Managing Electronic Records

Citation

Richmond, L. (2006), "Managing Electronic Records", Library Review, Vol. 55 No. 6, pp. 378-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530610674811

Managing electronic records is one of the biggest challenges that our society faces today. No large organization, private or public, can be effectively managed unless its electronic records are created, captured, organized and retained over time in an appropriate manner. Even small organizations and individuals must meet this challenge. Many of us have embraced the use of a PC on our working and home desktops, in order to organize our leisure, business and communication needs and engage with the state, commercial and leisure organizations, and family and friends in our everyday lives.

The record profession has been aware of the complex nature of undertaking the management of electronic records and has been tackling the challenges over the last two decades. However, record professionals, as argued by a leading contributor in this book, have often been unable to fully implement the solutions due to a lack of vision, awareness, accountability, architecture and capacity.

Managing Electronic Records provides a global discussion and analysis of the issues of e‐records management and offers solutions based on the views, experience and expertise of its international contributors (Australia, Canada, China, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, UK and USA). The contributors are all leaders in the development of electronic records management and come with a variety of professional expertise other than those of the record professional – managing director, IT specialist, organizational and other consultants, from both the private and public sectors. The chapters cover both the theory and practice of managing electronic records as business and information assets and include case studies in the public and private sectors in France and Australia.

The 11 individual chapters also include a review of the e‐records environment over the last 10 years and insights into standards and models, metadata, digital preservation, research, preservation technologies, legal issues, ethics and competencies. The editors’ conclusion provides a generic framework for e‐records management at the strategic, tactical and operational levels.

John McDonald’s analysis of why record professionals have failed to tame the “wild frontier” of e‐records in the work office is perceptive, honest and challenging. He urges the record profession either to undertake a leadership role and build towards the e‐records vision of the future or to leave the “new frontier” to those who are willing to lead.

Another key theme that comes out of the book is the requirement for increasing and enhancing awareness of the requirements of e‐records management and the subsequent building of a team of specialist and general experts in records management, IT, managers and executives. Such a team should work together with appropriate evolving roles, responsibilities and competencies to achieve the e‐record vision.

The editors and contributors are to be congratulated for a well‐written book that has a refreshing holistic approach to the issues and solutions. It is comprehensible, full of good insights and to be recommended to students of the record profession, information, IT and business managers as well as to all record professionals wherever they practice.