tial, useable evidence of social and business activity in the business, social and
cultural domains.
Records continuum thinking and practice are underpinned by a concept of
records which is inclusive of, not exclusive to, records of continuing value
(archives):
The archival document [record] can be conceptualised as recorded infor
mation arising from transactions. It is created as a by-product of social and
organisational activity in the course of transacting business of any kind,
whether by governments, businesses, community organisations or private
individuals. It is therefore defined by its contextuality and transactionality.
The documentation of transactions may be in any storage media and is
increasingly an electronic process. In Australia and North America, the use
of the terms 'records' and 'archives' to refer to current archival documents
and archival documents selected for preservation respectively has created a
distracting division within the recordkeeping profession between records
managers and archivists. The unifying concept of the archival document
encompasses both records and archives. It directs attention to the
continuum of processes involved in managing the record of a transaction so
that it retains its evidentiary quality. Archival documents first and foremost
provide evidence of the transactions of which they are a part -from this they
derive their meanings and informational value. The effective creation and
management of archival documents are critical to their use and the role they
play in governing relationships in society over time and space. Their effective
creation and management are also preconditions of an information-rich
society and underpin the public accountability of government and non
government organisations, freedom of information and privacy legislation,
protection of people's rights and entitlements, and the quality of the archival
heritage, made up of documents of continuing value. The concept of the
archival document can provide a framework for a greater shared understan
ding of the nature of recorded information, and of the importance of trans
actional records to the continuing functioning of a society.
Records continuum thinking is concerned about ideas about the role of record
keeping which flow from this unifying concept -in five key areas. Firstly there is
the role records play in governance, in regulating relationships between people
and organisations, and as instruments of power and authority. Secondly, there is
the nexus between recordkeeping and accountability in its broadest sense of
accounting to each other for what we do to each other, encompassing corporate,
social, cultural, and historical accountability. Thirdly, there is the role that
recordkeeping plays in constituting corporate and collective memory, especially
insofar as records capture experiential knowledge. Fourthly there is the way in
which recordkeeping can be understood as a kind of witnessing, providing
evidence of both personal and collective identity. And finally, there is the way
records function as sources of value-added information and can be exploited as
assetts, with new records being created in the process.
In The Constitution of society, sociologist Anthony Giddens spoke of informa
tion as being both an allocative and an authoritative resource. As an allocative
resource, it can be 'a feature of the environment, a means of production or a
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produced good'. As an authoritative resource, Giddens said information is 'a
means of control or governance of social time-space', i.e. a way of governing and
perpetuating relationships between people and organisations through time and
across space. With reference to the above outline of the purposes of record
keeping, records can also be usefully characterised in this way. As sources of
value-added information, they function as an allocative resource; as evidence of
activity and identity, as memory, and as instruments of power and authority,
they function as an authoritative resource.
Recordkeeping places
Many archivists have been used to defining their place by locating the archives
and the archiving function within the walls of archival repositories. In Australia
this has been particularly the case for collecting archivists, for government archi
vists in some of the State jurisdictions where the archiving function has been
closely linked with the library function, and for corporate archivists whose pro
grams originated in corporate history or commemorative projects. Records
managers meanwhile have often been preoccupied with managing the records in
central filing systems or records stores. For these archivists and records
managers, the walls of the repository, registry or records store have formed the
boundary of their respective places, and the basis for drawing demarcation lines
between the organisation's business processes, records management and archival
administration. Some have articulated their work with reference to the US-NARA
records life cycle model, with its paper mind-set and conceptualisation of records
management and archival work in terms of particular custodial strategies and
methods rather than purposes or outcomes. Others, particularly collecting
archivists, have described what they do in terms of the manuscript library tradi
tion which emphasises collection management and research service delivery.
But, there has been another tradition in Australia, and records managers and
archivists who have worked within that tradition have developed over the years a
different sense of place, linked to the concept of the records continuum. This is
especially so for many who have worked for Australian Archives and in State
jurisdictions in which the archival authority is cast in the role of regulator of
accountable public recordkeeping to serve the ends of accountable public admi
nistration, as well as keeper of the long-term corporate and collective memory,
for those corporate records managers and archivists whose records and archives
programs are closely integrated with the business processes of their organisa
tions, and for that hybrid group of Australian archivists/records managers who
identify themselves first and foremost as recordkeeping professionals.
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DE PROFESSIE
SUE MCKEMMISH YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
