Organizational Records Systems

An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems

Sherry Li Xie

1,2,3

and Guanyan (Amelie) Fan

2,3

Key Laboratory of Data Enginerring and Knowledge Engineering,

Ministry of Education of China, Beijing, China

Center for Electronic Records Management Research, Beijing, China

School of Information Resource Management, Renmin Univeristy of China,

59 Zhonguancun Ave, Haidian District, Beijing, 100872, China

Keywords: Information Systems, Enterprise Information System, Digital Records Management, InterPARES Project.

Abstract: The field of Information Systems (ISs) has been around since the 1960s (Hirschheim and Kleinand, 2011)

and the notion of Enterprise Information Systems has been fully acknowledged for close to 30 years (Xu,

2007). Long existing in organizations or enterprises is also the field of records management, now

predominantly, digital records management, which shares the many goals of the fields of ISs and EIS in terms

of supporting enterprise operations and advancements. The DRM field recognized rather early in its battle to

combat digital records challenges that the need to work closely with the ICT profession for devising

information system functional requirements and for developing long term preservation strategies for valuable

digital records. It is still rare, however, to spot discussions regarding the relationships among the fields in the

ICT literature today. It is the intention of this communication piece to introduce one of the major

developments of the international DRM field, i.e., the Chain of Preservation model, in particular the types of

records systems that it encompasses, to the ISs and EIS professions, for the purpose of invoking further

discussions and future collaborations.

1 INTRODUCTION

While lacking a universally agreed definition,

information systems (ISs) can be generally

understood as the utilization of information and

communication technologies (ICT) to support

organizations in achieving their business goals (Xie,

2015). To promote efficiency and effectiveness thus

comes naturally with business cases that introduce ISs

into organizations. ISs designed for supporting back-

office business functions such as accounting, finance

management and human resource management as

well as ISs designed for supporting customer- or

suppler-facing business functions such as customer

relationship management, supply chain management,

sales, and marketing etc. are typical examples in the

development history of ISs. Similar to ISs, the phrase

enterprise information systems (EIS) does not appear

to be defined with consensus, and interpretations in

the ICT field vary. For example, in the editorial of the

inaugural issue of the Enterprise Information Systems

journal, EIS was introduced as the equivalent to

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (Xu, 2007), yet

in Enterprise Information Systems and Implementing

IT Infrastructures: Challenges and Issues, EIS

“comprises of information systems such as enterprise

resource planning (ERP), supply chain management

(SCM), customer relationship management (CRM)

and e-commerce” (Parthasarathy, 2010). Nonetheless,

EIS is generally seen as, with reference to the

ineffectiveness and even failures of the earlier ISs

implementations, the more logical and intelligent

response to organizations’ needs, in particular against

the context of the increasingly complex global

environment and integrative nature of business

operations. Like the ISs/EIS situation, the concepts of

knowledge and information lack universally accepted

definitions, yet there are approaches that tend to focus

only on their similar characteristics. For example,

Gartner defines “information” and “knowledge assets”

in almost identical way, as “Information relevant to

an enterprise’s business function, including the

captured and tacit knowledge of employees,

customers or business partners; data and information

stored in structured databases; data and information

stored in textual form and unstructured databases (e.g.,

Xie, S. and Fan, G.

Organizational Records Systems - An Alter native View to (Enterprise) Information Systems.

DOI: 10.5220/0006069400820091

In Proceedings of the 8th Inter national Joint Conference on Knowledge Discovery, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management (IC3K 2016) - Volume 3: KMIS, pages 82-91

ISBN: 978-989-758-203-5

e-mail and workflow systems); information stored in

digital and paper documents; purchased content; and

public content from the Internet or other sources”.

This paper, therefore, takes this general stance to treat

information and knowledge assets as synonym’s for

discussion purposes.

The most basic promises of EIS lies with

integration, be it business process integration, system

integration, data/information integration, or all of the

above. With integration, organizations can function

as a whole: business processes can be streamlined,

information silos can be bridged, and data integrity

can be better ensured. As a result, wastes of ICT

investment can be largely reduced (if not entirely

avoided), employee resistance to new technologies

can be minimized, and information can be available

in real or near real time and be shared as needed

irrespective of boundaries of business units and/or

organisations. Ultimately, enterprises can be leaner,

more agile and responsive, more efficient and

effective … all qualities desired for business

sustainability and stronger competitive advantages,

and all goals of EIS implementations.

The field of organizational digital records

management (DRM) shares the same goals. DRM is

the branch of records management (RM) that focuses

specifically on the impact that was brought by digital

technologies, i.e., ICT, to the characteristics of

records and their management. RM traditionally

addresses the creation, maintenance, use, and

preservation of records in analog format – mostly

paper based, where records are “documents created

(made or received) in the process of conducting

practical activities and set aside for future action or

reference” (UBC Project, 1995; InterPARES Project,

2001) or “information created, received, and

maintained as evidence and information by an

organization or person in pursuance of legal

obligation or in the transaction of business" (ISO

15489-1, 2001). It is rather clear that these two

definitions – both influential in the international

records community – cannot be viewed as the same

and some of the differences are indeed fundamental.

Nevertheless, the cores of the two definitions speak

both to the same silent characteristic of records, i.e.,

their inseparable linkage to human activities – be it

individual or organizational. This suffices the need of

this paper, which will then bypass the discussions on

the discrepancies of these definitions as they are not

directly relevant to the intention of this paper. The

branch of DRM, having so far accumulated for more

than 40 years’ research and practices, generally

acknowledges that ICT, while changes dramatically

the format and presentation of digital records, does

not change their nature (Duranti, 2001; Xie, 2012).

Like traditional records, digital records participate in

all of the organizations’ business activities, facilitate

the completion of transactions and decision making,

and ensure both internal and external regulatory

compliances. As the definition of record in the

context of the United States Federal Government

(2008) has demonstrated, digital records are simply

another type of records (emphasis added):

§3301. Definition of records

(a) RECORDS DEFINED.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—As used in this chapter,

the term “records”—

(A) includes all recorded information,

regardless of form or characteristics, made or

received by a Federal agency under Federal

law or in connection with the transaction of

public business and preserved or appropriate

for preservation by that agency or its

legitimate successor as evidence of the

organization, functions, policies, decisions,

procedures, operations, or other activities of

the United States Government or because of

the informational value of data in them;

(2) RECORDED INFORMATION

DEFINED.— For purposes of paragraph (1),

the term ´recorded´ information includes all

traditional forms of records, regardless of

physical form or characteristics, including

information created, manipulated,

communicated, or stored in digital or

electronic form.

This paper, working with the understanding that

both ISs/EIS and DRM exist to serve the business

needs of organizations, introduces the records

systems developed by the International Research on

Permanent and Authentic Records in Electronic

Systems (InterPARES) project, with the intention to

communicate with the ICT peers of the DRM

profession for the purposes of further discussion and

future collaboration.

2 THE InterPARES PROJECT

The InterPARES project consists of four phases, i.e.,

InterPARES I - III and the InterPARES Trust (2013-

2018). The first phase of the project was initiated in

2001 as a logical extension to the UBC Project 1995

- 1997, entitled Preservation of the Integrity of

Electronic records, which was one of the first

academic research projects world-wide that focused

on the challenges and issues associated with digital

(then electronic) records. From 1995 to 2012, the

Organizational Records Systems - An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems

projects, with hundreds of researchers and graduate

research assistants, had investigated a variety of

research topics in a broad realm of domains, including,

for example, digital arts, electronic government, and

electronic science, against the technological backdrop

of databases, document management system,

electronic records management systems (or records

management applications as used in the DoD5015.02-

STD) , and dynamic, interactive and experiential

systems that heavily rely on network technologies.

The DoD5015.02-STD, entitled “Electronic Records

Management Software Applications Design Criteria

Standard” (most recent edition issued on April 25,

2007), was a joint production of the UBC project and

the United States Department of Defense Records

Management Task Force. By nature, such electronic

records management software applications are ISs,

and they provide ICT functionalities to facilitate

organizations’ conduct of activities regarding

electronic records management. This type of ISs,

however, was designed to typically manage

unstructured digital records such as those created

using the Microsoft Office Suite. The InterPARES

project extended its investigations into the other types

of ISs in organizations, and as a result, developed the

organization/enterprise-wide understanding of ISs

and captured it in one of its major products, i.e., the

Chain of Preservation (COP) model.

3 THE COP MODEL

The name of the COP model points to the ultimate

objective of the InterPARES project, i.e., to ensure

long-term or permanent preservation and

accessibility of digital records – a representative

reflection of the mission of the records community

(InterPARES 2, 2008). For the records community,

this model serves both the professionals of the fields

of RM and archival administration (AA) in that both

work with the same materials, i.e., records, and the

latter requires the former as managerial foundation.

Together, these two professions complete the

lifecycle management of records, with RM disposing

of, at any given time, records that are no longer

needed and AA providing custody and assess to

significant records that require long-term or

permanent preservation, upon transferring from RM.

Specifically, the COP model presents the lifecycle

management in three types of systems: record-

making system, recordkeeping system, and records

preservation system.

3.1 Record-making System

The InterPARES project defines record-making

system as “a set of rules governing the making of

records, and the tools and mechanisms used to

implement these rules”, where record-making

encompasses “the whole of the principles, policies,

rules and strategies that controls the process of

creating records from made or received documents”.

The concept of document, by the development of the

InterPARES project with regard to the digital

environment, covers static and dynamic/interactive

ones, and when satisfying the requirements for being

records, become digital records (Duranti and

Thibodeau, 2006; Xie, 2012). In the COP model,

these concepts are depicted by activities and sub-

activities. Activity number 2, i.e., A.2, is termed as

Manage Records in a Record-Making System (Figure

1), which consists of three sub-activities, A2.1

Monitor Performance of Record-Making System,

A2.2 Manage Making & Receipt of Records (Figure

2), and A2.3 Manage Setting Aside of Completed

Records (Figure 3). A2.2 and A2.3 each contain their

own sub-activities, e.g., A2.2.1 Make Documents and

A2.3.1 Monitor Performance of Record-making

Transfer System. Activities and sub-activities are

associated with content inputs and outputs and are

indicated by arrows. For example, Information About

Kept Records for Creation serves as input for A2.2.1

Make Documents, which produces outputs Made

Documents and Information About Made Documents’

Context. Made Documents then serves as input for

A2.2.2 Capture Documents and Information About

Made Documents’ Context serves as input for A2.2.3

Identify Documents. See figures and activity

definitions below (the COP model developed also

definitions for all content inputs and outputs, which

are omitted in this paper as most of the information

Figure 1: Manage Records in a Record-Making System.

KMIS 2016 - 8th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

relevant to the purpose of this paper is covered

already in the activity definitions).

A2 Manage Records in a Record-making System

refers to the provision of overall control and co-

ordination of activities in the record-making system,

including the creation and setting aside of records,

and monitoring of the performance of the record-

making system. Its three sub-activities are defined

with the following meanings, where the term creator

(in A2.2) refers to the records-creating organization:

 A2.1 Monitor Performance of Record-making

System: To assess the efficacy of the performance of

the record-making system by analyzing performance

reports on the operation of each of the record-making

system’s sub-systems and issue activity directives for

record-making activities and information on the

performance of the record-making system for use in

continued maintenance of the chain of preservation

framework.

 A2.2 Manage Making and Receipt of Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of

document and record making and receipt activities,

including the capture and identification of documents

made or received by the creator and their subsequent

declaration and execution as records.

 A2.3 Manage Setting Aside of Completed

Records: To provide overall control and co-

ordination of the transfer of executed or completed

records to the recordkeeping system by preparing the

records for transfer, transferring the records and

monitoring the performance of the record-making

transfer system.

Figure 2: Manage Making and Receipt of Records.

The five sub-activities of A2.2 are defined with

the following meanings:

 A2.2.1 Make Documents: To compile digital

information in a syntactic manner in accordance with

the specifications of the creator’s documentary forms,

integrated business and documentary procedures and

record-making access privileges.

 A2.2.2 Capture Documents: To record and save

(i.e., affix to a digital medium in a stable syntactic

manner) particular instantiations of incoming

external documents or internal documents made by

the creator in the record-making system in accordance

with the specifications of the creator’s integrated

business and documentary procedures and record-

making access privileges.

 A2.2.3 Identify Documents: To attach to each

document identity metadata that convey the action in

which the document participates and its immediate

context.

 A2.2.4 Declare Records: To intellectually set

aside records by assigning classification codes from

the classification scheme to made or received

documents and adding these codes to the identifying

metadata and by assigning to the documents

registration numbers based on the registration scheme,

and adding these numbers to the identifying metadata.

 A2.2.5 Execute Records: To attach to each record

metadata that convey information related to, and

actions taken during the course of, the formal

execution phase of the administrative procedure in

which the record participates, which may also involve

transmitting documents to external physical or

juridical persons and making record copies of the sent

documents.

Figure 3: Manage Setting Aside of Completed Records.

The three sub-activities of A2.3 are defined with

the following meanings:

 A2.3.1 Monitor Performance of Record-making

Transfer System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the record-making transfer system by

analyzing reports on the operation of record-making

activities, and issue activity directives for transfer

activities and issue information on the performance of

the record-making transfer system for use in

continued maintenance of the record-making system.

Organizational Records Systems - An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems

 A2.3.2 Prepare Completed Records for Transfer

to Recordkeeping System: To attach to completed

records integrity and related metadata that convey

information related to, and actions taken during the

course of, managing the records for records

management purposes prior to setting them aside in

the recordkeeping system; compile information about

the records that is needed to meet all transfer

information requirements; and ensure that the records

are in the proper format for transfer to the

recordkeeping system as prescribed by recordkeeping

system rules and procedures and technological

requirements.

 A2.3.3 Transfer Completed Records to

Recordkeeping System: To send or transmit

completed records prepared for transfer to the office

responsible for the recordkeeping function with the

accompanying documentation necessary for

recordkeeping.

3.2 Record-keeping System

Record-keeping system refers to the set of rules

governing the storage, use, maintenance and

disposition of records and/or information about

records, and the tools and mechanisms used to

implement these rules, and record-keeping

encompasses the whole of the principles, policies,

rules and strategies employed by the creator that

establishes and maintains administrative, intellectual

and physical control on its records. Figure 4 depicts

activity number 3, i.e., A3 Manage Records in a

Recordkeeping System, referring to the provision of

overall control and co-ordination of activities in the

recordkeeping system, including records storage,

retrieval and access, disposition, and monitoring of

the performance of the recordkeeping system.

Figure 4: Manage Records in a Recordkeeping System.

The four sub-activities are defined with the

following meanings:

 A3.1 Monitor Performance of Recordkeeping

System: To assess the efficacy of the performance of

the recordkeeping system by analyzing performance

reports on the operation of recordkeeping sub-system

activities, and issue activity directives for

recordkeeping activities and information on the

performance of the recordkeeping system for use in

continued maintenance of the chain of preservation

framework.

 A3.2 Manage Maintenance of Kept Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of the

recordkeeping storage system and the records stored

in the system by managing information about kept

records and their digital components, placing the

records in storage, maintaining the digital

components and monitoring the performance of the

storage system.

 A3.3 Manage Access to Kept Records: To

facilitate discovery of, and manage requests for, kept

records and/or information about kept records, and

monitor the performance of the recordkeeping

access system.

 A3.4 Manage Disposition of Kept Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of records

disposition activities, including monitoring the

performance of the disposition system, processing

disposition information and, in accordance with

disposition activity directives and disposition rules

and procedures, destroying kept records and/or

preparing and transferring kept records to the

designated preserver.

Figure 5 depicts the sub-activities of A3.2:

Figure 5: Manage Maintenance of Kept Records.

 A3.2.1 Manage Information About Kept Records:

To compile information about records in the

KMIS 2016 - 8th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

recordkeeping system and about records maintenance

activities and to provide overall control and co-

ordination of that information for use in records

appraisal activities by the preserver and in records

indexing, storage, access and disposition activities by

the creator.

 A3.2.2 Manage Indexing of Kept Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of records

indexing activities, including monitoring the indexing

system, indexing kept records and developing

indexing instruments to help facilitate records

discovery and retrieval (A3.2.2 contains its own 3

sub-activities: A3.2.2.1 Monitor Performance of

Recordkeeping Indexing System, A3.2.2.2 Index

Kept Records, and A3.2.2.3 Develop Indexing

Instruments. Definitions for sub-activities listed in

brackets such as those listed here and those appearing

in subsequent sections in the same manner are all

omitted).

 A3.2.3 Manage Storage of Kept Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of the

recordkeeping storage system and the records stored

in the system by placing the records in storage,

maintaining their digital components and monitoring

the performance of the storage system (A3.2.3

contains its own 3 sub-activities: A3.2.3.1 Monitor

Performance of Recordkeeping Storage, A3.2.3.2

Place Kept Records in Storage, and A3.2.3.3

Maintain Records in Recordkeeping Storage System,

and A3.2.3.3 contains its own 5 sub-activities:

A3.2.3.3.1 Monitor Kept Records in Storage,

A3.2.3.3.2 Back-up Recordkeeping Storage System,

A3.2.3.3.3 Correct Problems with Kept Records in

Storage, A3.2.3.3.4 Update Kept Records in Storage,

and A3.2.3.3.5 Refresh Media for Kept Records in

Storage. Their definitions are omitted).

Figure 6 depicts the sub-activities of A3.3:

Figure 6: Manage Access to Kept Records.

 A3.3.1 Monitor Performance of Recordkeeping

Access System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the recordkeeping access system by

analyzing reports on the operation of recordkeeping

activities, and issue activity directives for access

activities and information on the performance of the

recordkeeping access system for use in continued

maintenance of the recordkeeping system.

 A3.3.2 Facilitate Discovery of Kept Records

and/or Information: To provide authorized internal

and external users access to, and assistance in the use

of, the tools and resources necessary to support

querying and searching for, and discovery of,

information, records and/or records aggregates in the

recordkeeping system suited to a particular inquiry or

purpose.

 A3.3.3 Manage Requests for Kept Records and/or

Information: To provide overall control and co-

ordination of internal and external requests for access

to records and/or information about kept records by

processing access requests, retrieving digital

components for requested records and/or information,

verifying retrieved components and information and

providing access to retrieved records and/or

information (A3.3.3 contains its own 4 sub-activities:

A3.3.3.1 Process Requests for Kept Records and/or

Information, A3.3.3.2 Retrieve Requested Kept

Records and/or Information, A3.3.3.3 Verify

Retrieved Kept Records and/or Information, and

A3.3.3.4 Provide Access to Retrieved Kept Records

and/or Information. A3.3.3.1 and A3.3.3.4 each

contains 4 and 3 sub-activities, respectively:

A3.3.3.1.1 Register Recordkeeping Access Requests,

A3.3.3.1.2 Retrieve Information to Process

Recordkeeping Access Requests, A3.3.3.1.3

Generate Recordkeeping Retrieval Requests, and

A3.3.3.1.4 Generate Recordkeeping Requests

Specifications, and A3.3.3.4.1 Reconstitute Kept

Records and/or information, A3.3.3.4.2 Manifest

Kept Records and/or, and A3.3.3.4.3 Package Kept

Records and/or Information for Output. Their

definitions are omitted).

Figure 7 depicts the sub-activities of A3.4:

Figure 7: Manage Disposition of Kept Records.

Organizational Records Systems - An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems

 A3.4.1 Monitor Performance of Disposition

System: To assess the efficacy of the performance of

the recordkeeping disposition system by analyzing

reports on the operation of recordkeeping activities,

and issue activity directives for disposition activities

and information on the performance of the

recordkeeping storage system for use in continued

maintenance of the recordkeeping system.

 A3.4.2 Identify Kept Records for Disposition: To

identify records and information about records in the

recordkeeping system earmarked either for

destruction or transfer to the designated preserver, as

determined by the creator’s retention schedule.

 A3.4.3 Destroy Kept Records: To obliterate kept

records, and information related to the records,

identified for destruction and provide documentation

about the records destroyed.

 A3.4.4 Prepare Kept Records for Transfer to

Designated Preserver: To attach to kept records

integrity and related metadata about actions taken

during the course of preparing the records for transfer

to the designated preserver in accordance with the

terms and conditions of transfer, and compile

information about the records that is needed to meet

all transfer information requirements.

 A3.4.5 Transfer Kept Records to Designated

Preserver: To send or transmit kept records prepared

for transfer to permanent preserver (or, as applicable,

the office of the creator responsible for the permanent

preservation function) with the accompanying

documentation necessary for permanent preservation.

3.3 Records Preservation System

Records preservation system refers to the set of rules

governing the permanent intellectual and physical

maintenance of acquired records and the tools and

mechanisms used to implement these rules, and

records preservation encompasses the whole of the

principles, policies, rules and strategies that controls

the physical and technological stabilization and

protection of the intellectual form of acquired records

intended for their continuing, enduring, stable, lasting,

uninterrupted and unbroken chain of preservation,

without a foreseeable end. Figure 8 depicts the sub-

activities of A4 Manage Records in a Permanent

Preservation System, referring to the provision of

overall control and co-ordination of activities in the

permanent preservation system, including records

appraisal and selection, acquisition, description,

storage, retrieval and access, and monitoring of the

performance of the permanent preservation system.

The five sub-activities are defined as follows:

 A4.1 Monitor Performance of Permanent

Preservation System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the permanent preservation system by

analyzing performance reports on the operation of

permanent preservation sub-system activities, and

issue activity directives for preservation activities and

information on the performance of the permanent

preservation system for use in continued maintenance

of the chain of preservation framework.

Figure 8: Manage Records in a Permanent Preservation

System.

 A4.2 Appraise Records for Permanent

Preservation: To make appraisal decisions by

compiling information about kept records and their

context, assessing their value, and determining the

feasibility of their preservation; and to monitor

appraised records and appraisal decisions to identify

any necessary changes to appraisal decisions over

time.

 A4.3 Acquire Selected Records: To bring records

selected for permanent preservation into the custody

of the preserver by registering and verifying transfers,

confirming the feasibility of preservation, and

accessioning the records or rejecting transfers if they

are inadequate.

 A4.4 Preserve Accessioned Records: To manage

information about, and the description and storage of,

records acquired for permanent preservation.

KMIS 2016 - 8th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

 A4.5 Output Records: To facilitate discovery of

records and/or information about records in the

permanent preservation system, manage requests for

preserved records and/or information about the

records and monitor the performance of the

permanent preservation access system.

Figure 9 depicts the sub-activities of A4.2:

Figure 9: Appraise Records for Permanent Preservation.

 A4.2.1 Monitor Performance of Preservation

Selection System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the permanent preservation selection

system by analyzing reports on the operation of

preservation activities, and issue activity directives

for selection activities and information on the

performance of the permanent preservation selection

system for use in continued maintenance of the

permanent preservation system.

 A4.2.2 Analyze Kept Records for Preservation:

To assess information concerning the kept records

being appraised, including their contexts, value and

preservation feasibility (A4.2.2 contains its own 3

sub-activities: A4.2.2.1 Analyze Information About

Records, A4.2.2.2 Assess Value of Records, and

A4.2.2.3 Determine Feasibility of Preservation. Both

A4.2.2.2 and A4.2.2.3 contain 3 sub-activities,

respectively. For A4.2.2.2, they are: A4.2.2.2.1

Assess Continuing Value of Records, A4.2.2.2.2

Assess Authenticity of Records, and A4.2.2.2.3

Determine Value of Records. A4.2.2.2.2 contains its

3 sub-activities: A4.2.2.2.2.1 Compile Evidence

Supporting the Presumption of Authenticity,

A4.2.2.2.2.2 Measure Evidence Against

Requirements For Authentic Records, and

A4.2.2.2.2.3 Verify Authenticity. For A4.2.2.3, they

are: A4.2.2.3.1 Determine Record Elements to be

Preserved, A4.2.2.3.2 Identify Digital Components to

be Preserved, and A4.2.2.3.3 Reconcile Preservation

Requirements with Preservation Capabilities.

 A4.2.3 Make Appraisal Decisions: To decide on

and document the retention and disposition of records

based on valuation and feasibility information, and to

agree on and document the terms and conditions of

transfer of the records to the preserver.

 A4.2.4 Monitor Appraisal Decisions: To keep

track of appraisal decisions in relation to subsequent

developments within the creator’s and/or preserver’s

activities that might make it necessary to adjust or

redo an appraisal, such as substantial changes to: (1)

appraised records and/or their context, (2) the

creator’s organizational mandate and responsibilities,

(3) the creator’s record-making or recordkeeping

activities or systems, (4) the preserver’s records

preservation activities or systems and/or (5) the

preserver’s organizational mandate and

responsibilities.

Figure 10 depicts the sub-activities of A4.3:

Figure 10: Acquire Selected Records.

 A4.3.1 Monitor Performance of Preservation

Acquisition System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the permanent preservation

acquisition system by analyzing reports on the

operation of preservation activities, and issue activity

directives for acquisition activities and information

on the performance of the permanent preservation

selection system for use in continued maintenance of

the permanent preservation system.

 A4.3.2 Process Records Transfers: To register

records transfers received by the designated preserver,

confirm the authorization for the transfers, verify

their content, confirm the authenticity of the records

in the transfers and confirm the feasibility of

preserving the transferred records (A4.3.2 contains 5

sub-activities: A4.3.2.1 Register Transfers, A4.3.2.2

Confirm Authorization for Transfers, A4.3.2.3 Verify

Organizational Records Systems - An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems

Content of Transfers, A4.3.2.4 Confirm Authenticity

of Records, and A4.3.2.5 Confirm Feasibility of

Preservation.

 A4.3.3 Accession Records: To formally accept

records selected for permanent preservation into

custody and document transfers in accessions

documentation.

Figure 11 depicts the sub-activities of A4.4:

Figure 11: Preserve Accessioned Records.

 A4.4.1 Manage Information About Preserved

Records: To compile information about records in the

permanent preservation system and about records

preservation activities and to provide overall control

and co-ordination of that information for use in

records selection, acquisition, description, storage

and access activities (A4.4.1 contains 3 sub-activities:

A4.4.1.1 Monitor Performance of Preservation

Information System, A4.4.1.2 Compile Information

for Preservation, and A4.4.1.3 Update Information on

Preservation Actions.

 A4.4.2 Manage Arrangement of Preserved

Records: To provide overall control and co-

ordination of records arrangement activities.

 A4.4.3 Manage Description of Preserved Records:

To provide overall control and co-ordination of

records description activities, including monitoring

the preservation description system, describing

preserved records and developing description

instruments (A4.4.3 contains 3 sub-activities:

A4.4.3.1 Monitor Performance of Preservation

Description System, A4.4.3.2 Describe Preserved

Records, and A4.4.3.3 Develop Description

Instruments).

 A4.4.4 Manage Storage of Preserved Records: To

provide overall control and co-ordination of the

permanent preservation storage system and the

records stored in the system by placing the records in

storage, maintaining their digital components and

monitoring the performance of the storage system

(A4.4.4 contains 3 sub-activities: A4.4.4.1 Monitor

Performance of Permanent Preservation Storage

System, A4.4.4.2 Place Preserved Records in Storage,

and A4.4.4.3 Maintain Records in Permanent

Preservation Storage System. A4.4.4.3 contains 5

sub-activities, A4.4.4.3.1 Monitor Preserved Records

in Storage, A4.4.4.3.2 Back-up Preservation Storage

System, A4.4.4.3.3 Correct Problems with Preserved

Records in Storage, A4.4.4.3.4 Update Preserved

Records in Storage, and A4.4.4.3.5 Refresh Media for

Preserved Records in Storage.

Figure 12 depicts the sub-activities of A4.5:

Figure 12: Output Records.

 A4.5.1 Monitor Performance of Preservation

Access System: To assess the efficacy of the

performance of the permanent preservation access

system by analyzing reports on the operation of

preservation activities, and issue activity directives

for access activities and information on the

performance of the permanent preservation access

system for use in continued maintenance of the

permanent preservation system.

 A4.5.2 Facilitate Discovery of Preserved Records

and/or Information: To provide authorized internal

and external users with mediated access to and, as

necessary, assistance in the use of, the tools and

resources needed to support querying and searching

for information, records and/or records aggregates in

the permanent preservation system.

 A4.5.3 Manage Requests for Preserved Records

and/or Information: To provide overall control and

co-ordination of internal and external requests for

access to preserved records and/or information about

the records by processing access requests, retrieving

digital components for requested records and/or

KMIS 2016 - 8th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing

information, verifying retrieved components and

information and providing access to retrieved records

and/or information (A4.5.3 contains 4 sub-activities:

A4.5.3.1 Process Requests for Preserved Records

and/or Information, A4.5.3.2 Retrieve Requested

Preserved Records and/or Information, A4.5.3.3

Verify Retrieved Preserved Records and/or

Information, and A4.5.3.4 Provide Access to

Retrieved Preserved Records and/or Information.

A4.5.3.1 contains 4 sub-activities: A4.5.3.1.1

Retrieve Information to Process Preservation Access

Requests, A4.5.3.1.3 Generate Preservation Retrieval

Requests, and A4.5.3.1.4 Generate Preservation

Requests Specifications. A4.5.3.4. contains 3 sub-

activities: A4.5.3.4.1 Reconstitute Preserved Records

and/or Information: A4.5.3.4.2 Manifest Preserved

Records and/or Information, A4.5.3.4.3 Package

Preserved Records and/or Information for Output.

4 CONCLUSION

From the above illustration, it can be concluded that

ISs and EISs are record-keeping systems in the eyes

of the digital records management profession. By a

limited research on the functionalities of the current

representative ISs and EISs, it appears that these

systems do not possess the functionalities of those as

described in the recordkeeping system and the records

preservation system. It is not unusual for a digital

records management system to be implemented in

enterprises, such as those certified by the DoD5015.2-

STD or the MoReq2010 Specification, to manage

their unstructured digital records, transaction-

oriented ISs and certainly EISs, however, are

normally left out the control of organizational DRM

program – an issue that may not be readily

acknowledged by the ISs and EIS fields. ISs and EISs

are designed to streamline the conduct of business

activities, are expected to offer speed and

convenience, and are equipped with standard features

of control and security; they are, therefore, for current

operation and immediate usage, sufficient. What is

missing in these systems is the requirement of

systematic and consistent management of

organizational information in the form of records, one

that takes the stance of the enterprise as a whole,

aiming to ensure the accessibility and trustworthiness

of digital records for not only as long as the enterprise

exists, but also for as long as society needs them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The research reported in this article was supported

financially by the Central Universities of China

Significant Research Grant, No.15XNL 032.

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Organizational Records Systems - An Alternative View to (Enterprise) Information Systems