Tune in monthly for a curated collection of articles we found interesting on a broad range of topics; some which are directly related to records management and others which might share common themes.
No, we didn’t write these articles —hence the name of this series, “Off the Record”— but fortunately, we didn’t need to in order to share the knowledge with our subscribers.
Let us know in the comments below what topics you are interested in learning more about!
“Reading Metadata to Combat Disinformation and Fake News Campaigns“ — UT iSchool
What started as a great way to keep in contact with friends and family, far flung and local, has morphed into a machine with a dark side that actively manipulates us. No, this isn’t science fiction; it’s social media. Every time we like, comment, or share something, information is being generated. The manipulation of this data is referenced as “data craft” by Texas School of Information Assistant Professor Amelia Acker and it is becoming more harmful as well as prevalent as ‘more than half of Americans get their news primarily from social media’. But did you know metadata can be used to combat this dark side?
Metadata traditionally receives a positive connotation in records management as an element that brings authority and authenticity to a piece of information. Metadata can be used to shine light on bots, manipulators, and those “in the business of disinformation and misinformation” through potentially suspicious clues like “account name, account image, number of likes, tags, and date of post”.
“Criteria for Successfully Managing Permanent Electronic Records“- NARA
Although the document coming from the Office of the Chief Records Officer was released this time last year, its content is evergreen. Before pulling the trigger on going paperless, consider looking into these criteria which are applicable to all electronic records regardless of retention period.
The document approaches successful electronic records management in three ways: a high-level view, operational activities, and universal ERM (electronic records management) requirements. As every entity is unique, your organization may draw different conclusions and ideas for successful implementation, however, the last premise in particular shows promise. Having a baseline expectation and approach ensures current and future systems for managing electronic records “[accomplish] the functions and activities outlined in the high-level view and operational activities.”
“CGOC Releases Information Governance Infographic” – IG GURU
At this point in the week, sometimes too many words are hard. Enter the polarizing infographic and don’t fear, this one comes with enough words to help you along to glean the ultimate message, which is this: Information Governance (IG) progress in the last 8 years has been hard fought with a lot of effort, but little progress.
Take a peek at various initiatives to improve IG, including IG programs and executive support as well as elements that are impeding maturity that may very well be some of your entity’s top challenges:
- Legal
- RIM
- IT
- Business Users
