Records Management Education Research Articles

Framework to Infuse Data Science in the Archives and Records Management Curriculum in South Africa

Current trends in technology dictate how archives and records management fraternity should take action to remain relevant in the industry. The mode of operation illustrates that current business strategies intend to go fully online without any physical records to be managed. Records practitioners are thus systematically becoming irrelevant and unemployable. This study sought to investigate a framework to infuse data science into archives and records management curriculum in South Africa. This qualitative study relied on literature review to explore a framework to infuse data science into the archives and records management curriculum in South Africa. The study discovered that archives and records management education is still lagging technology; this may result in candidates with impressive qualifications but dated knowledge and expertise. The study recommended an infusion of data science into the archives and records management curriculum, using the proposed framework to guide the process. It is hoped that this will enable institutions of higher learning to upskill students in line with the growth in technology and modus operandi.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs): a tool for intercontinental collaboration in archives and records management education in Eswatini

PurposeThe study aims to assess the views of archives and records management (ARM) professionals in Eswatini about massive open online courses (MOOCs). The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of MOOCs as open gateways for ongoing learning opportunities to scholars, institutions and academics across the globe. It explores the challenges of providing MOOCs in a developing country such as Eswatini.Design/methodology/approachThe study was anchored on the interpretive research paradigm and adopted a qualitative research methodology. The study used maximum variation sampling to identify individuals that would constitute the research sample. The rationale behind this sampling is to obtain participants with a shared experience within a phenomenon but who have some demographic variance.FindingsThe findings revealed that there was lack of awareness of the potential of MOOCs in revolutionizing the delivery of ARM courses in Eswatini. The findings support the need for higher education institutions in Eswatini to adopt MOOCs to deliver ARM courses. The study revealed that access to internet connectivity was among the key inhibitors undermining the adaptation of MOOCs for the delivery of ARM courses in Eswatini.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study is that it brings into the limelight the factors that impede the adaptation of MOOCs for the delivery of ARM courses in Eswatini. It brings into focus the challenges encountered by ARM institutions in Eswatini in moving towards a MOOC-centric mode of course delivery.

Türkiye’deki Bilgi ve Belge Yönetimi Bölümleri Ders Programlarının Düşünce Özgürlüğü Eğitimi Açısından Değerlendirmesi

Intellectual freedom means the basic ethical framework for information and records management education, which aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills related to the process of obtaining, organizing and presenting information to those who need it through scientific and professional methods. Therefore, intellectual freedom education is among the most important components of information and records management education. The purpose of this study is to evaluate content and practices in undergraduate and graduate education in Information and Records Management departments in Turkey, in the context of intellectual freedom education. Within the scope of the research, first of all, all course contents in the Bologna Information (ECTS) Packages of the undergraduate and graduate programs of 10 departments were examined, and it was determined that there were courses related to intellectual freedom in 9 departments. The determined 9 undergraduate and 2 graduate courses were evaluated by content analysis method through the Bologna Information Packages and also interviews with 5 of the lecturers who give these courses were conducted. As a result of the study, it was understood that the education on intellectual freedom given in departments showed some differences depending on the policies and approaches of the departments. In line with the results obtained through the study, some suggestions were made on the subject.

A framework for quality assurance for archives and records management education in an open distance e-learning environment in Eswatini

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine quality assurance for archives and records management (ARM) education in an open distance e-learning (ODeL) environment in Eswatini with a view to conceptualise a framework for quality assurance in the development and implementation of an ARM programme in the context of ODeL.Design/methodology/approachThe study is anchored on the interpretive research paradigm, which surrounds a systematic literature review. The researcher searched for literature online, using scientific databases such as Ebsco, Scopus and Google Scholar. The search applied the publications from 2005 to 2019. The main search keywords are “archives”, “records management”, “open distance e-learning” and “quality assurance”. A total of 15 articles, which included documents, journal articles, reports, web pages and monographs, were retrieved, reviewed and analysed in this study. This conceptual study was preliminary, and the researcher hopes that further empirical studies based on the findings of this study could be pursued in future.FindingsARM as a form of study and delivered on ODeL platforms have been proposed in Eswatini. The major concern among stakeholders is how to ensure the quality of such programmes.Research limitations/implicationsThis conceptual study was preliminary, and the researcher hopes that further empirical studies based on the findings of this study could be pursued in future.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations will help in the development of ARM programmes to be offered effectively by way of ODeL, there is a need to develop a transparent quality assurance framework for such an application and its implementation.Originality/valueThis is the first study on quality assurance for ARM education in an ODeL environment in Eswatini. As part of the study, a quality assurance framework was designed for the implementation of ARM education on an ODeL platform. This quality assurance framework is intended to help higher education institutions in Eswatini such as the University of Eswatini as well as stakeholders such as the Eswatini National Archives and others to design ARM education and deliver it on an ODeL platform in a manner that guarantees adequate quality.

A framework for archives and records management education in an open distance e-learning environment in eSwatini

Literature review reveals that in sub-Saharan Africa, archives and records management (ARM) education is not yet grounded in institutions for higher learning. In eSwatini (previously Swaziland) the situation is even worse as only one institution of higher learning, the Institute of Development Mana gement (IDM) offers ARM programmes at undergraduate diploma level. This is compounded by a lamentation by the beneficiary of the programme, the eSwatini National Archives (ENA), and the education regulator, the eSwatini Higher Education Council (EHEC), that the programme does not address the public sector’s needs in the country and is below the expected standards. Furthermore, the University of eSwatini, which is the biggest institution of higher learning in the country with economies of scale, does not offer any programme in ARM. As a result, organizations in eSwatini either send their records management staff to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia for training, or engage external consultants to conduct in-house training. Sending employees out of the country for training is expensive for organizations and it also paralyses operations during the absence of these staff members. Furthermore, in-house training does not address the in-depth needs and requirements of ARM due to time limitations. In light of this situation in eSwatini, this study proposes a framework for the design and implementation of an open distance e-learning programme on ARM programme. Such a programme can be offered through the University of eSwatini to accommodate students within and outside the country and thus ensuring the eSwatini becomes a player in ARM space within the African continent.

大学・短期大学における記録管理教育の課題と展望(研究助成成果論文)

大学・短期大学における記録管理教育の課題と展望(研究助成成果論文)

Survey research on tasks and competencies to inform records management education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report findings from research conducted to study the everyday work of information professionals, specifically records managers. This paper is a part of the “Research on the Work of 21st Century Information Professionals” study.Design/methodology/approachResearchers used the tailored design approach to create and increase response rate of our survey. Survey research methodology facilitated the development, pilot and launch of a survey instrument with a 20-question module specific to records management work.FindingsThe authors discovered the frequency of 11 tasks in records managers’ daily work, as well as how important each of 11 competencies are to their success on the job. Professional development topics and format, job satisfaction, strategies for gaining compliance, desired skills for new hires and curricular recommendations are also presented.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey generated 334 responses from records management professionals. This sample was based on graduate alumni, targeted professional groups and snowball strategy. Implications from this study include educating doctoral students to study information work and identifying particular areas for strengthening graduate curricula and professional training.Practical implicationsThe authors obtained direct insight on what records managers do in their daily work that will inform curricular decision-making.Originality/valueThe study explores an interest in daily work activities through multiple quantifiable data measures to offer nuanced insight on the relationships between different aspects of records management work.

The development of archives and records management education and training in Africa – challenges and opportunities

The development of education and training opportunities for professionals in the archives and records management (ARM) profession in Africa has been the subject of a number of professional discussions in the past. However, a significant number of recent developments and trends have not been captured in these discussions. This article provides a historical outline and some of the major developments of ARM education and training in Africa. In addition, it traces some of the key challenges educators and trainers currently face. The article demonstrates the diversity that exists in the African continent both in the variety of institutions and the types of qualifications offered in archives and records management. It provides a glimpse of the growth of universities in the continent using the case study of Kenya. While this growth provides greater education and training opportunities, there is a need to examine its impact on quality. The article suggests the strengthening of graduate-level education as well as participation in global research to mitigate against risks in the quality of ARM education and training.

Questions of trust (and distrust)

On 5th and 6th July 2010, Wolfson College in Oxford (UK) played host to an international conference of archival educators, researchers, practitioners and other interested individuals to debate the topic ‘‘Questions of trust? Archives, records and identities.’’ This special issue of Archival Science presents thirteen articles originally delivered in Oxford that summer. The conference was organised by the UK and Ireland Forum for Archives and Records Management Education and Research (FARMER) and the Network of Archival Educators and Trainers (North West Europe) (NAET) and supported by the International Council on Archives’ Section on Archival Education and Training (ICA-SAE), sponsor of the keynote address given by Anne Gilliland. FARMER brings together archives and records management educators and researchers from seven universities in the UK and Ireland (namely University College London, University College Dublin, and the Universities of Liverpool, Aberystwyth, Northumbria, Glasgow and Dundee) to discuss and collaborate around matters of mutual interest. The Wolfson conference was the second international event to be organised by FARMER, following the ‘‘Developing the 21st Century Professional: a learning continuum for archivists and records managers’’ conference held in Aberystwyth in 2006. Building on the success of that first venture, the Wolfson conference attracted approximately 70 delegates from over a dozen countries. The conference was immediately preceded by the fifth International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (I-CHORA 5) in London and followed by a meeting of the ICA-SAE steering committee with the result that for 1 week in the summer of 2010, the UK played host to a series of intense and stimulating discussions about many of the current challenges and trends in archival education and research.

Archives and Records Management Education and Training: what can Africa learn from Europe and North America?

While education and training of archives and records professionals within Sub Saharan Africa has a history of about five decades, elsewhere professional development has a history lasting several centuries. In Europe, archivists have been in existence since the 17th century while in North America, while the history is just about one century old, within that time a lot of innovation has been evident. This article provides a summary of developments in the two continents, drawing lessons that could be useful in reinvigorating discussion within the African continent.

Developing a new academic discipline

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine the historical development of archives and records management education in universities in England and review the state of research and teaching in the discipline in 2005.Design/methodology/approachUsing a framework that draws on sociological attributes, the main text provides a historical analysis derived from primary and secondary sources, together with a brief overview of current educational provision for the discipline.FindingsThe article finds that graduate education in archives and records management has developed in the UK over a period of 60 years (1947‐2005) and is well established, with seven Master's‐level programmes offered across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, in a variety of learning modes (full‐ and part‐time, open learning, face‐to‐face) and from different perspectives and contexts (history, information science, digital preservation). The university research community in the discipline has developed more recently and needs to progress quickly and soundly to support the future intellectual life of the profession.Research limitations/implicationsThe geographical scope is limited to the UK and focuses in particular on England.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies some gaps in educational provision, for instance mid‐career cross‐domain research opportunities, and an apparent lack of interest in academic research by UK practitioners, which might be further investigated.Originality/valueNo study of the historical development of the academic discipline of archives and records management has previously been published.

Opportunities for records managers working in the private sector

Since the launch of ISO‐15489 there have been more opportunities available to records managers to help them align themselves to the strategic direction of their organisation, raise their profile and increase awareness of their role. This is particularly true in the private sector, where key drivers are increased market share and competitive advantage. Skill sets originally developed for knowledge managers have resonance for records managers too to aid their personal development and as a tool for the strategic development of records management programmes. An example of this is the marketing of records management services, which is a critical opportunity to increase awareness and build profiles, and assist with records management education and adoption. By viewing the records management function as a business serving internal clients, the records manager has an unmissable chance to “sell” those services to clients.

Emerging themes in Finnish archival science and records management education

The paper focuses on the convergence of Finnish research and education in archival science with information science in general and in records management with information management in particular. Two issues influencing this development are: the convergence of professionals previously worked in the archival and library sectors and in information management and services; and the wide-spread, extensive growth in the use of digital technology to manage internal and external organizational information. At the level of society the opportunities provided by digital technology to manage heritage information in memory organizations like archives, libraries and museums, are tremendous and the role of documentary heritage at the global, European and national levels is well recognized. These developments are changing the information and operating environments of memory organizations and public and private enterprises. These changes, in turn, are generating new requirements in archival science and records management education and research. This paper focuses on the implications of these changes for the planning, implementation and further development of an information studies curriculum. This curriculum development is considered crucial in order to respond to the new demands, and is also implicitly linked to the emerging Finnish information society.

Emerging Themes in Finnish Archival Science and Records Management Education

Emerging Themes in Finnish Archival Science and Records Management Education

Guidelines and standards for records management education and training: a model for Anglophone Africa

This article gives an overview of education and training of records managers in anglophone Africa and then focuses on standards for training of archivist and records managers. Using South Africa’s National Qualifications Framework and the South African Qualifications Authority guidelines, a training model that can be used elsewhere in Africa with some adjustments is suggested. The article recognises that there can be no one set of universally standard desirable outcomes for all educational institutions, as the outcomes must depend on the institution’s nature and mission. Whilst the teaching and learning processes may differ between countries, there should be a substantial commonality in the outcomes achieved. Thus it would be possible to have generic processes of assessment and accreditation. Adherence to standards is key to the generic process of accreditation and professional mobility.

Modelling the continuum as paradigm shift in recordkeeping and archiving processes, and beyond Ö a personal reflection

This article outlines the development of a records continuum model initially developed as a teaching tool to communicate evidence‐based approaches to archives and records management. The continuum is being used in Australia as a metaphor to assist in getting records management ‘right’ in recordkeeping environments built around electronic communications, and the model supports this endeavour. It extends the concept of the continuum beyond metaphor, representing the case for viewing it in its fuller spacetime meanings as a worldview. In this form, the continuum is potentially a technologically driven paradigm shift within all information management and systems practice. There is a new game developing and the concept of the continuum can help us re‐organise our knowledge for that game. This article will discuss the diversity of records management theory and practice. It will look at the meanings of the continuum and my own model of it, including the differences between a worldview and a detailed view. Three other continuum models are presented. A continuum ‘patrol and control’ strategy for analysis is outlined briefly, and represents a point at which my own approach to the continuum is taking off into more detailed practical considerations in records management education and training.

The rise of the ‘new age’ records management professional: records management education and training in Australia

The face of records management has changed forever. For many organisations this has meant the loss of the traditional records manager, even the whole records section, as we knew it. Few would deny that the profession has moved from one based largely on a passive centralised reception of paper‐based documents to one rife with exciting, albeit challenging, possibilities in a constantly evolving distributed electronic world. The virtual office is nigh upon us (as we have been saying for a number of years!). Emphasis has moved from the purely reactive management of hard‐copy records to include the pro‐active management of the electronic record, and for many, a far more active role in the provision of information services to one‘s client group. Theoretical and industry driven developments mean that education and training for recordkeeping professionals need to encompass a wider range of knowledge and skills than ever before and educational institutions in Australia are rising to the challenge of producing highly motivated, well‐rounded recordkeeping professionals.

Records management education and training at Liverpool: a year of change at LUCAS

This article represents a reflection on issues which have arisen in the course of a year of change in archives and records management (ARM) training and education at the University of Liverpool, and reports on initiatives for new records management courses and methods of delivery planned for the near future.1 Any evaluation of vocational education and training must begin with an examination of the nature of the profession itself, which dictates the larger part of the content of such a programme. It therefore begins with a reflection on current developments in records management theory and practice in the UK, before describing how the University has sought to accommodate them. Outside the UK, in Australia and North America in particular, debate about the nature of records management training has been vigorous,2 but in the UK public debate has been rare. In an attempt to stimulate debate this paper therefore also aims to contribute to the establishment of a records management education agenda which educators and the ARM profession at large may fruitfully address together.

Records management training in sub‐Saharan Africa

This article gives an overview of records management education and training facilities in sub‐Saharan Africa and then focuses on a training methodology that is being used by a consulting firm based in Zimbabwe to transform organisational records management systems through the medium of training.

Records Management Education and Training World‐Wide: A General Overview of the Current Situation

This article is the result of a brief survey, conducted across the Internet by researchers from the Archives and Records Management Programme at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth. The authors discuss the need for records management training and education world‐wide, and the emergence of records management as a subset of information management, with an acknowledged impact on the systematic and efficient management of organisations. They show how the focus of records management has shifted over the recent past from the archival management of unwanted documents, to the management of electronic systems, giving records managers an equal standing with other professionals in the field of information management. Using a comparison between Malaysia, where much of the training is provided by visiting consultants, and the United Kingdom, where records management training is provided by the universities, the authors conclude that the needs of qualified and well‐informed professionals in this distinct field is dependent upon the training and education provided by courses in universities world‐wide. Their survey, however, reveals that there is no standard approach to the training provided by these institutions: some are likely to reflect their archival origins, others represent various streams of the broad context of information studies.