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Hi Adam I think the key here is that a thesaurus is not a classification scheme. There are several tools which can act in concert that a records manager should be aware of - they include discovery tools (e.g. taxonomy, thesaurus, search strategies), business rules (e.g. retention and disposal schedule), metadata, record or file plans, security and access control, governance (i.e. who owns/is responsible for) etc. As a records manager, I was familiar with some of these. But having worked with a team of "Information Architects" I have come to understand that all these elements need to underpin the management and use of information resources. It is like deciding to build a house, and creating a blueprint of all the systems and things which make a house into a place to live. With legislation like FOI happening, organisations have to manage their information in a much more holistic way. And not only within the boundaries of their own organization, but with partners, key stakeholders and customers, which is a big change for information managers. It is a new level of sophistication that we are facing. There are a few books about Information Architecture at Amazon (I made the long URL's tiny!) that look okay - I have the first one. Information Architecture: Designing Information Environments for Purpose (Managing Information for the Knowledge Economy S.) http://tinyurl.com/2gazm Building Enterprise Information Architecture http://tinyurl.com/yredd AIIM also run an on-line course Fundamentals of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Certificate Program http://www.aiim.org/educationpass.asp In the words inscribed on the front cover of that most famous book - DON'T PANIC - in large friendly letters. Good luck to us all! Liz _____________________________________________ Elizabeth Scott-Wilson Stirling Sumner Limited [log in to unmask] 077-4681-3517 -----Original Message----- From: The UK Records Management mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adam Pope Sent: 26 January 2004 16:46 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Local Government and LAWS categorisation Hi Records Managers! I was wondering if any Records Managers in local government were aware of the undertaking, largely by IT people it appears, of a 'categorisation', which is essentially a Thesaurus or classification scheme, for local government websites (including Freedom of Information and its associated Publication Schemes) available from: http://www.esd-toolkit.org/laws/ More information about the project can be found at: http://www.laws-project.org.uk/index.shtml As I understand it websites record many transactions and the associated records will have metadata that use this scheme. As electronic documents become more prevalent IT departments in Council's that accept LAWS will force Records Managers either to classify their records accordingly, based on subject, rather than function, which I personally find distressing, attempt to merge two Thesauri (mapping synonyms etc.,) or deal with two systems! How do other Council Records Managers feel about this? Has anyone been consulted? Or has this debate already been conducted on this list (I'm a newbie here!)? All the best Adam Pope Records Manager Camden Borough Council Ph 020 7974 5643 Adam Pope www.adampope.net -----__0 Adam Pope ---_'\<_ 07748576211 --(*)/(*) London