Laura
Although it is aimed at the Australian Federal Government, the National Archives of Australia has a publication entitled "Records Issues in Outsourcing" which covers what you should do in cases like this. It is available at http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/disposal/authorities/GDA/PDF/GDA25.pdf.
It explicitly states that the contract with the service provider must state what records belong to which party. Basically, any records which would be required to carry on business after the cesation of the contract should be owned by you.
They also have more general advice on "Records Management Issues in Outsourcing" at http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/outsourcing/outsource_records/records_manage/issues_outsource/intro.html
Disclosure and Disclaimer: I wrote the Records issues in outsourcing publication, but this post is a personal one, not a post on behalf of my employer.
John Lovejoy
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-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Bell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 3:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [RM] Application Service Providers
Just checking to see if any of you have had any experience in using ASP
companies to provide records management? A member of our workgroup made
this suggestion and I am not sure if it is a good idea or not? One of
my main concerns is the ownership of the data? Any opinions?
Ms. Laura F. Bell
DOT Directives & Records Management
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
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202-366-9761
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance