Archives New Zealand released the exposure draft of our revised Standard for Storage of Records and Archives (Storage Standard) for public comment on 12 March 2007. This standard will set the minimum requirements for physical storage of New Zealand government records; enabling records to remain accessible and useable over time. The revised standard will become the first mandatory standard issued under the Public Records Act 2005. As this means it will be subject to audit from 2010 now is the time to tell us whether it hits the mark, before the auditors arrive on your doorstep! Information on how to comment is on our website. Archives New Zealand is also holding focus groups in Wellington and Auckland this week and next. To find out more about the focus groups or if you have any questions about the exposure draft or the project, contact Patrick Power at patrick.power@archives.govt.nz or 04 894 6035.
Email records management under the Public Records Act was the subject of this year’s first government recordkeeping forum, on 7 March 2007. It was our biggest forum so far, with over 180 participants, demonstrating just how problematic email is from a recordkeeping perspective. Speakers from Archives New Zealand, the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office, Gen-I and SWIM Ltd talked about coverage of email by the PRA, how to handle email from a recordkeeping perspective and different technical options available to help with the task. Presentations are available online.
Archives New Zealand has published a new fact sheet Are E-mail Archiving Solutions Recordkeeping Solutions? (F14). The fact sheet provides advice for IT managers and records managers in public offices and local authorities about maintaining and storing e-mails as records. As the fact sheet states, Archives New Zealand’s position is that: “E-mail archiving solutions or e-mail storage products do provide benefits for organisations, but they are not a substitute for a recordkeeping system. If government organisations use ‘e-mail archiving solutions’ these systems should be considered information storage solutions only, not recordkeeping solutions.” The fact sheet is available online. Print copies can be requested from rkadvice@archives.govt.nz.
Chief Archivist Dianne Macaskill has issued the new Digitisation Standard (S6) and accompanying General Disposal Authority (GDA5). The purpose of the new standard is to provide guidance on systems and processes for the scanning of paper records, so that government agencies can be confident that their processes are reliable, accurate and compliant with legislative requirements. The GDA5 streamlines the process for lawful disposal of scanned paper original documents by central government agencies. As well as addressing a need in New Zealand recordkeeping, this new standard fills a gap internationally., It has already been proposed for adoption by South Africa, Australia and the ISO. It is about to be published online and in print and will be launched in Wellington on 13 April.
In February, the Chief Archivist issued a General Disposal Authority for District Health Board (DHB) records. This sets periods for retention and disposal of records held by New Zealand’s 21 DHBs. It covers both administrative and clinical records. Archives new Zealand is running a training workshop for DHB staff this week. For more information see the Information for District Health Boards page.
The new Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (eDRMS) Interest Group has taken off with a roar. Over 100 of you expressed interest in joining this group, with the first meeting held on 21 February. This meeting decided that the new Interest Group would be a community of practice for agencies covered by the Public Records Act acting as an information forum and exchange, where those interested in eDRMS could exchange knowledge and views freely and frankly. The primary goal would be to share knowledge to assist the development of best practice both in individual agencies and across the sector. A steering group has been formed and they are setting plans in place for regular meetings, agency networking, site visits and exchange of information. If you would like further details, contact the group’s chair Douglas Wilson at douglas.wilson@ird.govt.nz and for membership enquiries please contact fiona.staples@treasury.govt.nz.
Denise Williams has taken up the role of Manager, Appraisal, at Archives New Zealand. Since her arrival in New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 2002, Denise has worked at the Auckland City Archives and has managed the Petone Settlers Museum. Previously, she managed the establishment of the Jersey Archives, Channel Islands. We welcome her to Archives New Zealand. Denise can be contacted at denise.williams@archives.govt.nz.
Recordkeeping enquiries: rkadvice@archives.govt.nz
Appraisal enquiries: appraisal@archives.govt.nz
Transfer enquiries: transfer@archives.govt.nz
Physical address: PO Box 12-050 / 10 Mulgrave St, Wellington
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