Hi, Chris and List! About to leave the office to go home so just posting a quick comment on "overstepping" rather than records disposition or archival issues...
Did I miss something in the original posting? It wasn't clear to me whether the archivist in question was ruminating to the records manager generally about what s/he found valuable for research purposes, as opposed to "telling operations how to function." Actually, I can't conclude from Leslie's note whom the archivist spoke to and under what circumstances. I can't tell whether s/he stepped on to the "front line" or simply talked (only) to Leslie. Nor can I tell how long the archivist has been there (as opposed to Leslie, who seems to have come in recently as the first records manager). It's possible that operational people sought out the archivist's opinion previosuly, in the absence of a records manager. And that Leslie now is filling a professional void that previously existed at the college.
I don't know enough about the circumstances to be able to say if anyone "overstepped" here, might not have been the case at all.
Maarja
>>> [log in to unmask] 11/9/2005 5:28 PM >>>
Wow! Archival theory questions here, who would have thunk it?
The Archivist would be correct in saying that the historical chrono
files should be maintained as a permanent record. However, it is not the
job of the Archivist to tell operations how to function. The Archivist
might lament the loss of such a historically valuable resource. If the
process no longer exists or is significantly altered, the Archivist
should document/records the change.
I suggest you determine the best business solution for your operation.
Measure your needs against the administrative, fiscal, leagal, and yes
even the historical values. The historical (Archival) value will in most
cases apply to the preservation of a record not the requirement to
generate it.
I think your Archivist mught be overstepping their bounds a bit.
Although, as an Archivist, I find it interesting that one should step to
the front line and take an active role.
Chris Flynn
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Leslie Knoblauch
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 6:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: University RM Question
Hello,
I am the first Records Manager at a small private college. I have been
conducting preliminary records surveys of the top administrative
offices. In my interviews/surveys the office staff has told me that they
want to cut down on the duplication of records stemming from them using
a chron file to hold correspondence and then also adding copies of this
same correspondence to the much larger and more heavily used subject
file. They have let me know that they do not find chron files easy to
use, especially for new staff, and are looking at phasing them out. My
initial thought was that they should do away with the chron file and
stick to using their subject files but the university archives
disagrees. What would you recommend in this situation? Should I
recommend that office staff continue to use two systems, one that they
find very difficult to use efficiently so that the archives can document
the history of their office more thoroughly or should I support the
offices transition away from chron files?
Any advice would be appreciated,
LK
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