Anne Thurston

Building a case for evidence: research at the International Records Management Trust, Rights and Records Institute

The availability of documentary evidence strengthens civil society by helping to protect legal rights and prevent human rights violations. Legal redress, voting rights, land registration and pension claims all depend upon the availability of records. Conversely, the loss of control of records undermines the state‘s ability to protect the people. Furthermore, in the absence of well‐managed records, information can be manipulated, transparency becomes impossible and fraud flourishes. Citizens cannot participate meaningfully in the governance process or hold government officials accountable for their actions and decisions. Freedom of Information is meaningless. The International Records Management Trust, Rights and Records Institute is dedicated to serving the international information management community. It acts as a leading resource for technical information and services through research and education. Through its activities, the Institute seeks to empower developing country governments to manage public records in support of citizen’s rights and to make public sector service delivery more efficient and economic. This article introduces broadly the work of the Trust and the newly established Rights and Records Institute and inform on both ongoing and completed research.

The Management of Public Sector Records Project: managing the records lifecycle

Governments require rapid access to information in order to function effectively, yet existing records are under-utilized and grow in volume day by day. The Management of Public Sector Records Project aims to help developing country governments solve this problem through awareness-raising and training.

WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE US ARCHIVIST'S DIGITAL MANDATE FOR 2019 AND IS THERE POTENTIAL FOR APPLYING THEM IN LOWER RESOURCE COUNTRIES?

Purpose This paper aims to present a high-level summary of the US archivist’s digital mandate for 2019, embodied in the publication “Managing Government Records”, issued on August 24, 2012, and a summary of US policy. The authors then consider the implications of the US e-recordkeeping initiative for lower-resource countries. Design/methodology/approach After setting out key elements of the US Archivist’s digital mandate, the paper proceeds to evaluate its policy implications for lower-resource countries based on the authors’ field experience and knowledge of case studies. Findings The USA is embarking on a state of the art approach for managing public sector archives in a digital form, with deadlines approaching for all federal agencies to manage e-mail and other e-records. Although a similar need exists in lesser-resourced countries, there are enormous barriers to successful implementation of a similar approach. Research limitations/implications The archivist’s 2019 digital mandate assumes that the technology sector will embrace the needs of public sector agencies in working on applicable electronic archiving solutions. Practical implications The Archivist’s Directive has the potential to be an enormous driver of change in the records management profession with respect to future management of increasingly digital archive collections. Vast collections of public sector e-mail and other forms of e-records potentially will be preserved under the directive, raising the stakes that archivists and records managers work on solutions in the area of long-term preservation and future access. Social implications The importance of capturing the activities of public-sector institutions in all countries for the purpose of openness, transparency and access cannot be overstated. In an increasingly digital age, new methods are needed to ensure that the historical record of governmental institutions is preserved and made accessible. Originality/value The US Archivist’s mandate represents a cutting-edge approach to long-term digital archiving with potential future applicability to the management of public sector records worldwide.

The Zanzibar Archives Project

While the importance of archives administration and records management is beginning to be realized in the developing world, few governments have recognized the contribution well-kept records could make to development and efficient public administration. Two workshops, attended by members of the staff of seven National Archives in East and Central Africa, were held in Zanzibar in 1984 and 1985. Initially inspired by the Royal Geographical Societys concern for the condition of correspondence from and about explorers, the workshops examined the problems on the ground of preserving and making records accessible. Work on the Ministry of Agricultures records demonstrated their development value and the need for a concerted training programme within the region.