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5856 results in Facet Publishing

Page 281 of 293

  • 2 - Pedagogy in a changing environment

  • from Part 1 - Perspectives on the policy framework
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp 24-48

  • Summary

    Philippa Levy picks up on the point made by Peter Brophy in the previous chapter regarding the need for increased pedagogical awareness within the library community as librarians become increasingly active in learning support and teaching in an environment in which there is continuing – perhaps increasing – emphasis on student-centred learning. The chapter reviews key strands of current educational theory and research, focusing in particular on the principles that underpin constructivist perspectives on learning and teaching, and the implications of these principles for the design and facilitation of ICT-enhanced, active learning. The shift from ‘transmission’-style pedagogy to task-focused pedagogy brings with it a commitment to engaging students in processes of dialogue, feedback, reflection, collaboration and participation in learning communities, and a change in the tutor's role from instructor to scaffolder or facilitator of learning conversations. The chapter also identifies the need for careful ‘information design’ in constructivist pedagogy, and points to a particular role here for the information specialist. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that, as their engagement with educational practice increases, becoming involved in practitioner-based pedagogical inquiry will help librarians in the development of their own pedagogical awareness and will strengthen their contribution to pedagogical knowledge and innovation within the sector as a whole.

    Introduction

    This chapter focuses on the theme of pedagogy in an educational environment in which the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to support learning is increasingly pervasive. E-learning development has progressed at a rapid pace within UK higher education (HE) over the past decade, particularly in terms of infrastructure. In response to the government's White Paper The Future of Higher Education (Department for Education and Skills, 2003) the Higher Education Funding Committee for England (HEFCE) has recently confirmed its strategic commitment to embedding e-learning in a ‘full and sustainable way’ into the experience of learning and teaching in the sector within the next ten years (HEFCE, 2005). The early concentration on infrastructure is shifting towards a stronger focus on issues of pedagogy for both distance learning and for blended approaches in which ICT is used to mediate access to learning activities, interactions and resources in combination with face-to-face approaches.

Developing the New Learning Environment
  • The Changing Role of the Academic Librarian
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005
  • In a rapidly changing environment where increasingly the boundaries are blurring between librarians' roles and those of learning technologists, information technologists, educational developers, skill support specialists and, indeed, academic staff, the academic librarian needs not only to embrace new opportunities but also to influence proactively the development of learning environments. This essential book captures and critically discusses the librarian's changing learning support role in an educational context, providing guidance and practical support. Written by acknowledged experts across a broad range of roles in the new academic environment, it challenges thinking in this area as well as offering practice-based advice. This book is essential reading for practitioners at every level within the higher education and further education sectors, including information specialists, learning support professionals, academic liaison co-ordinators and subject specialists, academic service managers, and heads of library and information services. It will also be a valuable resource for all other professionals involved in the delivery of learning support, and for students of LIS and of education.

  • 1 - The policy framework: a critical review

  • from Part 1 - Perspectives on the policy framework
    • By Peter Brophy, Centre for Research in Library and Information Management (CERLIM)
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp 1-23

  • Summary

    Peter Brophy sets the scene for the book, by examining the purposes and policy drivers of higher education in the changing environment. While the focus here is mainly on the UK, developments are set in the broader context of international trends. First, the history of the university sector in the UK is traced briefly from its beginnings to the changes currently in train as a consequence of the Higher Education Act 2004; the author observes along the way the recent dislodging of the principle of equality of opportunity as the key policy driver for expansion of the sector by considerations relating to higher education's role in the national economy. The chapter then moves on to consider current issues affecting institutional strategies and professional practice. It is argued that a particularly important issue for librarians in the context of learning and teaching excellence is the need to ensure that their role in this arena is fully recognized and developed, including through appropriate collaborations with other professionals; likewise, the need to embed direct access to information resources into elearning environments. Ending with a brief review of factors that contribute to a scenario of continuous change for the academic librarian, the chapter flags up a number of themes that are discussed in more detail in later chapters of the book.

    Introduction

    The university, in the form in which it can be observed in Britain or elsewhere in the developed world, is a relatively modern construct. Of course, institutions bearing the title ‘university’ have been in existence for many centuries – most observers date their foundation to the end of the 12th century – but the 21st century variant has only a limited amount in common with its forebears. Not only is the scale of the enterprise entirely different, but its relationship to society and underlying purpose have changed markedly. The curriculum has changed out of all recognition. Perkin (1984) has remarked that the medieval universities, in addition to being small in size and few in number, offered an undergraduate curriculum consisting of what were then recognized as the liberal arts (grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music) and postgraduate studies which consisted of a fusion of what were later to become the major professional disciplines of theology, law and medicine.

  • 8 - Information literacy education in practice

  • from Part 2 - Policy into practice
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp 153-180

  • Summary

    In this chapter, Judy Peacock argues passionately for librarians to become centrally involved in innovative pedagogical development in the e-learning context, through their role as information literacy educators. Writing from an Australian perspective, she emphasizes the need for information literacy development to become deeply embedded into the student experience of higher education, and for technologyenhanced approaches to information literacy curriculum design to be pedagogically, not technologically, driven. Like other chapters, and reflecting leading-edge work in this area at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), she emphasizes librarians’ involvement in educational policy and strategy at institutional level, in forging new, inter-professional partnerships, and in professional development for teaching and the facilitation of learning. The chapter provides a case example from QUT of a broad strategic framework for technology-enhanced pedagogical development of information literacy, and of the design and development of a fully online information literacy course for higher degree students.

    Introduction

    Global war is afoot. The basis, however, is neither religion nor territory, ethnicity nor prosperity. It is, quite simply, pedagogy. More precisely, it is a conf lict between pedagogists and technologists as each camp battles for supremacy over the art and science of teaching and learning in a new age. Unfortunately, as with most wars, there is collateral damage – in this tacit dispute, the learner is the innocent at risk.

    Librarians hold an enviable position in this conflict. A degree of neutrality affords librarians the advantage of seeing all perspectives, ref lecting on all arguments and working in both camps. With information literacy as a catalyst for engagement, and as sophisticated and proficient users of information and information and communication technologies (ICTs), librarians have a unique opportunity to provide practical and enduring solutions to complex curricular problems, resolve pedagogical and technological tensions and partner with their academic colleagues to achieve educational nirvana. In a teaching world gone technologically mad, librarians can provide a balanced and discriminating view of the place of ICT in education (Bundy, 1999), seeking – ultimately – to place the learner and learning outcomes at the forefront of each educational strategy and to inject a sense of balance into their own practice as educators.

  • 5 - New professional identities and practices for learner support

  • from Part 1 - Perspectives on the policy framework
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp 91-110

  • Summary

    This collection focuses upon one role – that of academic librarians and their involvement in the development of new learning environments. However, both this role, and the environment in which it operates, must be critically reviewed within the context of relationships with other professionals. This chapter sets changes to the role of the academic librarian in a holistic context, with key influencing factors such as convergence and professional boundary-crossings seen as pivotal to developments in professional practice. The role of the academic librarian is also represented as interconnected with the roles of learning technologist and academic. The issues are neither simplified nor sanitized; tensions, conflict and uncertainties are all explored and viewed as an integral part of this new learning environment and the climate of professional practice.

    Introduction

    A diverse range of learner support professionals now contributes to the development and delivery of learning and teaching in the HE environment. The very concept of learner support itself is in the process of being refined and redefined. This chapter provides a critical perspective on the development of such roles as ref lected within the literature; it focuses on the role of the academic librarian but within the context of interconnected professional relationships and practices. All too often, learner support professionals are either marginalized (in the generic HE literature) or are represented from one particular perspective (for example, the academic librarian in the library and information literature). A more holistic exploration of the range of roles, and how they work together, provides opportunities to consider synergies and the impact of such relationships on professional identity, practice and career development.

    Learner support roles must be placed within the context of the learning and teaching environment as depicted by Brophy and Levy in Chapters 1 and 2. This chapter will focus upon how such a context has impacted on role development among professional groups. These groups include academic librarians (in their multiple guises), learning technologists, academics and other learner support professionals such as educational developers. It considers learner support and convergence as major influences and provides a perspective that recognizes the tensions, conflicts and contested meanings often at the heart of such developments.

  • Introduction: the challenge for the academic librarian

    • By Philippa Levy, Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS), Sue Roberts, Edge Hill College of Higher Education
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp xi-xviii

  • Summary

    In response to far-reaching changes in the higher education (HE) environment since the mid-1990s, the roles and work of learner support professionals are undergoing significant transformation, both in the UK and more widely in the international context. Library and information professionals, in common with others who have responsibility for supporting learning and for educational development, are experiencing the growing impact of ‘academic convergence’ on both their practice and their professional identity. Increasingly, the boundaries are blurring between their roles and those of academics, learning technologists, information technologists, educational developers, skills support specialists and others. New collaborations and partnerships between staff with different professional backgrounds are emerging as part of the effort to enable active and independent learning amongst an increasingly diverse student community and within the new ‘space’ for educational activity that has resulted from the convergence and rapid development of information and communication technologies.

    In this context, library and information professionals are becoming involved in the development and support of new modes of blended and distributed learning, including the development of e-learning approaches and resources, and new strategies for information literacy education. In its vision for the UK academic library in 2005, SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) highlighted learning support and educational liaison as critical areas for development across the sector and predicted that in the future, ‘for [librarians] who can demonstrate their competence to do so, there will be opportunities to further extend their roles as learning advisors, trainers and developers of information literacy skills’ (Corrall, 2001). However, the SCONUL report also warned that, given the trend towards increased integration in the provision of learning support, librarians would need to be proactive in order to secure both recognition and involvement in this area. There is a practical challenge here in terms of professional awareness development and education within the library and information community. These trends and challenges are perhaps most evident in HE but are also reflected within further education (FE) and more broadly across the public sector. We are now in 2005; this collection explores current issues, and also looks to future possibilities.

  • 4 - Key issues in the design and delivery of technology-enhanced learning

  • from Part 1 - Perspectives on the policy framework
  • Edited by Philippa Levy, Sue Roberts
  • Book:
    Developing the New Learning Environment
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 October 2005, pp 70-90

  • Summary

    Following on from the broader discussion of pedagogy and pedagogical development in the networked environment in Chapter 2, this chapter focuses in particular on pedagogical and learning support issues raised by the fusion of e-learning environment systems with digital libraries and resources. Taking the position that access to digital content is not synonymous with e-learning but is an essential element of it, Allison Littlejohn illustrates the role of information access, sharing and use within the context of a constructivist model for e-learning design. With reference to three practical scenarios in e-learning design and delivery, she highlights potential directions for the learning support contribution of the librarian, with impact on both educational development and student learning. While these scenarios might not yet be widely operational, they reflect leading-edge developments in e-learning and open up intriguing perspectives on likely trends in pedagogical design and on the opportunities and challenges ahead for librarians in this context. The chapter concludes with the view held by other contributors to this volume: that new demands in the educational environment require a new type of practice in academic librarianship, in which traditional professional expertise is blended with expertise in information and communication technology and educational design.

    Libraries are more than an interface to collections of resources, having an important role to play in supporting learning as a social process (Vygotsky, 1978). Learners view libraries as places for social gatherings, and for individual and shared study as well as the sharing of information resources (Currier, 2002). In the digital environment these social and collaborative interactions are possible irrespective of location or point in time. Developments in digital and ‘hybrid’ libraries aim to extend beyond conventional elements of library activities such as facilitating access to online journals and electronic books towards support for these sorts of collaborative activities (Wang and Hwang, 2004). This requires integration with virtual learning environment (VLE) systems.

    Every day in the UK, thousands of students access virtual learning spaces to download course information and learning resources (Britain and Liber, 2004). Many institutional VLEs are already linked to university libraries, giving access to a variety of online resources, including e-books and e-journals.

  • 1 - The wild frontier ten years on

    • By John McDonald, independent consultant specializing in information management.
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp 1-17

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Ten years ago I wrote an article entitled ‘Managing Records in the Modern Office: taming the wild frontier’ (McDonald, 1995). It focused on the challenges organizations were experiencing in managing their e-mail and other electronic documents in the unstructured office environment. This environment, common in most organizations at the time and, as this chapter will argue, still too common today, was one where business processes and workflow were not clearly defined, the user had relative autonomy over what information was created, sent and stored, and accountability for the management of information was unclear.

    At that time I felt that the wild frontier was as temporary as the frontier the US and other areas of the world experienced back in the 19th century. In the early pioneer days ad hoc approaches to settlement and a rather chaotic approach to law and order gave way to a more settled environment where the rule of law and the means to enforce it were established. Responsibility for administering the environment was assigned and technologies (telegraph, roads and so on) were introduced to foster economic and social growth. In my naïveté I thought that it was a matter of time before the wild frontier of the modern office would evolve in the same way, spurred on by technology developments, new ways of organizing and designing work processes, and new techniques for making recordkeeping transparent and nearly automatic.

    When I wrote the article I had naïve hopes and expectations of the technology that the future of recordkeeping was just around the corner. I envisioned a desktop where the icons on the screen would change to work driven icons supported by integrated workflow, wordprocessing, forms and routing software. It would also enable automated and transparent recordkeeping based on business rules developed for program managers by highly knowledgeable and skilled records managers and workflow/business analysts – all working together in harmony!!

    A year or so later, Margaret Hedstrom (1997) reinforced this perception by explaining that there were others ‘out there’ who shared the same concerns as archivists and records managers about the management of electronic records and who were actively engaged in developing solutions.

  • 3 - Metadata matters

    • By Kate Cumming, has worked in policy and operational areas of the National Archives of Australia and State Records NSW and was involved in the development of the NSW Recordkeeping Metadata Standard and the redevelopment of the Manual for Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS Manual).
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp 34-49

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The word metadata is a difficult and obtuse one, but when the IT and the terminology are stripped away metadata in a records management context is essentially data that describes, contextualizes and facilitates the management of records. Good metadata enables good records management but, seen more broadly, the effective application of metadata can help the achievement of more extensive objectives, such as better information accessibility, maintenance of corporate memory and greater accountability in business operations.

    Metadata is therefore a critical tool in any contemporary business environment. In the majority of business environments, however, metadata that contributes to records management objectives is either poorly implemented or not applied at all. To help determine how better to implement metadata in an organization, this chapter examines what metadata is in a records management context and focuses on a range of practical strategies to help guide metadata implementation.

    Metadata in a records management context

    Applied appropriately, the role of metadata in a records management context is to:

  • • identify records, the people or workgroups that create and use them and the areas of business they document

  • • establish connections between related records, between records and the people or workgroups that create and use them, between records and the business they document and between people and the business they perform

  • • help manage and preserve record content, structure and accessibility

  • • administer management requirements, including terms and conditions of access, use and disposal

  • • document actions performed upon records and their metadata

  • • facilitate the discovery, understanding and retrieval of records.

    • The application of metadata also enables a significant range of broader business objectives to be achieved. These include increased control, understanding, authenticity, security and accessibility of organizational information and the ability to reuse data as required. The ability to increase access and use of organizational information securely is an incredibly valuable commodity in today's business environment and is a key benefit that effective metadata implementation can facilitate.

    There are many other types of metadata that differ in their scope and application from records management metadata. Prominent examples of metadata schema created by other communities to serve specific purposes include the Dublin Core standard, created to facilitate cross-domain information resource description (Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, 2004), and Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), a form of structural metadata used to break a document into its component parts to facilitate its mark-up and flexible, electronic representation.

  • 11 - Implementing a solution for electronic recordkeeping in the public sector

    • By Judith Ellis, is the owner and Managing Director of Enterprise Knowledge Pty Ltd.
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp 163-185

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter presents a case study from a city council in Australia. It shares how the council, having recognized the need for a long-term strategy for managing its records, adopted a knowledge management approach to implementing a solution. Five years on electronic recordkeeping is part of normal business processes and the success of the changes is due to the development of a sound and strategic framework, the people involved and the software deployed.

    The business context

    Introduction to Darebin City Council

    The origins of local government in the area now occupied by Darebin City Council (DCC) started in 1854 with the proclamation of the Epping Roads Board. Various amalgamations and divestments and renaming of shires, boroughs, towns and cities within the region occurred regularly throughout its history, with the last major amalgamation of all or parts of five municipalities in 1994 when the City of Darebin was formed. The City now occupies 53 square kilometres of the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It includes 55,000 properties, 900 hectares of parkland, 5200 businesses and a population of 128,000 residents, with over one-third from countries other than Australia.

    The Council owns a range of physical assets, including over 600 km of roads, 2000 km of drains, 300 buildings, 450 hectares of parkland and over 45,000 street trees. Its main industry sectors are manufacturing, retail, property and business services, with a small but rapidly expanding hospitality sector. The Council itself is the municipality's largest employer, with over 800 full- or part-time permanent staff and many more in casual positions (City of Darebin website www.darebin.vic.gov.au). It offers a range of services typical of local government in Australia: arts, culture and recreation; business and food health services; community health and safety; community services (aged, disability, family and children); customer service centres; disability access; environmental information; multicultural services; parking and transport; pets and local law enforcement; planning and building; public health information; rates and valuations; rubbish and recycling.

    The Council's organizational structure has remained the same since the last major change in 2000. Headed by the Chief Executive Officer, the departments are: Asset Management, City Services, Community Services, Corporate Services, Culture and Leisure, Environment and Amenity, Strategy and Governance.

  • 10 - Records management: two case studies from the French private sector

    • By Pierre Fuzeau, has since 1985 has been a consultant specializing in project management in the field of knowledge management, electronic document management, internet and intranets, records management and archives management
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp 149-162

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The two case studies chosen deal with the implementation of records management systems in private sector organizations between 2001 and 2004. This is a long-enough period to allow us to draw lessons from the implementation phases and to analyse the results obtained once the systems were fully working. One case concerns a financial institution with over 2500 employees (in the banking sector) and the other a service company with under 50 employees. In the first case records management is applied in the context of optimizing work flows and business processes. In the second case records management is used in close association with a knowledge management approach. Analysis of both cases shows user satisfaction, risk reduction and cost reduction emerging as positive outcomes.

    Case study 1: records management and electronic archiving

    The context

    As in other European countries where national regulations have evolved in line with European directives, the French Civil Code has incorporated a new definition of the written word. Article 1316 of the Civil Code now reads: ‘Literal proof, or proof through the written word, results from a series of letters, characters, figures or any other signs or symbols that carry intelligible meaning, irrespective of the medium on which they are carried or their mode of transmission.’ Similarly, new definitions of the formats in which evidence can appear are to be found in Article 1316-1 of the Civil Code: ‘The written word in electronic form is accepted as proof in the same way as the written word in paper form, on condition that its author can be duly identified and that it has been created and kept in conditions that guarantee its integrity’ and in Article 1316-3 of the Civil Code: ‘The written word in electronic form enjoys the same force of proof as the written word in paper form.’

    The law's technical equivalent had also to be produced to make the law applicable in practice. Thus, the French national standard NF Z 42-013 on ‘recommendations for the design and operation of computer systems with a view to ensuring the preservation and integrity of documents held in such systems’ appeared in its first version in 1999 and in its second version in 2001. It covers time and date stamping, digitization processes, handling of different media and registering of data, security, operating procedures, audit and outsourcing.

  • Preface

  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp xi-xiv

  • Summary

    No records manager today would deny that managing electronic records is the biggest challenge that they face. This applies whether they work in the private sector or the public sector, in a large or small organization. However, managing electronic records is not only their challenge. The challenge also confronts IT managers and developers, because it depends on technology, and senior managers of the organization, because the information that records carry is a valuable and unique asset. It confronts middle managers, because they are responsible for implementing the policies and procedures to achieve the organization's goals; indeed, everyone in the organization faces the challenge, because the norm today is for each employee to have a PC on their desk to work with electronic records.

    Managing electronic records is also a complex undertaking because it involves the creation, capture and organization of electronic records, and providing ongoing access to them. These records are very varied in nature; timely disposal must be arranged for those which have a fixed life, and longterm preservation for those records of historical value that need to survive over time. Finally, managing electronic records is a global phenomenon, although as yet countries in different continents are at varying stages of development in responding to the challenge, which continues to evolve as technologies develop and organizations change.

    So, managing electronic records involves multiple roles, an extensive range of aspects covering the organizational, technical and legal issues, and ongoing exploration and investigation to achieve and share greater effectiveness and efficiency. To be successful, these all have to come together in holistic solutions, at the strategic and operational levels.

    For this book we took as our starting point the challenge as outlined above. Managing Electronic Records is multi-authored and the professional expertise and backgrounds of the contributors reflect the multiplicity of roles needed to describe this subject. There are chapters from IT specialists; consultants, including one in organizational development; a managing director; academic researchers; and, of course, practising records managers. There are contributions from each of the five continents to reflect the truly global activity and developments in the field. As well as individual chapters on such key aspects as metadata, standards, digital preservation, ethics, legal issues and competencies, the book begins with an introductory chapter which outlines the challenge and proposes a top-level strategic solution.

  • 7 - Legal issues

    • By David O. Stephens, is Vice President of records management consulting for Zasio Enterprises, Inc.,
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Book:
    Managing Electronic Records
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005, pp 101-114

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter is about international laws pertaining to electronic records. Our main focus is to provide a clear picture as to how recordkeeping laws have evolved over time – from the pre-technology era when paper was the sole method of recordkeeping, to the first several decades of computer usage, when paper and electronic records often existed side by side, and finally to the age of the internet and the revolution in e-business, when commercial and other business transactions often occur in a totally paperless environment. Special emphasis will be devoted to the model laws of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, as they have been the single most significant factor in the development of international laws connected with electronic records during the past ten years.

    Much has been written about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was signed into law in the US in 2002, in the aftermath of such scandals as Enron–Arthur Andersen and WorldCom. This new law imposes rigour and transparency on the management of electronic financial data. Other countries have introduced legislation to address electronic recordkeeping; thus, this chapter aims to take a global perspective concerning some of the key legal issues affecting electronic records and their management.

    Let's begin with establishing a basic understanding of the law's interest in organizational recordkeeping. While the law can be bewilderingly complex, it really boils down to a few simple principles. The law's primary interest is that organizations keep and maintain records such that the ends of justice may be served. More specifically, this means that organizations must manage their records in a manner that enables them to demonstrate that:

  • • the organization is conducting its business with honesty and integrity, and in a manner consistent with the public interest as well as its own

  • • the organization's records are properly maintained and preserved, in case they may be needed as evidence in government investigations, litigation, audits or other legal proceedings

  • • the organization is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, in letter, spirit and good faith.

Managing Electronic Records
  • Edited by Julie McLeod, Catharine Hare
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    02 April 2005
  • One of the biggest challenges faced by any organization today is that of managing electronic records, a vital but complex undertaking involving multiple roles within the organization and strategies that are still evolving. Bringing together for the first time the views, experience and expertise of international experts in the records management field in the public and the private sectors, this book covers the theory and practice of managing electronic records as business and information assets. It focuses on the strategies, systems and procedures necessary to ensure that electronic records are appropriately created, captured, organized and retained over time to meet business and legal requirements. In addition to chapters covering principles, research and developments, there are case studies relating to practice and lessons learned. The chapters are written by a fully international line-up of contributors. This book explores issues and addresses solutions, not only for records professionals but also for information, IT and business administration specialists, who, as key stakeholders in managing electronic information, may have taken on crucial roles in managing electronic records in their organization.

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