John-

Yes, Brother... you CAN get an "Amen"! =)

Bill-

>Is your company subject to law suits?  

Sure we are, I can't think of many organizations (besides World Bank...
sorry, inside joke =) ) that isn't.

>If so, is your records management
>department involved in discovery? 

Yep, but only in the production aspect of it.  We also communicate out to
our Liaisons any information regarding a pending moratorium on destruction,
but Legal does the formal communication.

>Have you been asked about how to
>manage your organization's non-record materials? 

Yes, here and essentially everywhere I've worked in the past, or provided
guidance to while a Consultant.

>Would they look to you
>for guidance on how and when to delete non record material? 

You bet.  Non-record material is clearly identified in both our RM Policy
and procedures, and there is no retention period for non-records.  They are
to be disposed of as soon as practical, but because they are not records,
there is no retention assigned to them.  AND they are not to be housed with
records.  The same applies to Personal Papers, which are also clearly defined.

>If your
>role was expanded to include the management of any and all digital
>documents - would you welcome that or shrug at the additional
>responsibility? 

I do it now, I've done it in the past, and likely I'll continue to do it in
the future. 

Our RM Policy indicates that it is applicable to "Any recorded information,
regardless of media type or format, generated in support of programmatic
activities or to satisfy administrative or business needs of a department or
directorate"  and that this  "Applies to the OFFICIAL COPY of the record,
generated or received by the organization responsible for the content, NOT
reference or convenience copies managed by others" 

RM for me is about RECORDS, period.  It doesn't matter what form or format
they take.  If their content and purpose result in them meeting the
definition of a record, then they should be managed accordingly.
 
>Just curious.

No problem.  Like I said our program isn't perfect, but we provide the
guidance to others who have the responsibility to ensure the policy is
adhered to, so through a distributed authority, line managers throughout the
organization are individually responsible to ensure their staff is complying
with the requirements.  We provide assistance, training, and guidance in
meeting the requirements, but we do not audit for compliance- that is not
part of our role.

Larry
[log in to unmask]

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]