Chris,
 
A bit of lengthy reply but you did ask!
 
Registered files were the mainstay of the British Empire - so it used to feel like! Certainly well before I became aware of International standards relating to information management, as a dinosaur civil servant I remember part of my induction process included a session on registered files where a pile of folders containing papers on a range of topics were used as props to encourage us to be sure we maintained an appropriate paper trail of our business activities as we were required to by the Public Records Act.
 
Essentially every Department would have an internally published file plan managed by their Departmental Records Officer and staff - generally residing within the "Registry". They would manage the file plan structure with an appropriate indexing system to ensure all business related topics fitted somewhere within it and within which new topics could be "registered" and assigned an unique reference number. The reference number would generally be a combination of alphabetic, alphanumeric and numeric codes assigned according to the, normally, hierarchic file plan. The registry would then issue an official "registered file" (a folder complete with India tags and memo sheets!) annotated externally with the reference number and subject title. Then the business area could use it to hold the original paper documentation recording the business transactions relating to the topics concerned.
 
Going way back, filing clerks would be requesting registered files, placing papers on them and returning them to the registry, or, ensuring that they were circulated to those that needed to see and comment on the papers contained therein. With computers the term "file" related to a single electronic entity and over time this meaning has replaced the concept of a collection of papers - although "folder" has an equivalence to the old term. And with EDRMS technology we are seeing the return of the "registered file" concept as people are encouraged to retain and collect their files with other related files within a folder named and managed according to the corporate file plan structure.
 
Anyway you might be interested to see the extract below from one of our old internal guides on Records Management.
 
Unregistered files were not encouraged if they meant papers were outside of the RM system and hence not being subject to wider scrutiny, access and the requirements of the Public Records Act.
 
Michael
 

5.        Registered files

 

5.1    What is a registered file?

 

A registered file is categorised by all of the following attributes :

 

·         Identified by a unique file reference in accordance with current policy

·         A group of papers on a specific topic clearly described in the file title

·         Raised and managed by the Records Centre

·         Papers contained within a purpose designed file cover supplied by the Records Centre

·         File cover has printed labels showing the file reference, title and part/annex identifier.

 

Within the file cover the papers should be :

 

·         Filed neatly in reverse book order i.e. in strict date order with the earliest paper at the bottom and the latest on top

·         Secured at the top left corner by the tag in the file cover.  Where a document is too bulky to be punched for filing it may be placed in an enclosure envelope and the envelope secured by the tag.  Enclosure envelopes should be clearly labelled

·         Enclosed within the retaining flap on the right of the file cover.

 

A registered file will have at least one part.  It may also have :

 

·           Further parts

·           Annexes to contain papers on sub-topics

·           A Tender Wallet (usually procurement files only)

·           A box.  This is a rare occurrence.  For example a procurement project may have quantities of bulky documents, sometimes bound into books, which have a direct relationship to the file but are too unwieldy to be placed in a file cover or tender wallet.

 

All of these will share the same file reference as the first part of the file, but may have slightly different titles to identify the contents.

 

5.2    The contents of a registered file

 

A registered file should contain sufficient papers to document the topic described by the file title.  The file should contain sufficient material to :

 

·         Meet business needs

·         Document decisions taken and commitments entered into

·         Record significant milestones in the project

·         Form an audit trail of the project

·         Protect our intellectual property rights

 

The actual contents of the file will vary with the type of work being documented.  A file should always contain the following :

 

·         Correspondence - letters, faxes and e-mails.  All significant incoming and outgoing correspondence should be filed together with relevant internal correspondence

·         Discussion records - a copy of a note of all relevant discussions should be filed.  This will be minutes of meetings, notes of significant telephone conversations and notes of informal discussions where these affect the work being documented

 

Where they have been received or produced, the following should also be filed :

 

·         Briefing papers

·         Business cases

·         Quotations for goods or services

·         Contracts for the purchase or provision of goods or services

 

Other relevant material may also be filed at your discretion.

 

The following items should not be filed :

 

·         Ephemeral papers

·         Copies of Office Notices or items from the Bulletin Board (unless the subject of the file is the main subject of the notice or bulletin)

·         Personal papers - records of bookings of hotel bedrooms, local maps, restaurant guides

·         Multiple copies of the same version of a document.  Where version control is important to the subject of the file, each version should be filed, but not multiple copies of intermediate drafts (e.g. with reviewers comments annotated).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -----Original Message-----
From: Chris LITTLE [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 August 2005 17-28
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Registered files

The National Archives Records Management Standards guidance RMS 1.1 File Creation says it only covers "registered files".  I've not come across this term before.  The guidance defines a registered file as "a file that is part of a registration system" which I find a bit circular.  Can anyone advise please - what does this mean, and when would you use registered rather than unregistered files?

 

Thanks

 

Dr Chris Little

Information Manager

 


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