> I'm posting this after a colleague and I recently had a discussion
> regarding the appropriate terminology for retention schedule.
>
> It has been proposed by this colleague's organization that they rename
> their retention schedule and call it disposition schedule.
Wowie-zowie!
There have been a lot of expressions posted on this question and they seem
to fall into two distinct camps... unfortunately, the vote seems to be
pretty even as to what works best, and I guess that's the most important
thing in ANYONE's real world situation... coming up with what works best for
them.
Looking through the recently published Standard from ARMA "Retention
Management for Records and Information" (ANSI/ARMA 8-2005)
http://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1528 .... and NO,
I don't "get a cut" from the sales revenue, it seems that the general
consensus of the RIM Professionals who developed this document over a 4 year
period thought that "Information Retention and Disposition Program" was the
way to go.
Similar to the comments voiced by many, I've worked in a lot of industries
that see the use of disposal or disposition as the primary element in a
schedule to state the most important concept being presented is "When can we
get rid of it?", not what should we be doing to preserve or manage it while
we have it.
The first guidance I've routinely provided someone when I consult with them
is to determine what information they generate or receive, who regulates
what they're required to do with it, what value it presents to the
organization and how long they HAVE to keep it and how much longer than that
they may WANT to keep it. Once you determine these things, then the rest
gets disposed of, because it's been determined to have little, if any, value
or consequence to the organization.
I'm accustomed to seeing a "disposition authority" or a "disposition
instruction" provided as items in a Retention Schedule, but the primary
focus has always been to provide guidance to ensure people understand how
long to keep something, not how soon they can throw it out.
And I must agree that I wrestle with the concept of using "disposition" to
mean "disposal". My first thought with disposition is to determine what to
do with something , and it can range from transfer, to retain permanently,
to dispose of. My second though is to think of a person's mood or
temperament... and I must admit, I never though of a person with a "sunny
disposition" having much of anything to do with disposal =).
Larry
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