“It is inside, not on top!” Adèle van der Merwe CSIR Information Service [email protected].
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Transcript of “It is inside, not on top!” Adèle van der Merwe CSIR Information Service [email protected].
“It is inside, not on top!”
Adèle van der MerweCSIR Information [email protected]
Understanding the terminology
• A record:– A record is anything providing permanent and final
evidence of, or information about, past events
• A document:– A physical or digital entity which records all or part
of a work or several works
• Electronic Document Management:– A system that allows an enterprise and its users to
create a document of capture a hard copy in electronic for, store, edit and otherwise electronically manage documents, irrelevant of its format”
XP Desktop with 600 Mb hard drive
Pentium 4 with 60 Gb hard drive
Inside – not on top!
Poor planning = garbage in, garbage out. Information first, technology second!
Roadmap
• Management and preservation• Experimental data/laboratory results• Actual value vs. perceived value• Policies and procedures• Quality control• Perfect incumbent• Technological developments• Organizational ogre
Management vs Preservation
“BARRY IS A FINE EXMAPLE OF THE SUCCESS OF OUR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”
Management: organisational process..strategies, objectives, resources…
Preservation: ensuring stabilisation, protection against deterioration, restoration of damaged documents.
Acts:
1. Promotion of Access to Information Act (#2 of 2000)
2. Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (#25 of 2000)
3. National Archives and Record Service of South Africa Act (#46 of 1996)
4. Etc…
• Access– Questions
• Who, what and how
– Management• Red-tape, confidentiality, control
• Preservation– Questions
• What, how and software
– Management• Backups, risk management, restoration
• Explicit knowledge vs tacit knowledge
Management vs Preservation
Experimental data & laboratory results
Experimental data & laboratory results
Experimental data & laboratory results
• Value– Objectivity, accuracy, logic, growth,
patents etc. • Managing
– Date and time stamp, completeness, non-repudiation, single access
• Challenges– Software, needs assessment
Actual vs perceived value
• Value of “explicit knowledge”– Difficult to calculate
• Value of “intellectual property”– Gadets/widget – easy to determine
• Guidelines for setting price– Handling fees: storage, maintaining etc.– Weight: contents, timeliness, non-repudiation, etc.– Market: willing to pay vs willing to accept
• Are red-tape and costs going to kill us?– Open access vs sales, confidentiality
Actual vs perceived value
Policies and procedures
• Whose responsibility is it?– Registry (active records)– Archive (“dead” records)– Library (Information)– EDMS (documents)
• What to avoid!– Tunnel vision, assumptions
• Who should test/evaluate it?– Current users, challenging clients,
Policies and procedures
Quality control
Quality control
• Real value vs perceived savings– Penny wise or pound foolish?
• Ad-hoc or continuous– What are you missing?– Long term benefits
Perfect incumbent• Mythical or real?
– Qualified, affordable, loyal
• Characteristics required• How do we keep “The
Perfect Incumbent”?– Environment,
reimbursement, recognition, challenges
Experienced records manager
Innovative &
IT background
Knowledge of the organization
Perfect incumbent is willing to adapt!
Technological Development
Technological Development
• Saviour or Nemesis?• Possibilities
– Open Source database• DSpace
– Document and Record Management software• Hummingbird
– Record Management software• TRIM Captura
– Information retrieval software• Collexis
The organization ogre
Heavy handed
approach!
The “Knight in shining armour”
Supportive, considerat
e and brave!
The magical kingdom “Success!”
Conclusion -
It is inside, not on top!• Contents first
– Decide on what should go in and how it will be used
• Technology second– Identify the best tool for the job
• Take responsibility and decide if you want to be:
Frustrated and angry?
Challenged and exhilarated?