Following on from comments by Steve and Peter on the 30 Year Review it
should be noted that archivists and records managers were consulted as part
of the review process. The Society of Archivists made a detailed response
which can be viewed at:
http://www.30yearrulereview.org.uk/evidence/we-societyofarchivists.pdf
A lot of work went into the final submission and it was highlighted on the
listserv last year. Whilst Steve has rightly picked up on the IT wording in Lord
Dacre's report, it is my belief that this highlights the requirement that
electronic records must be managed from creation onwards if they are to
survive - they cannot wait 30 or even 15 years to be reviewed. This point
was strongly emphasized to the Reviewing Committee.
So it is up to the full range of professionals to carry on building the
infrastructures to ensure that required records survive. The accelerating
positive change is an interesting phrase as it captures the terms of the Acerm
project which was also highlighted to the Committee.
Overall therefore my reading is that the results of the Review are a success
story for the archive and records management professions. However as Steve
rightly emphasizes the role of records managers must be continually explained
and justified as we are yet to reach a position where the professional services
of the records manager are automatically incorporated into building an IT
system/records and information service.
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