I can't speak for records managers since I'm an end user (an historian) rather than a RIM expert.  But doesn't part of the problem lie in public perceptions of terminology?  I suspect many people outside the RIM field confuse disposition with destruction.

There is a difference between the dictionary definitions of disposition (1. a. administration; b. final arrangement; settlement; c. transfer to the care or possession of another) and one of the most common interpretations of the term "disposal."  Many people take disposal to mean what Webster's refers to as "2. d. "systematic destruction."  Disposal also can mean "orderly placement or distribution" but you don't hear the general public use it that way very often.

I know schedules spell out what is to be kept permanently and what can be destroyed after a set time.  But rather than have the public misinterpret any the terms, I would use "retention and disposition schedule" in the title.  Again, this isn't my field, I only have tangential contact with RIM but, of course, rely heavily on records managers.

Maarja

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