International Records Management and Archives Terminology Systems Standardized by ISO and IEC

Abstract

Nowadays terminology issues are getting more and more important due to the introduction of informational technologies into all professional areas including records and archives management. But are the terminological systems used in records management, archives and IT well coordinated? There are international organizations on standardization (e.g. ISO and IEC) which are responsible for the compatibility of international terminology through developing international standards. This article presents the results of our research into the main ISO and IEC standards (e.g. ISO 5127-2017, ISO 15489-2016) used in records and archives management and IT in terms of compatibility of standardized international terminology in these spheres. The main method of our research was the comparative analysis of various definitions of the same terms given in international standards created for experts in the above mentioned areas. Understanding the difference between the «data», «document», «record» is very important for choosing the ways of the protection and storage of the actual objects denoted by these terms. The research has shown that it is too early to speak about the compatibility of terminological systems even used in such close areas as records management and archives. The same is actual for IT terminology when it penetrates these spheres. Yet their terminological systems do not seem fully integrated even in ISO and IEC standards elaborated for these professional areas. However, it will be practically impossible to develop these spheres without coordinating their terminological systems. ISO and IEC standards might be real tools for solving this problem but they are still not appropriately used.