T17:19:00.000Z

The new Archives Ireland site is now up and running at www.archives.ie thanks to generous sponsorship by the Heritage Council.

This site has been providing free advice on archives and records management since 2002 and is a good source of information for anyone wanting to know more about topics such as scanning, microfilm, offsite storage, how to set up a records management programme etc.