Do you thing Mail should be a part of Records Management?
NO I do not agree that it should be part if RM.

What are your opinions of this?

Well, having been around records management for some time, I can say that the mail function used to be a function in the records office, in the organizations/departments I have worked for.  The main rationale for this is that all records were captured at point of receipt.  I should point out that when this was done, we used to have typewriters and use index cards to capture the metadata about the records and x-reference names/subjects/dates etc.  This was done by a classification/index clerk and once completed, sent to a file clerk.

With the advent of new technology we can now do this electronically, using various methods.  Also, a large number of the documents we work with originate electronically, so the office of yesterday is not the same any longer.  We are not comparing apples with apples here.

Also, traditionally, the records management function, mail management and even information technology reside within the same Department/Branch/Directorate etc. but that doesn't mean they belong together, just that they are administrative in nature. All parts of an organization have information and share information, but have different mandates, roles and responsibilities.  This is why in today's office we need to look at records/information management from an enterprise or global perspective.  

We need to integrate RM/IM into all the business functions and processes, just like we do with other administrative functions like finance, personnel, equipment and supplies, as well as technology.  We all need to be rowing in the same direction.

Cheers

John A. Gervais
Program Manager
Policy and Guidelines Section
Information Policy and Governance Division
Statistics and Information Management Directorate 
Corporate Strategies and Business Development Branch 
Canada Revenue Agency
320 Queen St., Place de Ville, Tower A, 6th Fl., 
Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0L5 
Tel: 1-613-946-0245
Facsimile: 1-613-941-9649
E-mail: mailto:[log in to unmask]
 
 

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