Ward,

Welcome to the real world of the Records Manager.  Defining the record is
central to what we do, and we cannot do our job without understanding it
because it underlies all of our decision making processes, modifies our
understandings of schedules, and can conflict with policies at many levels
if our professional judgement is in conflict with them.  In some
agencies,mostly public,  the records are defined by law, and appraised by
archivists who develop retention schedules which then must still be
interpreted by records managers.  The nuances and levels of understanding
applied to interpretation frequently define a good records manager from a
bad one, the risk the organization is exposed to, and down the line,
litigation the agency may be involved in.  

In short, this is what we do, and I think we discuss it because we really
need to have the best understanding we can of how to look at this central
problem.

A.S. Elizabeth Fairfax, MA,CA
ACA Certified Archivist/Public Records Professional
Island County Archives, Records and Information Management Program
P.O. Box 5000
1 NE 7th Street
Coupeville, WA   98239
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 360-240-5569
Fax: 360-240-5553

-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Ward Fennell
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 10:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Everything is a record until it is not

Being new to this industry, I will not make many, if any, comments on
records and information management, but one comment I feel compelled to make
relevant to Ms. Burnett's latest comment 

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