Jason--

I spent 6 years at Yale developing and heading the records mgmt.
program. My biggest hurdle cam from within the library system, of which
the Records Services Unit (nested within the Manuscripts & Archives
Dept.) was a part. While no one would come out and say it, the
impression I got was that the archival side had the prestige of
supporting scholarly research, whereas records mgmt was more
administrative and businessy, and lacked the scholarly touch. For that
reason, (or so I speculate) the bulk of my efforts dealt with appraising
paper files, and much less with actually managing active and inactive
records. Near the end of my tenure, we did acquire LiveLink, but was
severely limited on how we could implement it. Keep in mind Henry
Kissinger's wise words (and probably the only statement of his I agree
with): "University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are
so small." 

That said, almost every office (outside of the library system) was
clamoring for a better way to manage their files -- both electronic and
paper. Attempts to roll out LiveLink to offices were usually squashed
based on "What if a technical problem arose that we could not resolve?"

As for legal issues, private colleges must adhere to FERPA for student
records, and the requisite laws/guides for administrative support, like
any other business. Any instance of federal/state funding (research
grants) will require special attention. As non-profit private entities,
the regulating agencies maintain a laissez-faire approach, unlike
for-profit entities that are closely watched.

While it did not exactly work as I had hoped at Yale, cost can/should be
a driving factor. I had figures that showed how much the university
spent on records storage with private vendors -- most of those records
should have been destroyed years ago, saving tens of thousands of
dollars a year. The other driving factor was time -- how much time was
spent locating a file. This is where I could offer support easily and
train staff to become more efficient with their records. In fact, this
was the most satisfying part of my job -- talking with colleagues across
campus about their records and how they can manage them better.

Here is a link to the University Archives (Records Services Unit) at
Yale: http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ua_intro.html



Stephen Cohen, MLIS
Document Controls Manager
MARNELL CONSULTING
222 Via Marnell Way
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
(702) 739-5765 Phone
(702) 739-2045 Fax
(203) 376-5535 Mobile
 

www.marnellcorrao.com

 

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