Hi Fred. In fact, it would and does qualify as a record. Many organizations and certainly government regard phone books as archival records. Many archival records as you know have informational value that has nothing to do with the reason the record was created in the first place. Phone books/directories are happily preserved by many historical and genealogical societies, and many archives. They provide the historical researcher with a snapshot of society at a given point in time for a discrete area, and tell us much about population distribution, provide social evidence of other phenomena, and clues to further research. Here in Washington, the phone books created and issued by government are indeed official public records in whatever form they appear or are published. A company archivist would rightly consider the original issue of each run of publications archival, while a publication is not in its multiple copies. The first specimen however, is. It is the record copy. Elizabeth Fairfax, MA, CA Island County Records and Information Services -----Original Message----- From: Grevin, Fred [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 9:52 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [RM] RM vs. IM Elizabeth, what about a telephone directory (paper or electronic)? It qualifies as "information", but probably wouldn't qualify--in most organisations--as a record. Fred =================================================================== Frederic J. Grevin Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: 212.788.8615 -----Original Message----- From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of A.S.E. Fairfax Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 11:37 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [RM] RM vs. IM Hi Brianne, In some cases it could be purely perceptual, and in others, the answer may depend on how your organization defines the word "record" or "information". I work for government, and our definitions are regulated as part of the state code. There is no difference between the two, except in the techniques used to manage them to achieve a specific outcome or longevity. Recorded information, here, in whatever format, is a record. The management of it is dependent on the context and content. Sincerely, Elizabeth Fairfax 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] 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]