What Do Records Management and Archival Programs Do?
Records management programs are not one-time cleanups of problem situations, but are part of an ongoing, coherent program to manage the information needs of an organization. Records management programs clear working spaces of inactive records and allow the orderly and timely disposition of obsolete records. This maximizes existing space and makes it easier to provide a secure, climate-controlled environment for permanent records. Most importantly, records management provides ready access to recods with administrative, legal and fiscal uses, the first part of a record's "life cycle."
Archives preserve and make available non-current records, records that have permanent or historical value. Archives deal with the second part of the record's "life cycle," and with the evidential and informational value of the historical record.
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What Do You Mean by Records?
Public records include all information made or received by a public entity, regardless of the manner in which it exists. Records can be written or printed books, papers, photographs, microphotographs, maps, plans, computer cards, tapes, electronic files on a hard drive or diskettes. Records may be made by handwriting, typewriting, print, photographic process or micrographic process.
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Why Manage Records?
Town records are information assets. Records document the policies and decisions of the town; contain information needed to conduct day to day and official business; and document the rights and obligations of town citizens. Records document history: they show where we have been and where we are going. They hold irreplaceable administrative, fiscal, legal, informational and historical value.
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Who Are Archivists?
Who are these people that choose to worry about mountains of unsorted paper, phonograph records, DAT tapes, databases, photographs and voicemail recordings. Well, pretty regular people. Most archivists have a masters degree in library/information science with a concentration in archives management. Another common route is a masters in history, with a concentration in archives management, particularly if the position is in a special collections library. Many people have subject specializations, especially if they are working in an academic collections with a particular collecting focus. Most archivists are trained in records management, although some people come to records management from a business background.
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How Do I Obtain More Information about Public Records?
See Public Records Division maintains an excellent list of Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/prepdf/guide.pdf.
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What is the Public Records Law?
The 1884 General Court of Massachusetts called for a report on public records. In 1892 the position of Commissioner of Public Records was created, creating the basis of Massachusetts General Law c. 66, the Public Records Law. Essentially the Public Records Law:
- Gives the Supervisor of Public Records the responsibility to "take necessary measures to put the records of the Commonwealth, counties, cities and towns in the custody and condition required by law and to secure their preservation."
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Provides for the public inspection of records. Note that some records are exempt from public access e.g., for privacy reasons. The Intevenor Team of Public Records Division provides assistance in determining access restrictions.
For more information on the Public Records Law (chapter 66) and other state statutes that affect public records, see the State Archives Records Management Unit Web page at www.state.ma.us/sec/arc/arcrmu/rmuidx.htm.
Why Can't We Put It On the Computer?
The SPR mandates that records with a retention period over 10 years may not be recorded solely on optical media. The reason for this is questionable legal admissability; lack of standards; compatibility; longetivity of the media; and hidden costs of converting legacy data. For more information, see In the Vault, vol. 1, issue 3 and Use of Optical Media and Secretary of State, Supervisor of Public Records, SPR Bulletin No. 1-93.
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How Do I Know What is in the Archives?
The archives and records center is in the process of organizing and cataloging the records. As the process continues, finding aids and indexes will be delivered on the collection holdings page. Going forward, we hope to submit cataloging records to the Library of Congress' National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMUC). Please contact the Archivist/Records Manager for more information.
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Last revised: August 22, 2005, D.. McCormack
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