I can see where both Marc and Larry are coming from and one could argue both
are right:

-	It is true that by the time information gets placed on a media it
has already resided in some temporary memory e.g. RAM. So one could argue
that when it is placed on, say, disc, it is not original.
-	But the first place the user or operating system "selects" as the
destination would be part of some dedicated storage - be that disc, tape,
memory stick or something else. So one could argue that everything else was
transient and that this is the first/original copy.
-	I think that bit is academic but there does tend to be a difference
in ownership/responsibility when looking at the structured and unstructured
data.
-	The situation with structured systems is pretty simple to define -
ICT takes a back-up (either complete or incremental) of the database. The
ICT team takes responsibility for maintaining a service.
-	With unstructured data, it is more normal to take back-ups (either
complete or incremental) either the whole or part of a structure (e.g.
"Shared Docs on the X: drive). With these kind of back-ups the ICT people
usually leave the user to determine which is "the master". They are simply
providing a service related to a specific logical area. Responsibility and
ownership of the contents are usually left with the users.

David Aspinall
Senior Records Management Consultant
Tribal Education & Technology
The Charnwood Building
Holywell Park
Ashby Road
Loughborough LE31 3GS
 
T  01509 268292
F  01509 232748
E  [log in to unmask]
 
M 07785 234322
www.tribalgroup.co.uk
 
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-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Records Management mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Fresko, Marc
Sent: 04 July 2006 23:47
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Originals and Copies (was RE: Back Ups)

Larry, also with great respect for your huge experience in records
management:

If (for example) you open on your PC an electronic document that is held
on a server, you are not opening the stream of bits that is on the
server.  Rather, your computers are copying the bit stream from the
server to your PC and opening that copy.  If you then apply metadata (or
whatever) to declare it a "record", then save it back to the server, you
are likely to be saving a fresh copy to the server (details admittedly
dependent on configuration).  So the "record" on you copy is then a copy
of a copy of the document that started out on the server.  And that,
almost inevitably, was not the original bit stream anyway.  This is only
one example from several instances of copying that will take place
during the existence of the record.  All this is miles away from the way
that paper records are created and how they exist.

The concepts you cite are all absolutely fine in the non-electronic
world, but they do not make sense with electronic documents and records.
In most cases that matter, you cannot sensibly identify an electronic
original, and you cannot produce an electronic original in any
meaningful way.  The best you can do (and what you must do) is to ensure
that all copies of a record are accompanied by appropriate controls so
that you can attest successfully that they represent a true record of
the content of the long-lost original.

Marc Fresko



-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Records Management mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Larry Medina
Sent: 04 July 2006 23:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Back Ups

On Jul 3, 2006, at 7:54 AM, Susan Mansfield wrote:

> As a result of the good practice mobilisation work records management 
> has been doing our ICT department is reviewing its back up 
> arrangements.
> I'd
> appreciate hearing how other organisations handle backing up 
> information to inform the decisions we are faced with making.

First, I must respectfully disagree that there is no "original" 
electronic document, and that that "all are copies" once stored.

Your policy and procedure should declare which original is handled and
declared as the master (or source or original) record.  It's typically
that which is generated by the department, originator or organization
responsible for the business function or purpose the "document" 
supports.  And your practices should indicate how that "record copy" is
authenticated and protected as a record, which would include how it is
stored, scheduled and managed.

<snip>

Larry Medina
Danville, CA