Regarding the "making" part of "The making and maintaining of complete,
accurate and reliable evidence", I definitely think this definition is
confusing the act of creating a record and the very important separate
actions needed to keep a record over time - responsibly.
To me, recordkeeping is a well-understood useful term for the simpler
actions associated with retaining records. It only supports the idea that
records management as a whole is much more than filing and storing records,
which is really all recordkeeping is. To use the term recordkeeping as a set
of limited actions, and then introduce the concept of professionally
managing records, only enhances the professional presence and success of
Records Management.
John
********************************
John T. Phillips
MSLS, CRM, CDIA, FAI
Electronic Records Management
Consulting, Education, Research
Information Technology Decisions
www.infotechdecisions.com
865-966-9413
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Larry Medina
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 9:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: MAC (Management Advisory Committee) Report No 8 release /
Recordkeeping in Australian Public Service / Reference
Hi John-
Re: "Seldom in the US do you see the term "recordkeeping" used."
>
> I have to disagree a little bit. In the private sector, including lots
> of news/media statements and discussions about legal/tax issues, I see
> the term "recordkeeping" used a lot. In fact, I often use it myself to
> describe the act of keeping records, because (though we don't like
> admitting it) the term "records management" is not as widely
> understood.
> But I regularly see the term recordkeeping used to describe keeping
> all kinds of records, and it is a self-explanatory term. I think that
> the problem is that the term "management" can be used in so many ways
> that it is hard to know what it exactly means:
> I see recordkeeping as simply the act of keeping records (wisely or
> unwisely), but explain that to keep records professionally and
> responsibly, you need Records Management practices and principles.
> Both terms seem useful.
>
As described above, I agree with your comments... in the US, you DO see
"record keeping" used to describe the act/practice of "keeping records" but
in terms of the storage, maintenance, filing, holding, etc of records. Not
in the way it was defined in the AUS document.
Recordkeeping
The making and maintaining of complete, accurate and reliable evidence of
business transactions in the form of recorded information.
To me, the "making" aspect is the key difference this is a distinct
function that typically occurs outside of the RM function, and can even
occur outside of the organization. A record can be generated internally or
received from an external source, and RM doesn't necessarily need to be
involved in the process at all until it is "declared a record".
You are right in saying that management can mean many things to many people,
and I feel that even in the 50+ years we have had a professional association
dedicated to the furthering of RM practice and principles, we haven't gotten
the message across well enough.
But, the last thing I'd want to do is try and re-brand what we do to
Corporate Management as Recordkeeping instead of Records Management... at
least here in the US. More and more articles are being produced related to
compliance activities and other recent legislation that call for the
involvement of records management practices, and I think we're getting
closer to becoming an established source of "good stuff happens here".
Larry
--
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972
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