Where Is Our History Now?

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Where Is Our History Now?
Electronic Records Management at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
LAUNC-CH Research Forum May 19, 2004
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The empires of the future are empires of the
mind Winston Churchill
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The Challenge

• Computers in the workplace
• Volume of records being created
• 5 exabytes of information produced in 2002
• No systematic method of recognizing, categorizing
  and preserving electronic records

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What is a public record?
North Carolina Public Records Law (G.S. 132-1)
all documents, papers, letters, maps, books,
photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or
other tapes, electronic data-processing records,
artifacts, or other documentary material,
regardless of physical form or characteristics,
made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in
connection with the transaction of public
business by any agency of North Carolina
government or its subdivisions.
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Consequences of noncompliance
G.S. 121-5b (Penalty for unauthorized
destruction) whoever unlawfully removes a
public record from the office where it is usually
kept, or alters, mutilates, or destroys it shall
be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and upon
conviction only fined at the discretion of the
court. 30 days or less imprisonment or a fine
that is not less than 10, nor more than 500
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Risk can arise if

• Records are not subject to formal retention
  scheduling and appraisal that meets both legal
  and regulatory obligations
• Records are not subject to a security policy
  preventing unauthorized access or misuse
• Records are not protected from a disaster
  (environmental, personnel, equipment failure)
• Records are not acted upon during a process or
  transaction, resulting in financial penalties or
  liabilities
• The integrity and authenticity of records cannot
  be guaranteed, casting doubt upon legal
  admissibility

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The University must acquire, discover,
preserve, synthesize, and transmit knowledge.
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If we value knowledge and understanding, we
should always be willing to look at the
documentary evidence of our past, whether we
think it may be painful or not James Moeser
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University Archives holdings

• Board of Trustees minutes 1789-
• Faculty meeting minutes 1799-
• Student organizations 1795-
• Original maps and drawings
• Records of presidents and chancellors
• UNC system administrative offices
• Major university administrative units
• Much, much more

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Many scholarly works have been published as a
result of research conducted in the University
Archives
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Progress in records management

• More than 1/3 of approximately 1200 academic and
  administrative units have individualized records
  schedules approved by the state
• Work progressing on records modules for
  form-based records (personnel, student,
  financial, etc.)
• Consultations with campus offices continue
• Workshops offered through HR Training
  Development continue, expanded to include
  Introduction to Electronic Records Management

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More Things Were Doing Right

• Email guidelines issued January 2000
• Electronic records included in retention
  schedules
• Managing the Digital University Desktop project
• http//www.ils.unc.edu/digitaldesktop/index.html

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Interview Findings

• Did anyone ever tell you what to save?
• No 68 Yes 19 Other 13

• Are there records you know you have to keep? Yes
  81 No 14 Other 5

• Do you think any of the documents you create or
  produce should be preserved?
• No 49

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The Problems With Printing Electronic Records

• Authenticity and integrity
• Capturing the metadata
• Context

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It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent, it is the one
that is the most adaptable to change Charles
Darwin
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Adapting to Change

• Helping to develop filing structure for
  electronic records
• Classification schemes better management of
  e-records
• Shared behavior in place, but no formal
  organization

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• Better retention guidelines for website files
• Look to national organizations and associations
  for answers to electronic records dilemma (ARMA
  International, AIIM, NARA)

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Success lies in how well we can share, learn and
collaborate with others, not in how well we can
accumulate and control information Niall
Sinclair
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Developing the Information Management Community

• Survey results Schina and Wells (electronic
  records management high priority, collaboration
  essential)
• Survey results Cohasset Associates, Inc. (lack
  of communication between legal, IS/IT, and
  records management)

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This great university is now entrusted to all of
us for a brief time. We can build it and improve
upon it, or we can merely maintain the status
quo. Our response to this question will define
the quality of the institution that we pass along
to the next generation James Moeser
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An Action Plan For Success

• Establishing an Electronic Records Strategic
  Planning Group
• University Counsel, Internal Audit, Executive VC
  and Provost, Human Resources, Information
  Technology Services, Finance and Administration,
  Research and Economic Development, University
  Advancement, Academic Affairs Library, Enrollment
  Management, UNC System Office of the President,
  University Archivist (ex-officio), Records
  Service Coordinator (ex-officio)

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An Action Plan For Success (cont.)

• Hiring an Electronic Records Archivist
• Establishing a Pilot E-Records Project With a
  High-Profile Office
• Mandatory electronic records management training
  for all University academic administrative
  employees

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We live in a moment of history where change is
so speeded up that we begin to see the present
only when it is already disappearing R. D.
Laing
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What will it take?
Tomorrow may be too late
Questions? Suggestions? Contact Janis Holder,
University Archivist UNC Chapel
Hill holderj_at_email.unc.edu