Records Management - Developing the Records Register
1. What is a records register?
1.1. A register of records is a list, catalogue or inventory of all records held by a school or other business area, regardless of the format in which they are maintained or the medium upon which they are held.
2. Why is a register needed?
2.1. A register is needed in order to track records, so that records can be located and managed effectively, and also to realize an efficient response to any request made to the University under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
2.2. The records register will hold metadata that links school or sectional records to their business functions and hence will aid the process of business planning.
2.3. The records register informs the development of the retention schedule.
3. Where does responsibility lie for the creation and maintenance of the register?
3.1. The University Records Manager will develop and maintain appropriate mechanisms by which schools and other business areas are able to register the records they are holding. Guidance in respect of this requirement, of which this document is part, will be developed by the Records Manager.
3.2. It will be the responsibility of each school or business area to create and manage a register for the records it holds. This can be undertaken by those responsible for carrying out the functions and activities covered by the information map - or by Local Records Officers charged with responsibility for records management in particular schools or business areas.
4. How should the register be structured?
4.1. The register should reflect the logical structure of the records series according to business function and in line with the hierarchy provided by the filing scheme. The metadata file within the filing scheme will draw upon the records register.
4.2. The register should NOT be structured according to the physical location of the records.
4.3. A lot of the information on the register will apply to all the records grouped under a particular heading in the filing scheme. It is best practice therefore to collect and store register information at the highest level in the hierarchy as is possible, it is a waste of effort to duplicate register information if it is not absolutely required.
5. What format should the register be in?
5.1. The information gathered for the register needs to be held in a way that can be simply interrogated and which can allow for the addition of further information at a later day. For example, it may well be that you will have to add new records series, or new functions or activities to the filing scheme. This all implies that a relational database is going to be the most appropriate choice of format to maintain the register on.
5.2. The main thing to bear in mind is that the format should be scalable and easy to use.
5.3. No attempt should be made to maintain a records register on paper.
6. What information needs to be included in the register?
6.1. A register of records held by a school or section needs to be comprehensive and cover all records irrespective of the media upon which they are held.
6.2. The register should list the following categories for each record series or other collection of information:
- title and location
- provenance and user/owner information
- relationship
to other records
- decisions
in respect of retention and disposition
- access
restrictions
- physical
characteristics (eg software, hardware, type of media)
The table below gives a more detailed listing of the types of information that need to be held in the register, (Derived from - National Archives document - "Guidelines for Management, Appraisal and Preservation of Electronic Records"
| Field name |
Content |
Purpose |
| Title and location |
||
| |
The title of the file |
Required
to provide information about the subject |
| Alternative Title |
Any other title by which the record
is known |
Helps resolve problems in locating
|
| Part number |
|
Identifies different parts of the same file |
| Hierarchical Position |
The headings and sub-headings from
the filing scheme that apply to the file |
Helps to show where the record is
located within the filing scheme |
| Reference |
A short code that locates the file
or record within the wider filing structure |
Identifies the file within the filing scheme
and aids retrieval. Also assists with the mapping of the file onto the filing
scheme and shows its hierarchical relationship to other records series |
| Alternative reference |
Any other reference by which the record
is known |
Helps resolve problems in locating
|
| Unique identifier |
A unique number that is used to identify
the record |
Establishes a unique identification for the record.
This is usually generated within a database for systems administration purposes
and is not to be confused with a reference code that may be composed of
more than one part |
| Location |
The actual physical location of the
|
Helps resolve problems in locating
|
| Provenance and user/owner
information |
||
| Creator |
The work group or section or other
user who actually creates the record. The creator of the record - may or
may not be the same as the user(s) of the record |
Assists with the mapping of the record
series onto the functional and organizational structure of the University
and helps to establish responsibility for records creation and capture |
| Record owners |
The business area responsible for
the management of the record |
Establishes responsibility for the |
| Other record users |
Secondary business |
Required
in order to identify which other units need to
be consulted when considering changes to retention periods for the records |
| Date opened |
The date that the file or folder was
set up |
Assists in calculating retention periods.
|
| Date of earliest record |
The date of the oldest record in the
series |
Assists in records location and in
calculating retention periods |
| Date of last record |
The date of the most recent record
in the series |
Assists in records location and in
calculating retention periods |
| Date closed |
The date the file is closed and no
further information is added to it |
Assists in records location and in
calculating retention periods |
| Audit trail/version history |
A record of the changes made to the
document, when they were made, and who made them. |
Assists with the legal admissibility
of the record, and is particularly important for electronic records. |
| Relationship
to other records |
||
| Links to related records |
Identifies other records that are
connected to the records and used either in conjunction with them or by
them eg an index |
Assists in calculating the overall retention requirement |
| Links to duplicate information |
Identifies other records from which
this record is |
Enables the identification of duplicated |
| Decisions in respect
of retention and disposition |
||
| Retention periods |
How long the records should be kept |
Required
in order to implement the retention schedule |
| Disposal action |
Specifies what should be done with
the records when there is no longer any business reason to maintain them |
Enables
the systematic disposition of the records - usually this will either be destroy or transfer
to University Archive. |
| Access restrictions |
||
| Access |
Specifies security information in relation to the access permissions of individuals and workgroups | Establishes
an important element of records security |
| Physical
characteristics of the records |
||
| Physical format |
The physical format of the records
concerned, eg CD, Paper, floppy disc. When registering electronic records
the description needs to include details of the software application |
Assists in the overall management
of the school or business area's information assets |
| Notes |
|
Needed in order to include any necessary |
7. How to assemble the register
7.1. For new records, the information
map and filing scheme will provide the framework
for structuring your register. When new files or records are created, they will
need to be added to the appropriate part of the register.
7.2. To add existing records to the register, it will be
necessary to conduct a records survey, and the
findings from the survey added to the register. For active records, or where
there is a business need to locate records quickly, the register should contain
an entry for each individual file. For rarely used records, it is better to
add information to the register at the series level only, provided you are assured
that the records can be grouped into meaningful records
series, where each record in the series has the same retention requirement.
8. How to maintain the register
8.1. It is essential that the register is kept up to date and maintained as a matter of routine. Procedures will need to be set up to ensure that new records are added to the register as they are created.
8.2. To meet Freedom of Information requirements, the
register will also need to contain information about records that have been
destroyed as well as the records that are held.
On a
database this can be achieved via the use of relatively simple mechanisms.
(eg checkbox and date of destruction field)
9. What other help is available?
9.1. Further advice and guidance in respect of records management, data protection and freedom of information can be obtained by emailing Rec-Man@ncl.ac.uk or telephoning ext. 8209