New Mandatory Standards
Recordkeeping training
New legacy records programme
Partners sought for interim digital archive
Call for input on digital continuity strategy
New appraisal guides
Government recordkeeping survey results
Feedback welcomed on SSC guidance
Changing faces at Archives New Zealand
We have published two new mandatory standards. The Create and Maintain Recordkeeping Standard sets minimum requirements for the creation and maintenance of records by public sector organisations, including local authorities. The standard will help ensure your organisation’s corporate information remains accessible, reliable and useable and supports efficient ongoing business. The Electronic Recordkeeping Metadata Standard establishes minimum requirements for recordkeeping metadata in an electronic environment. The standard will help to ensure that information in business systems and applications will have meaning and can be found when needed, that it can be relied on to be what it sets out to be and that it can be moved safely from one system to another. The two new standards join the mandatory Storage Standard which was launched last year. All three mandatory standards are available online, or you can request print copies by emailing rkadvice@archives.govt.nz.
The Continuum training programme has been a great success. More than 220 people have completed the courses, and feedback has been excellent. We have now started scheduling courses for 2009. To register or to find more information, visit the training page or contact rktraining@archives.govt.nz.
The Legacy Records Programme was officially launched at the Government Recordkeeping Forum in Wellington on September 3rd. The Programme has been developed by Archives New Zealand to assist public offices manage their ‘old’ records – those that are, or are about to become, 25 years old or older. The Programme consists of a ‘roadmap’ that public offices can subscribe to, together with a range of other tools and advice that will make the process of obtaining disposal authorisation, sentencing and transfer as seamless and as easy as possible. Members of the Appraisal Team will be contacting all public offices to ‘talk legacy’ over the next few months, but in the meantime, the presentations are available. You can also contact Tom Norcliffe, Senior Advisor Appraisal, in the first instance on 04 894 6066 or tom.norcliffe@archives.govt.nz
Archives New Zealand now has a functioning Interim Digital Archive, providing the capability to receive, store and preserve digital archives. This is intended to be a temporary system, while a more long term solution is developed. The archive is based on open source software with a Fedora platform and a Fez interface. This is an exciting new strategic direction, and a great opportunity to learn from practical experience. Archives New Zealand wants to work with partner agencies in the state sector to carry out transfers of born digital records. We’re also looking for agencies that can give us records for trial transfers, so that we can build capability to manage a variety of record types. If you’re interested, contact Kathleen Longson, Senior Advisor, Digital Sustainability on 04 894-6054 or at: kathleen.longson@archives.govt.nz.
It’s your chance to give your feedback on the Digital Continuity Strategy, now that Cabinet has released the consultation draft for comment across the public sector. Archives New Zealand is leading the development of this whole-of-government strategy for the long-term care of New Zealand’s public sector digital knowledge, assets and heritage. Digital information can no longer be managed in the same way as content created in the non-digital environment. To address this we need to develop long-term systems, policies and interventions to ensure the ongoing integrity of digital information and its continued accessibility. The goals and actions proposed in the draft strategy aim to make sure we have an inclusive and continuing vision for the creation and use of current digital information and its ongoing retention as a digital archival resource.
Two new guides were published on Continuum this month. They are the Guide to Developing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule and the Guide to Developing an Appraisal Report for a One-off Disposal Authority. These replace the old guide on preparing an appraisal report. They draw out the differences between the two types of appraisal reports. A schedule will typically be written to cover an entire public office’s records, will be a forward looking document lasting for 10 years and may describe records not yet created. A one-off appraisal report is intended to cover a discrete group of records such as those that may be identified as part of the legacy programme, which won’t be added to again. Both guides are currently available as PDF downloads, with HTML versions due to published shortly. They can be accessed here.
The 2008 Government Recordkeeping Survey is now complete. Once again we had a wonderful 99% response rate to the survey from public offices. This year for the first time we also surveyed local authorities, and 81 out of 85 responded to the survey. Many thanks to all who participated.
The results show the continuing impact of the Public Records Act on government recordkeeping. The most encouraging results include:
• 49% of local authorities and 33% of public offices surveyed had already assessed their compliance with the mandatory storage standard
• 33% of public offices surveyed have a disposal authority in place for the records of their core functions. Another 22% are currently developing one.
Detailed reports on the survey results will soon be available here.
The State Services Commission has released draft guidance for government agencies looking at using offshore ICT providers. The guidance identifies key risks associated with sending government data offshore or outsourcing data processing and management services offshore. The guide offers some possible suggestions for mitigating those risks that departments can take into consideration. SSC is looking for feedback on the guidance and all comments are welcome. The exposure period runs until 15 December 2008. The draft guidance document can be found on the e-govt website. For more information contact ict.offshore@ssc.govt.nz.
A number of new faces have joined the Government Recordkeeping Group. Natalie Dewson joins us from ERMA New Zealand, where she looked after the Intranet, Records and Library (with help!). Cheryl Pointon hails from South Australia where she was a Records Manager in the Child Support Agency, contributing to the development of their records management framework. Geordy Muir was previously an Archivist in the Access Services group at Archives New Zealand. Darrin Goulding has also joined the group as PRA Audit Strategy Project Manager.
In other internal changes, Stephen Clarke has moved into the Digital Sustainability team, while Patrick Power has returned from his secondment to Statistics New Zealand to take up the position of Manager, Government Recordkeeping Programme. Meanwhile, Denise Williams has left the position of Manager, Appraisal to take up a new position as Manager, Access Services.