Managing Electronic Records (4th edition)

Citation

Robertson, P. (2010), "Managing Electronic Records (4th edition)", Library Review, Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 308-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011038631

William Saffady, established Professor at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University in New York City has written the fourth iteration of Managing Electronic Records (4th edition), co‐published with ARMA International, a not‐for‐profit professional association and an authority on managing records and information. The book has spanned almost two decades, showing the importance of electronic record management for all information professionals and most, if not all, content‐rich organisations.

The work is both practical and prevalent covering the ever changing landscape of electronic record storage, organisation and management. The copy I read and review here is the UK edition, published by Facet (owned by CILIP, Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals).

The main issue with the book, from a UK perspective, is the US‐centric view of legislation surrounding electronic records management. Chapter 5 deals with retention schedules for electronic records, giving a concise overview of the varying federal rules organisations are bound to in regards to both retention and discovery. The information covering e‐discovery in US legislation was insightful and thoroughly up to date, including the 2006 amendments to federal regulations that “… formalise the importance of electronic records in litigation… and bring order and consistency to discovery of electronic records… ”. Although I found it informative I feel this chapter would be of greater benefit to US information professionals. I felt that the inclusion of any international and/or European regulations, albeit a summarised version, would avail the European/UK market.

I found the book to be considered and logical in its presentation. The chapters follow the practical considerations and steps to appraise in electronic records management. The book begins with definitions of electronic records and covers how systems infrastructure has a direct impact on the management of records and any specific problems within this environment.

Chapter 2 includes a detailed analysis of all types of electronic records, helpful for someone relatively new to the discipline, stressing the importance of storage media and how this may effect records management and the compilation of retention policies. The author includes, where appropriate, ISO standards related to specific media types. The documenting of both past and present media types is valuable, although an involved discussion of the future of storage and its direct impact on electronic records would have been a useful addition.

The author continues with detail of file formats and the importance of understanding these for the records manager. I believe this chapter would be useful in analysing an organisation's records management requirements. Saffady covers a wide range of formats, from text, image, audio, video, compressed and markup to email and databases. I found it interesting that the book acknowledged backwards compatibility and raised what future generations will rely on if applications and modifications to hardware and software render records unreadable.

The following two chapters (4 and 5) cover the topics of inventorying and collecting information on record types within an organisation and the importance that should rightfully be imposed upon this task. I found these chapters particularly useful as the author takes the reader through the processes of inventory, including caveats that may surround this activity. The inclusion of examples of business benefit intended as an aid to selling the idea to management and executives was of particular gain to me. The next steps covered include how to create and embed your own retention schedule based on inventory findings, with lots of advice and recommendations on how to meet requirements. This, relating to the earlier part of my review, is where the legislation implications unfortunately concentrate on US regulation.

Chapter 6 provides a better understanding of which electronic records can be construed as crucial to an organisation and what actions are essential with regards to analysing risk, prevention and backup. The final chapter covers labelling and categorisation for removable storage media, naming conventions for filing and physical and environmental considerations. The concluding chapter also looks at electronic content management systems and the varying controls and functionality that an organisation can expect from these systems.

Appendices offer suggestions for further research and a glossary of acronyms and terminology used.

In summary, this book is a practical ready reckoner for the non‐initiated into the area of records management. Saffady gives a great insight into what is fast becoming an important area for all organisations as they strive to manage their information in a controlled and concise manner.