DAP – Phase I
Development of a
Strategic Plan
Digital Assessment Survey
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Active records -
Those records required for the day-to-day functioning of an agency or person. Also referred to as current records. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 461
Appraisal- The process of evaluating business
activities to determine which records need to be captured and how long the
records need to be kept, to meet business needs, the requirements of
organisational accountability and community expectations. The process of determining
the retention period of records. General International Standard Archival
Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Archives- Those records that are appraised as having continuing value. Traditionally the term has been used to describe records no longer required for current use which have been selected for permanent preservation. Also referred to as permanent records.
The place (building/room/storage area)
where archival material is kept. An organisation (or part of
an organisation) responsible for appraising, acquiring, preserving and making
available archival material. Ellis (ed), Keeping
Archives, p. 463
Archival data format-
A format into which digital data object are converted for long-term
preservation.
Capture-
The process of determining that a record should be made and kept. This
includes both records created and received by the organization. It involves
deciding which documents are captured, which in turn implies decisions about
who may have access to those documents and generally how long they are to be
retained. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, Clause
4.3.2.
Classification- The
process of identifying the category or categories of business activity and the
records they generate and grouping them, if applicable, into files to
facilitate description, control, links and determination of disposition and
access status. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, Clause 4.3.4
Conversion- Conversion
is the process of changing records from one medium to another or from one
format to another. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1. Clause 3.7
Creator- The
corporate body, family or person that created, accumulated and / or maintained records in the conduct
of personal or corporate activity. General International Standard Archival
Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Data archiving-
The process of creating and maintaining archived files within a computer
system. An archived file is one which has been stored on some backing medium
(eg magnetic tape) and not held permanently on-line to the main store. The file
will not appear in the operating system's catalogue of current files, but can
be reconstituted should the need arise. Gunton, The Penguin
Dictionary of Information Technology, p. 36
Data- Facts or
instructions represented in a formalized manner, suitable for transmission,
interpretation or processing manually or automatically. 13 International Council on Archives, Dictionary of Archival Terminology, KG Saur,
Data
management- The function of controlling the acquisition, analysis, storage,
retrieval, and distribution of data.
McDaniel, IBM Dictionary of
Computing, p. 17
Digital Archives
Programme – is a combination of policies, procedures, standards and
technologies that facilitates the proper management, appraisal/retention and
preservation of digital records and provides for the long term access and use
of materials with long term value.
Preservation requires active management that begins with record
creation. – SOW- Strategic Plan for
Digital Archives Programme
Digital Signature-
A security mechanism included within a digital object that enables the
identification of the creator of the digital object, and that can also be used
to detect and track any changes that have been made to the digital object.
Australian Government
Information Management Office, Trusting the Internet – A Small Business Guide
to E-security, July 2002
Digital record- A
record created and or maintained by means of a digital computer
technology. Digital records are a subset
of electronic records.
Disposition
authority- A systematic listing of records created by an organisation or
agency which plans the life of these records from the time of their creation to
their disposal. A disposal schedule is a continuing authority for
implementing decisions on the value of records specified in the schedule. Ellis (ed), Keeping
Archives, p. 468
Document - Recorded
information or object which can be treated as a unit. International
Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.10
Document Management
System (DMS) (also EDMS) - An automated system used to
support the creation, use and maintenance of electronically created documents
for the purposes of improving an organisation’s workflow. These systems do not
necessarily incorporate recordkeeping functionality and the documents may be of
informational rather than evidential value (ie the documents may not be
records).
Electronic messages - A general term
covering all forms of electronically-mediated communication. This includes
electronic mail for text messages and an equivalent service that uses
recordings of spoken messages, known as voice messaging. It may also include
computer conferencing and videotext. Also used as synonymous with electronic
mail. Gunton, The Penguin Dictionary of Information
Technology, p. 100
Electronic records -
Records communicated and maintained by means of electronic equipment. Capable of being processed
in a computer system and/or stored at any instant in a medium which requires
electronic or computer equipment to retrieve them. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 469
Electronic Records
Management System – see Records Management System
File- An
organized unit of documents grouped together either for current use by the
creator or in the process of archival arrangement, because they relate to the
same subject, activity, or transaction. A file is usually a basic unit within a
record series. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G),
Section 0.1
A complete, named collection of information, such as a
program, a set of data used by a program, or user-created document. A file is
the basic unit of storage that enables a computer to distinguish one set of
information from another. A file might or might not be stored in human-readable
form, but it is still the "glue" that binds a conglomeration of
instructions, numbers, words, or images into a coherent unit that a user can
retrieve, change, delete, save or send to an output devise. Microsoft
Press, Computer Dictionary, p.470
A file is a collection of documents, which show
organisational activities through an identifiable sequence of transactions.
Individual documents on the file have relationships with each other, for
example a letter and a reply, and a reply to that etc., which are preserved by
being kept on file in the right order and are part of the evidence in the
records.
Functional analysis-
Functional analysis is the analysis of business activity. To undertake this
analysis you must collect information from documentary sources and interviews;
identify and document each business function, activity, transaction; establish
a hierarchy of business functions, activities and transactions, that is, a
business classification scheme; and identify and document the flow of business
processes and the transactions which comprise them.
General records
disposal schedule- General disposal schedules cover functions common to a
number of agencies, typically used by government archival authorities to cover
functional areas such as Personnel, Finance and Stores. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 468
Inactive records- Those records no longer required for the
conduct of business and which may therefore be transferred to intermediate
storage, archival custody or destroyed. Ellis (ed), Keeping
Archives, p. 472
Index- A
systematically arranged list providing access to the contents of a file,
document, or groups of documents, consisting of entries giving enough
information to trace or locate each entry by means of a page number or other
symbol. Bellardo & Bellardo, A Glossary for
Archivists, Manuscript Curators, and Records Managers, p. 24
Indexing- The
process of establishing access points to facilitate retrieval of records and/or
information. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, Clause 3.11
Information systems- Organised
collections of hardware, software, policies, procedures and people, which
store, process and provide access to information.
Informational value The value for reference or research deriving from the
information the records contain, as distinct from their evidential value.
Records and archives often contain information that has reference or research
uses not envisaged by its creators. Ellis
(ed), Keeping Archives, p. 462
Intellectual control-
The control established over the informational content of records and archives
resulting from ascertaining and documenting their provenance, and from the
processes of arrangement and description.
Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 472
Medium- The physical
material, container, and / or carrier in or on which information is recorded
(i.e., paper, film, magnetic tape).
General International
Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Metadata-
Data describing context, content and structure of records and their management
through time.
International Standard
ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.12
Physical control-
The control established over the physical aspects (such as format, quantity and
location) of the archives and records in custody.
Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 476
Preservation - Processes
and operations involved in ensuring the technical and intellectual survival of
authentic records through time. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause
3.14
The actions which enable the materials in
an archives to be retained for as long as they are needed i.e. the basic
functions of storing, protecting and maintaining records and archives in
archival custody. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p .476
Recordkeeping systems-
Information system which captures, maintains and
provide access to records through time. International
Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.17
Recordkeeping systems may be distinguished from other types
of information systems by the fact they are organised to accomplish the
specific functions of creating, storing and accessing records for evidential
purposes. Bearman, 'Record-keeping
Systems', p. 17
Records-
information in any form or medium, created or received and maintained, by an
organization or person in the transaction of business or the conduct of
affairs. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G),
Section 0.1
All documentary materials, regardless of physical type,
received or originated by the United Nations or by members of its staff,
excluding United Nations documents. United Nations ST/AI/326, Clause V 12.
Records
lifecycle- The whole extent of a record's existence from the time of the
creation of records (and before creation, in the design of recordkeeping
systems), through to the preservation and use of records as archives.
Records management- Field of management responsible for the
efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and
disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining
evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the
form of records.
International Standard
ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.16
Records Management System
(RMS) (also
Retention period- The period of time, usually based on an
estimate of the frequency of current and future use, and taking into account
statutory and regulatory provisions, that records need to be retained before
their final disposal. Sometimes used to indicate the length of time records are
to be retained in offices before being transferred to intermediate storage. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 479
Secondary
storage- A low-cost, warehouse-style repository or storage area where
inactive or intermediate records are housed and referenced pending their
ultimate destruction or transfer to archives. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 472
Series- (Also known as records series) Documents
arranged in accordance with a filing system or maintained as a unit because
they result from the same accumulation or filing process, or in the same
activity; have a particular form,; or because of some other relationship
arising out of their creation, receipt, or use.
General International
Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Standards-
Records management and recordkeeping standards are authoritative standards to
which an organisation is subject or which it chooses to adopt. Standards
provide benchmarks for measuring performance and describe best practises in any
or all aspects of recordkeeping. Thus standards may function to specify minimum
performance levels or describe best practice.
Storage- The
decision to capture a record implies an intention to store it. Appropriate
storage conditions ensure that records are protected, accessible and managed in
a cost-effective manner. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, 4.3.7
Temporary records - Records
with no archival value that can be sentenced for destruction. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 480
Vital records - Those
records that are essential for the ongoing business of an agency, and without
which the agency could not continue to function effectively. The identification
and protection of such records is a primary object of records management and
disaster planning. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 480
XML
- (eXtensible Markup Language)
– A simple, flexible computer language developed by the World Wide Web
Consortium as an open, non-proprietary technology that creates common
information formats so that both the format and the data can be shared between
organisations, regardless of their respective Internet computing platforms. Australian Government Information Management Office, B2B E-Commerce: Capturing Value Online, 2001, p. 90.