Barry, Richard E. "Electronic Document and Records Management Systems: Towards a
Methodology for Requirements Definitions." Information Management and Technology
27, no. 6 (November 1994): 251-256.
This paper discusses steps taken to develop a simple framework for thinking about
and articulating functional requirements for electronic documents and records management
systems. Through examination of both the life cycle of documents and the domains from which
they emanate, Barry states that "the 'management' of efficient documents, including records, may
be facilitated through a clear statement of functional requirements for 'electronic document
management systems (EDMS).'" [1] However, he points out that an EDMS alone does not fully
satisfy efficient record keeping requirements, rather an electronic records management system
(ERMS) needs to be integrated into EDMS functional requirements.
Duff, Wendy. "Will Metadata Replace Archival Description: A Commentary."
Archivaria 39 (March 1995): 33-38.
(Abstract Provided).
Heather MacNeil and David Wallace have provided two cogent and insightful
discussions on the pros and cons of metadata replacing archival description. On the surface, the
two papers seem to be advocating two opposing points of view. heather MacNeil suggests that
archival description should be performed by archivists after records have outlived their
usefulness to their creator. David Wallace posits that description at the end of the life cycle
causes backlogs, and the loss of vital contextual information. To solve these problems he
recommends that creators or systems generate descriptions during records creation and use or
what has been traditionally called the active stage of the life cycle. These two papers provide an
excellent opportunity to explore this vital issue.
Electronic Data Management Sub-Committee for the Information Exchange Steering
Committee. Finding Information Needles in Government Haystacks: A Report on
Electronic Document Management in Australian Government Agencies, Australian
Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia, August 1991.
This report concerns the issue of developing a "coordinated approach" to
electronic records management. Provides recommendations for a "supporting architecture"
across the Australian government and steps that specific government agencies need to take, such
as the designation of an agency staff member to coordinate such work and the adoption of
recognizable information technology standards.
Giguere, Mark. "Philadelphia Electronic Records Project -- Phase I Update." The
Philadelphia Record 1, no. 2 (September 1995): 9-10.
Under the guidance of the City of Philadelphia's Electronic Records Group (ERG),
the Philadelphia Electronic Records project (PERP) provides perhaps one of the most significant
case studies regarding the implementation of elements of the Metadata Model for Business
Acceptable Communications developed by the Pittsburgh Project. This article provides a
synopsis of the first phase of this project.
Leeuwenburg, Jeff. "Metadata and Better Data." Electronic Records Project Conference,
Canberra, Australia, 22 May 1992. Canberra, Australia: Australian Archives, Dept. of
Administrative Series, Unpublished paper 22 May 1992.
This paper reviews different technical options for archiving electronic data.
Lincoln, Thomas L., Daniel J. Essin, and Willis H. Ware. "The Electronic Medical
Record: A Challenge for Computer Science to Develop Clinically and Socially Relevant
Computer Systems to Coordinate Information for Patient Care and Analysis." Information
Society 9, no. 2 (1993): 157-188.
The authors argue that the medical establishment still has not been able to move as
close as needed to an electronic medical information system that meets regulatory, social, and
medical needs of patients. The now established right of the patient to have his or her medical
record available to his or her health care provider through the patient's life along with the richer
diagnostic information is still a difficult problem to resolve. The authors describe the
needs/functions for a medical information system, including costs information, conditions
description, access to medical knowledge, identification of rules/guidelines to determine
appropriate action, coordination of medical actions, and capture of learning from the diagnostic
process.
MacNeil, Heather. "Metadata Strategies and Archival Description: Comparing Apples to
Oranges." Archivaria 39 (March 1995): 22-32.
(Abstract Provided).
Advocates of a "metadata systems approach" to the description of electronic
records argue that metadata's capacity to provide descriptive information about the context of
electronic records creation will obviate, or reduce significantly, the need for traditional archival
description. This article examines the assumptions about the nature of archival description and
of metadata on which metadata strategies are grounded, for the purposes of ascertaining the
following: whether the skepticism concerning the capacity of traditional description to meet the
challenges posed by the so-called "second generation" of electronic records is justified; whether
the use of metadata as archival description is consistent with their nature and purpose; and
whether metadata are capable of serving archival descriptive purposes.
New York, State Archives and Records Administration, Records Advisory Services.
Managing Records in E-Mail Systems, (DRAFT - last updated on February 27, 1995).
(Abstract taken from Introduction).
This booklet provides practical guidance to program managers, network
administrators, and end users aimed at ensuring that e-mail messages, like other records, are
identified, made accessible, and retained as long as needed to support government business and
satisfy record keeping requirements. The appendices include an example of an e-mail policy,
guidelines for e-mail etiquette, and a selected bibliography.
Parer, Dagmar, and Keith Parrott. "Management Practices in the Electronic Records
Environment." Archives and Manuscripts 22, no. 1 (May 1994): 106-122.
(Abstract provided).
The adoption of technology within organizations has resulted in the creation of
electronic records which are managed in varying degrees dependent upon the professional
background of the manager responsible for them. Organizations need a common approach to the
management of electronic records to satisfy good information management as well as to meet
basic accountability requirements and specific legislative concerns. This article describes three
management approaches to electronic records and assesses if archival interests are addressed in
each. It suggests utilizing Information Management methodology to devise an organization-wide
Information Management Plan, incorporating records management and archival requirements, to
facilitate the identification of records of value to the organizations to be managed as any other
corporate asset.
Stein, Eric W., and Vladmir Zwass. "Actualizing Organizational Memory with
Information Systems." Information Systems Research 6, no. 2 (June 1995): 85-117.
(Abstract Provided).
Preservation of organizational memory becomes increasingly important to
organizations as it is recognized that experiential knowledge is a key to competitiveness. With
the development and widespread availability of advanced information technologies (IT),
information systems become a vital part of this memory. We analyze existing conceptualizations
and task-specific instances of IT-supported organizational memory. We then develop a model
for an organizational memory information system (OMIS) that is rooted in the construct of
organizational effectiveness. The framework offers four subsystems that support activities
leading to organizational effectiveness. These subsystems rest on the foundation of five
mnemonic functions that provide for acquisition, retention, maintenance search, and retrieval of
information. We then identify the factors that will limit the success of OMIS implementation,
although full treatment of this issue is outside the scope of the paper. To initiate a research
agenda on OMIS, we propose an initial contingency framework for OMIS development
depending on the organization's environment and its life-cycle stage, and discuss the
relationships between an OMIS and organizational learning and decision making.
Wallace, David A. "Managing the Present: Metadata as Archival Description."
Archivaria 39 (March 1995): 11-21.
(Abstract Provided).
Traditional archival description undertaken at the terminal stages of the life cycle
has had two deleterious effects on the archival profession. First, it has resulted in enormous, and
in some cases, insurmountable processing backlogs. Second, it has limited our ability to capture
crucial contextual and structural information throughout the life cycle of record-keeping systems
that are essential for fully understanding the fonds in our institutions. This shortcoming has
resulted in an inadequate knowledge base for appraisal and access provision. Such complications
will only become more magnified as distributed computing and complex software applications
continue to expand throughout organizations. A metadata strategy for archival description will
help mitigate these problems and enhance the organizational profile of archivists who will come
to be seen as valuable organizational knowledge and accountability managers.
Wallace, David A. "Metadata and the Archival Management of Electronic Records: A
Review." Archivaria 36 (1993): 87-110.
(Abstract provided).
Several of the most influential and prolific electronic records archivists have
advocated a metadata systems approach to the management of electronic records. This essay
introduces the metadata concept and reviews both its context and its content in the "second
generation" of electronic records archives and scholarship. These writings theorize that a
metadata systems approach will affect archival appraisal and preservation, and fundamentally
alter arrangement, description, and reference. A survey of four leading electronic records
programmes examines their metadata applications and underscores the value of this approach for
other archivists. It is concluded that a metadata systems approach will become the basic strategy
for archivists seeking to manage electronic records systems. To be successful, this strategy will
require archivists to become proactive, develop new technological skills, and commit themselves
to multi disciplinary collaborations.
Zweig, Ronald. "Beyond Content: Electronic Fingerprints and the Use of Documents."
Electronic Information Resources and Historians: European Perspectives, Eds. Seamus
Ross, and Edward Higgs, 251-259. The British Academy, London, 25 June 1926. St Katharinen:
Scripta Mercaturae Verlag, 1993.
(Abstract provided).
Documents are generated within organizations. The record they process of
decision making, policy information and implementation which are also social events -- things
done by people acting together. The manner in which organizations are structured and function,
that is the social context in which documents are generated, are no less significant than the
content of the documents stored in archives. Conventional archives are excellent repositories for
documentary content, but retain meager records of the way documents are generated and used.
Electronic office systems create important information on the context in which documents were
generated and used. This information can be a major resources for historians if it is retained.
However, existing office systems mimic conventional office filing practices and the fingerprints
of usage are lost.
Last Modified: 8/14/96 [kjb]